A Third Chicago Airport Goes Nowhere, Slowly

January 6, 2012

They’re talking about a third airport for Chicago. Of course, they’ve been talking about it since the 1960s, so don’t book your flight yet.

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What To Do About Crammed Overhead Bins

January 3, 2012

Lawmakers try to solve problems by making laws. But are baggage fees a problem, and are new laws the solution?

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The Pocketbook Truth Of Airline Alliances

May 31, 2011

If you had to pay $3,400 for a round-trip, economy-class airline ticket between Atlanta and Amsterdam, would you be confident that vigorous trans-Atlantic airline competition is providing you with great value? I would not. Atlanta is both the world’s busiest airport and home base for Delta Air Lines, the world’s leading carrier last year. Amsterdam, a major European hub, is home to the KLM unit of Air France-KLM, which is …

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Political Science

April 27, 2011

When politics collide with science, science usually gets most of the bruises. Such is the case in the recent flap over air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood could hardly restrain himself after sleeping-controller incidents were reported in Tennessee, Washington D.C., Texas, Nevada and, most recently, Florida. Pronouncing himself “outraged” and declaring that “safety is our number one priority,” LaHood promised on April 13 — …

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More Of A Good Thing

April 22, 2011

There were two types of airline passengers during the worst of the recent winter’s brutal weather: the ones who faced almost no risk of being stranded on the tarmac, and the less-fortunate who had to take their chances. The group leading a charmed life traveled on domestic flights, while the others flew internationally. Things should be different next year. This week, the Transportation Department announced an expanded set of passenger-rights …

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Southwest’s Lesson: Inspections May Not Be Enough

April 6, 2011

Federal authorities and independent aviation experts are assuring travelers that last week’s emergency aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 812 was an isolated event, which can be addressed with newly ordered inspections of some Boeing 737s. I have serious doubts about that. My doubts are strong enough that, for now, I intend to book away from Southwest and onto other carriers wherever possible. This is not a trivial issue for me. I …

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Nonessential Air Service

February 15, 2011

I’m going skiing in Vermont next month for a few days. As always, I’ll toss my stuff into the car and drive, but there is a government-subsidized alternative. For about $159 each way, I could fly from Westchester County Airport in suburban New York to Lebanon, N.H., which is about 20 minutes from my Vermont lodgings. The flight itself would last about an hour and twenty minutes. Including time to …

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First-Class Airlines, And The Rest

January 20, 2011

Airlines assign their customers to different classes. I like to do the same to the airlines, and I have about as many different classes as a trans-Pacific jumbo jet. In first class, I put airlines that give me a fair deal, a comfortable seat and as reliable a ride as the infrastructure and weather permit. Southwest and JetBlue are both first-class airlines by my standards. For travel to and from …

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Traveling Turkeys

November 24, 2010

If everything goes perfectly, today will bring bedlam at the nation’s airports as millions of Americans journey to gather with loved ones for Thanksgiving. If things don’t go perfectly, a lot of people are going to be very sad. So what can we say about a few individuals who think it would be a great idea to try to foul (or fowl) things up? I avoid name-calling in this column. …

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A Place Where Time Stands Still

A Place Where Time Stands Still November 23, 2010

SALMON RIVER, Nova Scotia —In the 48 hours before I sat down to write this column, Facebook announced a plan to make email obsolete; a three-month rally in the financial markets shuddered to at least a temporary halt; and the Beatles finally arrived at the iTunes store. But here, high on a windswept cliff along Nova Scotia’s southwestern coast, time seems to almost stand still. In the tiny fishing village …

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