While I generally try to stay out of politics on the blog, with an administration change coming in weeks, there’s a nomination that potentially has big implications for the airline industry (and beyond).
In this post:
Trump’s pick to head the Department of Transportation
President-Elect Donald Trump has nominated Sean Duffy as Transportation Secretary, to lead the Department of Transportation (DOT). The 53-year-old is currently the co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business, as well as a Fox News contributor.
Prior to that, he served as a Congressman from Wisconsin from 2011 until 2019, and before that he served as District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin. He first gained fame as a cast member of “The Real World.”
Here’s how President-Elect Trump describes his pick of Duffy:
I am pleased to announce that former Congressman Sean Duffy, from the Great State of Wisconsin, is nominated to serve as the Secretary of Transportation. Sean has been a tremendous and well-liked public servant, starting his career as a District Attorney for Ashland, Wisconsin, and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.
During his time in Congress, Sean was a respected voice and communicator in the Republican Conference, advocating for Fiscal Responsibility, Economic Growth, and Rural Development. Admired across the aisle, Sean worked with Democrats to clear extensive Legislative hurdles to build the largest road and bridge project in Minnesota History.
As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Sean played a key role in shaping and strengthening Economic policies, and ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Government programs. Sean’s leadership extended to championing the needs of families, farmers, and small businesses, especially in rural communities.
He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.
The husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News, and the father of nine incredible children, Sean knows how important it is for families to be able to travel safely, and with peace of mind.
Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!
I just wanted to highlight that specific to the airline industry, Trump is highlighting how Duffy will “make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.” That seems to be the top priority for the airline industry.
What are the implications of this nomination?
Obviously the country is very divided. We all have our own beliefs, but let me try to share my take on this in a respectful and reasonably balanced way, and I’d ask others to do the same (I realize the odds of people honoring that request are roughly zero). 😉
First of all, it’s important to acknowledge that the job of the Transportation Secretary goes way beyond just the airline and aviation industry, but of course that’s what I’m heavily focused on, given that it’s what the blog is about (so I won’t be talking about other vital infrastructure investments, which I think are also incredibly important).
Under the first Trump administration, we had Elaine Chao as Transportation Secretary. If you ask me, Chao more or less maintained the status quo, especially with airlines, and didn’t really rock the boat. I’d describe the DOT as being pretty hands off under her leadership. That’s not necessarily good or bad, but I doubt most people would disagree.
Then under the Biden administration, we’ve had Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary. Personally I’m a huge Buttigieg fan, just in the interest of full disclosure. Not everyone agrees on his legacy at the DOT, though I think we can all agree that he most definitely didn’t take a hands off approach with airlines.
Whether we’re talking about airline partnerships, or mergers, or frequent flyer programs, or holding airlines accountable for meltdowns, the DOT has taken a much more active role under Buttigieg. Of course we’ve also seen our aviation sector struggle with all kinds of staff shortages. Fortunately hiring of air traffic controllers has been ramped up considerably, but there’s not much instant gratification there, as the training process takes years.
So, what are my expectations with Duffy leading the DOT?
- As much as Trump is an airline guy (in the sense that he briefly had an airline, and has also chimed in a lot on the industry), I don’t think aviation is going to be one of his major priorities
- We still need a massive overhaul of our air traffic control system, so it doesn’t particularly instill confidence that Trump seemingly just focuses on DEI, rather than otherwise rebuilding our system
- I’d expect the Trump administration to generally intervene less when it comes to consolidation, frequent flyer programs, etc., for better or worse
The good news is that for the most part, the DOT has historically made fairly bipartisan decisions, which is to say I haven’t noticed any extreme differences toward airlines based on the political party. For example, going back many years, both the the Obama and Trump administrations weren’t onboard with the rhetoric of the “Open Skies.”
We’ve certainly seen airlines have proposals rejected under one administration, and then see them try their luck again with a new administration, so that’s certainly possible. But I can’t say I’ve noticed a huge systematic difference at the DOT depending on the party.
