Joe Brancatelli had a simple question: Why does airline travel today stink? He went through a 78 page report released by the department of transportation that had the answer to the question:

• Airline travel has become expensive because of rapidly rising fuel costs.
• Air travel has also become more uncomfortable because airlines have cut the number of individual flights, so that more seats are filled on each plane.
• Aircrafts have become smaller. Flights on twin aisle planes – the largest type available – have gone down by 44%.
• Air service has become more inconsistent because the company you actually buy the tickets from usually doesn’t operate the aircraft. United Airlines is the worst offender, with 68% of its flights being operated by third parties.
• Service in general has declined because the number of employees have been cut by 20% since 2000, and each employee is paid less than they used to be.

Read more about the problems that the TSA has created for travellers, and how much money flight attendants can expect to make, over here.

Source: The Business Journals

Via: Marginal Revolution