This sort of falls in the "if the horse is dead, he won't mind getting hit one more time" category.
The federal
Bureau of Transportation Statistics will release the bleak news about 2007 air travel today. Nobody will be surprised to see more late flights, more lost luggage and more runway delays than ever before.
The Washington Post explained recently how all those little delays cost a lot of money:
While declining on-time performance rates have drawn the most public
attention, an analysis of government data reveals another staggering
toll of late flights: lost time and money.
During the first 11 months of last year, 1.6 million passenger
flights were at least 15 minutes late. The total delay time added up to
170 years -- up steadily from 98 years lost on 1 million flights during
all of 2003. The average delay of a late flight has grown from 49 to 56
minutes during that period, the data show.
With the U.S. economy stumbling, regulators and lawmakers are turning their focus to the economic toll of such delays. In a speech to the Aero Club of Washington on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters estimated that flight delays cost the U.S. economy $15 billion a year. In an interview, she said she thought that figure was probably low.
"It is incredible," Peters said. "It means a loss to our economy, a loss to our productivity; it also means a loss in quality of life."
By the way, did you see that yesterday, United Airlines announced that
it will start charging extra if you check more than one bag? The
Denver Business Journal reports:
Economy class fliers will pay $25 for a second bag and $125 for three bags. Previously it was free to check a second bag and cost $85 to check three bags.
Those checking four or more bags will pay an additional $100 a bag.
I have always sent my bags to my destination by...