Bottom line
Sean Duffy has been nominated as the next Transportation Secretary, replacing Pete Buttigieg. He’s a current Fox News star, and prior to that is a former Congressman, District Attorney, and reality TV star.
Historically the DOT hasn’t been swayed too much by politics, though I would expect that there will be some significant changes compared to the Biden administration, as the current DOT has been particularly active with many issues.
What do you make of Sean Duffy being nominated as Transportation Secretary?
Two things to note:
1) He appears to deeply care about rural communities. Expect more subsidies here.
2) He's been lobbied by the Partnership For Open Skies previously. May we see Delta lobby to block QR from serving ATL again?
He doesn’t deeply care about rural communities, but that doesn’t make him a bad guy. He’s just out for himself and way too much into image and self-dealing rather than principles once you get beyond his family.
His predecessor in Congress for the area was far better for rural aviation and rural transport infrastructure than Duffy. And I’ve had my own shares of encounters with the politicians from the area going back to when Republican...
He doesn’t deeply care about rural communities, but that doesn’t make him a bad guy. He’s just out for himself and way too much into image and self-dealing rather than principles once you get beyond his family.
His predecessor in Congress for the area was far better for rural aviation and rural transport infrastructure than Duffy. And I’ve had my own shares of encounters with the politicians from the area going back to when Republican Melvin Laird was the Congressman for most of the same area that Duffy got after a long stint of the area being Democratic.
I used to fly a fair amount with Duffy, and I would also ran into Duffy at dairy parades and other such events in the area and some other places before he ditched central and northern Wisconsin for some place “sexier” and for money and more fame. His business, but a clear sign that he cares less about rural Wisconsin than you want us to believe.
It could be a lot worse, Matt Gaetz could have a brother.
There are some parts of the airline/aviation industry that also deserve focus, such as CBP and airport security. Though I understand why you were reluctant to discuss it as those things are under the DHS, which (nomination pending) will be led by Kristi Noem (the puppy killer). But it will be interesting to see how the new DHS boss will go about coordinating with airlines to follow through on mass deportation, or improve TSA checkpoints...
There are some parts of the airline/aviation industry that also deserve focus, such as CBP and airport security. Though I understand why you were reluctant to discuss it as those things are under the DHS, which (nomination pending) will be led by Kristi Noem (the puppy killer). But it will be interesting to see how the new DHS boss will go about coordinating with airlines to follow through on mass deportation, or improve TSA checkpoints to make them more efficient and less burdensome, etc.
Delta and Westjet can reapply for that JV that they put forth a few years ago.
In the truest sense, Jackie Robinson was a DEI hire. Followed by Willie Mays. Anyone have a problem with their stats?
They were competent, unlike modern day examples such as Marilyn Mosby and Brandon Johnson.
They complain about DEI, but then hire a wholly unqualified buffoon for Transportation Secretary simply because he'll get on his knees for Trump. Make it make sense.
It's about merit. The premise is that individuals who are not white males are performing as air traffic controllers and commercial pilots at a level below that of white males. Given the actual on-the-job performance of air traffic controllers and commercial pilots, is there evidence of this lower performance? The metrics are "incident" and "White Males/Others." Use statistics to determine whether "Others" have a statistically different incident rate.
As someone from outside the US looking in I cannot begin to describe how weird it is to read about not only the new transportation politico but also how it discusses his STAR of a wife and highlights the fact he has nine children. That is relevant to his appointment because.....?
Because American politicians have a history of using their family members as props for campaigns and public support, covers for scandals, and vehicles for enriching themselves or at least their family members.
We have extensive DEI for the economic and political elite in the US — and it goes to show with where their adult children end up across so-called elite institutions in academia and business.
"Elminating DEI for pilots" ok, so his focus is on the crap a dude with spray-on hair has mandated as a talking point but like, no real plans for competent leadership. These guys are all D students.
@Ben
As ATC, I'm wondering what *specifically* you think needs to be done to overhaul ATC --- other than the need for massive hiring, which supposedly they are working to resolve (initiatives to build a new ATC academy, etc).... so that controllers are not insanely overworked and fatigued, which is likely the #1 reason we are seeing a rise of incidents. (And that's giving the benefit of the doubt that we've actually had a rise...
