The FAA and Airline Delays

From ABC, “Feds May force Airlines to Reduce Delays”. Because, you know, businesses make piles of money by providing bad customer service.

Turns out that most of the issue revolves around simply having too many people wanting to fly, which leads the airlines to schedule more flights at times when people want to fly. That’s how free markets work.

Unfortunately, airport capacity (mostly government controlled) is limited, so delays occur.

The FAA’s solution? Reduce the number of flights. That solves the delay problem. In the unintended consequence department, with fewer flights, look for the combination of higher prices and increased inconvenience. But higher prices and poor service are what the government is all about.

In many respects, this will likely be a boon to the airlines. With the government mandating fewer flights, the seat prices on the remaining flights will increase. With less flights, there’s less need for equipment and crews, cutting costs as well.

Funny, no one seems to be considering increasing runway capacity to help solve the problem.