News and notes from around the interweb:
- Data shows long airline delays are becoming more frequent
A 3‑hour delay in 2024 is four times more likely compared to 1990 even as scheduled flight times have gotten longer. There are a lot more flights, but airport capacity and air traffic control capacity hasn’t grown. So there’s no longer slack in the system.
Starting around 2008, Scheduled flight times began increasing even faster than actual ones, and are now 20 minutes longer than their 1987 pairs along the same routes. This divergence makes it look like far more flights are early in 2024 when in reality almost all flights are taking longer.
…It’s 4.5 times more likely to have your flight delayed by more than 3 hours today than it was in 1990. 1-1.5hr delays are both around twice as common as well.
Local governments haven’t been good about growing airports and staffing and the tech stack for ATC has lagged world standard, as FAA regulates itself (poor accountability).
- The Math Trick Hidden in Your Credit Card Number The Luhn algorithm, understanding your card’s digits.
- The Tokyo Haneda Amex lounge looks far nicer than any in the U.S. And it’s just just ‘an Asia thing’ because it looks far nicer than the Hong Kong Centurion lounge as well.
- We rate this claim as true:
At Dulles, Iberia flight crew over intercom explaining delay to Madrid-DC passengers waiting to deplane:
“They have a very abnormal system to take passengers to the terminal.”
— Overheard District (@OverheardWDC) August 11, 2025
- Qantas now offers atrocious value points upgrades on American Airlines
- Alaska Airlines continues to pull down long haul flying from Honolulu as it finds better uses for widebody aircraft out of Seattle.
Hawaiian Airlines announces it will discontinue 3 long-haul routes:
• Honolulu (HNL) to Boston (BOS) from November 19
• Honolulu (HNL) to Fukuoka (FUK) from November 19
• Honolulu (HNL) to Seoul (ICN) from November 21— Ishrion Aviation (@IshrionA) August 13, 2025
“compared to 1990” niccce.
@1990 — You got a shoutout! Niiiice indeed.
The credit card thing is neat. I heard about it before but had long forgotten. Very creative.
Re: IAD – “Abnormal”? More like unique, heh.
Yeah, if only we passengers were compensated by airlines for significant delays under their control, like EU/UK 261 and Canada’s APPR. Could be getting several hundred dollars back each time. Great incentive for airlines to be more reliable, too…
Interesting article on the delays, thanks Gary ! It’s apropos, as I just returned last night from an American Airlines trip where the outbound was 5 hours late, and the return was 3-3/4 hours late (both direct flights, AUS-ORD). The late outbound cost me $ 400 in additional rental car costs, and a missed meeting that was set up 3 months in advance. The late return cost me a ride from the airport, and plans that night. Even worse, I’ll reach the 3 million mile level with American next month, and I’ll get nothing for the effort (other than keeping the lifetime Platinum that I already have). The same milestone on Delta would have been lifetime Diamond Medallion (two levels higher than American). As Tim Dunn would say, I should have been flying on Delta all along.