@Ben
As ATC, I'm wondering what *specifically* you think needs to be done to overhaul ATC --- other than the need for massive hiring, which supposedly they are working to resolve (initiatives to build a new ATC academy, etc).... so that controllers are not insanely overworked and fatigued, which is likely the #1 reason we are seeing a rise of incidents. (And that's giving the benefit of the doubt that we've actually had a rise in incidents in the last 5 years, rather than just a rise in publicity of incidents.)
Not to mention the lack of adequate pay to attract proper talent that our own union won't even address.
In regards to safety in other countries, you should ask how closely VAS Aviation (and other 'in it for the clicks' type people) are monitoring ATC audio and events in other nations. Do most nations even allow ATC audio/events to be routinely monitored and publicized?
Commenters here were willing to defend India and call it a likely "non-event" when Mumbai had an event with two jets featuring less than half the runway seperation as we have in the U.S. So if half our runway separation standard is a non-event overseas, there's a metric for how safe we are.
Another Fox News presenter. Lol
Send in the clowns.
What a joke of a government. A criminal as president.
An anti vaxxer and conspiracy theorist in charge of health. And now someone who knows f— all about transport.
May as well offer Cardi B a position.
Is WAP one of those three-letter agencies I keep hearing about?
So is this where the DOT stops being polite, and starts being real?
Let's not forget that many one of the many businesses that Trump tanked was Trump Airlines.
As usual, lots and lots of lies to mask utter incompetence. Have no hope that someone with the background of Duffy can get anything meaningful done to benefit taxpayers (but am sure that he will for himself, boss and friends - expect corruption that manifests itself with Tesla friendly regulation).
What did the last 3 Transportation Secretaries do that meaningfully benefited taxpayers?
Hasn’t the current transportation secretary mandated money back to passengers for delayed and cancelled flights? Seems pretty good for taxpayers.
Better than Sean Puffy
Although some ATC issues have been highlighted (and rightly so) recently, we still have by FAR the most complex yet safest air traffic system in the world. I truly don't think people comprehend how many planes are in the sky at one time and how incredibly complex the systems are that are involved in ATC. Yes, the technology is extremely outdated compared to a lot of other industries, but because of the complexity it's not...
Although some ATC issues have been highlighted (and rightly so) recently, we still have by FAR the most complex yet safest air traffic system in the world. I truly don't think people comprehend how many planes are in the sky at one time and how incredibly complex the systems are that are involved in ATC. Yes, the technology is extremely outdated compared to a lot of other industries, but because of the complexity it's not something that can be overhauled in a matter of 4 years of an administration.
@ Ryan -- I totally agree that an overhaul will take more than four years, and that's why it's important for work to be done across administrations. That being said, I'm curious by what metric you think we have the safest air traffic system in the world?
Yes, it's absolutely safe, but by what metric is it safer than what you'll find in a countless number of other countries? We've certainly had our fair share...
@ Ryan -- I totally agree that an overhaul will take more than four years, and that's why it's important for work to be done across administrations. That being said, I'm curious by what metric you think we have the safest air traffic system in the world?
Yes, it's absolutely safe, but by what metric is it safer than what you'll find in a countless number of other countries? We've certainly had our fair share of close calls in recent years, and it definitely feels like the margin of safety has decreased, at a minimum.
Dude is a worm and only good at power grubbing. I expect him to be asleep at the wheel
Pete Buttigieg - Ohio Train Derailment. Anyone else remember this? Ben, I feel your enthusiasm for Pete is biased, and not based on Pete’s performance in his job.
Eliminating DEI and focusing on hiring the best candidate for the job regardless of their race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation is necessary. Whether I’m at the doctor’s office or sitting on an airplane, I want the most qualified and well trained person available.
@ SB -- First of all, Buttigieg acknowledged his mistakes there, and shared what he learned from it. I'm not sure who your favorite politician is, but have they ever admitted they made a mistake? I find his honesty refreshing.
