I really think we were better off when you knew in advance exactly what a trip would cost, no matter what day of the week, rather than the present patchwork of discounts, frequent-flier miles, excursion rates, and so on. The temptation is to take a trip for no good reason just to take advantage of some deal, while if it is really important to get somewhere, you may consider not doing it because of the price. That's a perversion of the purpose of transportation.
And especially if the airlines throw themselves on the mercy of the government the minute business falls off, they ought to have to accept at least some reasonable guidelines, guaranteeing transportation on some sliding scale (adjusted for fuel costs) of, say, 20 cents to 50 cents per seat mile, depending on the length of the route. If it's not economical to offer the service, then just don't offer it and let the buses and trains take over.
But of course it's easy to tell people how to run things that you don't really understand.<g> |
