Tyler Cowen, a highly regarded economics professor (whose specialty is economics of the arts — but whose interests are wide and varied) has a series of posts over at the Volokh Conspiracy outlining the basic ideas of economics in a short, accessible way that non-specialists can understand. So far he has posted: Money and Monetary Policy Money and Monetary Policy: Responses to Questions from ReadersBusiness Cycles Fiscal Policy More parts are apparently coming this week. Much worth reading.
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for July 2003.
Do air marshalls make you feel safe?
Via Instapundit comes this news: A federal air marshal was fired and faces a felony assault charge after a June 8 incident in which police say he pulled his service weapon on two civilians during a parking space dispute at JFK International Airport in New York. The incident comes amid reports that more than 100 marshals have either left their jobs or been pulled from flight status and placed on paid administrative leave due to problems with the background investigations needed for their top secret security clearances. And yet the TSA laughably responded, “every air marshal understands how important it is that the traveling public have absolute confidence in their ability to defend the skies in a split second at 30,000 feet without backup. That is why marshals are held to the highest possible standard…
Gambling on our Future and our Security
Given our nation’s catastrophic intelligence failures of the past few years such as the failure to detect and stop the 9/11 hijackers and our false beliefs about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, I was excited to learn that there was a new federal program that might do a bit better at predicting threats to the U.S. Unfortunately I learned about the program in an article about its cancellation amidst loud denunciation by both Democratic and Republican politicians. “Defies common sense.” “Absurd.”“I think you ought to end the careers of whoever it was thought that up.”“A sick idea.” When that many politicians gather so quickly to condemn something, I start to think there might be something good in it.And it turns out, maybe there is.DARPA, the Defense Research Projects Agency (the folks who started experimenting with…
Redux: Don’t get too excited about those airline profits
USAirways, which recently emerged from bankruptcy, posted a “profit” last quarter. It’s $13 million in the black included $214 million from the federal government, so this news doesn’t say too much about the airline’s business effectiveness. So call me skeptical when the company’s president says “We have made great strides in executing the key elements of our restructuring plan related to increasing revenue, reducing costs and improving liquidity, all against the backdrop of a challenging industry environment” Continental, Northwest, and Delta are all in the same boat.
Competition is Good
In order to differentiate themselves and win more business, the three largest online travel booking sites are introducing new features and offering more information.While no one site is uniformly best, and travelers often check more than one sites before booking, each is trying in their own way to offer products that consumers most want.In my own experience, Orbitz consistently finds the best fares on complex and last minute itineraries. That isn’t because Orbitz has the best agreements with the airlines that founded it, either. It’s because Orbitz has the “best math” — the best search functions that are able to piece together flights that the other sites don’t think of. I’ve often found cheap flights on Orbitz that other engines couldn’t find, and then picked my flights one by one on Expedia only to find…
Where do Reality Shows Find these People?
Remember Rick Rockwell from Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? A previous girlfriend had obtained a restraining order against him for roughing her up and threatening to kill her. And he wasn’t as wealthy as advertised, either. Now we have Jeffrey W. Chodorow? Viewers of NBC’s “The Restaurant” know him as the investor behind Rocco DiSpirito’s television efforts to launch an Italian dining experience in New York. Aviation enthusiasts remember him as the investor who bought Braniff, revived from bankruptcy by Chicago billionaire Jay Pritzker in 1983, out of its second bankruptcy in 1988. Chodorow’s Braniff was back in bankruptcy in 1989. In 1990, Chodorow and fellow investor Arthur Cohen sought to revive Braniff for a third go-round. They formed a holding company called BNAir, Inc. and purchased the Braniff name from the bankruptcy estate.…
The end to the Delta-United alliance
As expected, with Delta forming a partnership with Continental and Northwest, and with United in partnership with USAirways, the partnership between United and Delta is being terminated. Members of Delta’s SkyMiles frequent flyer program may continue to earn SkyMiles and book award travel on United through Oct. 15, 2003. Members of United’s frequent flyer program may continue to earn Mileage Plus
Who’s Going to Give United More Money?
The Chicago Tribune carried a piece today speculating about equity investors for United’s exit from bankruptcy. Will they go for just a government loan? Will they get outside financing? Will it come from Lufthansa? Will any new investors demand a new management team? The piece is long on speculation but offers little prediction.One curious thing is the last line of the article, considering a Lufthansa equity stake in United: having another airline as a shareholder would be a first for United, although one that might be a lot less wrenching than other alternatives.Surely that can’t be true. I seem to recall National Air Transport owning part of United’s corporate predecessor in the early 1930s. And I also recall some equity ownership on the part of Western Air Lines when United and Western introduced the very…
Alaska Airlines Upgrade Plans
Alaska Airlines lays out its plans for first class on an employee website. It sounds like they get it. They’re going to keep first class. While only 10% of first class seats are occupied by paid first class travelers, upgrades for their elite flyers drive alot of ticket purchases. They need to differentiate themselves from lower cost one-class carriers like Southwest. They’re looking to generate an extra $25-30 per first class seat. They might allow upgrades only on higher fares (bad idea), charge a small premium for upgrades (better idea), or reduce the price difference between coach and first to encourage more first class ticket sales (best idea). Read the whole thing.
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