Regarding hiring the best candidates for jobs, I don't know what gives you the sense that this isn't happening? There has been a pilot and air traffic controller shortage in recent years, so it sure...
@ SB -- First of all, Buttigieg acknowledged his mistakes there, and shared what he learned from it. I'm not sure who your favorite politician is, but have they ever admitted they made a mistake? I find his honesty refreshing.
Regarding hiring the best candidates for jobs, I don't know what gives you the sense that this isn't happening? There has been a pilot and air traffic controller shortage in recent years, so it sure doesn't seem to me like anyone has been passed over on account of DEI.
They have been passed over for United’s training programs. While they still probably hired the same amount of people, they didn’t pick based on quals, and people were selected/rejected based on the color of their skin.
@ Sel, D. -- So that's a training academy that doesn't guarantee a job at United, or any other airline. That's not the same as being hired for a job. Or is there something else I'm missing? I think the discussion of what criteria should be used to admit people into schools goes way beyond a travel blog.
Unrelated, but this raises a whole different question. With our ridiculously high standards to become a pilot...
@ Sel, D. -- So that's a training academy that doesn't guarantee a job at United, or any other airline. That's not the same as being hired for a job. Or is there something else I'm missing? I think the discussion of what criteria should be used to admit people into schools goes way beyond a travel blog.
Unrelated, but this raises a whole different question. With our ridiculously high standards to become a pilot in the United States (needing 1,500+ hours), who is the "best" candidate for the job? How do you recommend that be judged?
When it comes to ATC, at a certain point, you're just not going to be able to rank one person as more qualified than another.
FAA may or may not have done a crap job of implementing DEI (I'd say yes), but I'm confident DEI can be implemented AND you can still get the best people for the job.
If it helps... you should know there are bad air traffic controllers of all races and genders. I've met them.
Ah, look, it's Sel, D. again, complaining that Whitey has been passed over thanks to DEI. If you actually think that "unqualified" People of Color or women are hired at the expense of "qualified" white men, you never understood the point of DEI, Affirmative Action, or any other program that seeks to diversify a field. NO ONE wants unqualified pilots. What folks who are proponents of diversifying different fields want is for qualified folks other...
Ah, look, it's Sel, D. again, complaining that Whitey has been passed over thanks to DEI. If you actually think that "unqualified" People of Color or women are hired at the expense of "qualified" white men, you never understood the point of DEI, Affirmative Action, or any other program that seeks to diversify a field. NO ONE wants unqualified pilots. What folks who are proponents of diversifying different fields want is for qualified folks other than white men - who have had PLENTY of opportunities to do and be whatever the hell they want to be - to have those same opportunities. It is such a cynical take, Sel, D., and really demonstrates a moral and intellectual dishonesty - not to mention ignorance - of what DEI is really all about.
Hear, hear!
FAA ruined the ATC hiring process by making them hire off the street instead of university hires from ATC programs. https://viewfromthewing.com/diversity-in-the-skies-faas-controversial-shift-in-air-traffic-controller-hiring/
@Mike: tell me you know nothing about ATC without telling me.
For one, the FAA started hiring off the street more than 30 years ago. Your irroneous complaint is just a baby.
Two, we have plenty of controllers that come from CTI programs. You can't tell them apart from off-the-street controllers. Just like off-the-street controllers, many CTI graduates wash out of the FAA academy, never even getting the career they were after, and now strapped...
@Mike: tell me you know nothing about ATC without telling me.
For one, the FAA started hiring off the street more than 30 years ago. Your irroneous complaint is just a baby.
Two, we have plenty of controllers that come from CTI programs. You can't tell them apart from off-the-street controllers. Just like off-the-street controllers, many CTI graduates wash out of the FAA academy, never even getting the career they were after, and now strapped with massive student loan debt.
@Ben..I want to say I 100% support equality, but there were times where airlines literally set focuses and quotas for hiring. United said 50% of new pilots would be DEI hires. The reason this is not good is you may only have 50% or less of applicants falling under whatever a DEI category is, meaning you would clearly have to have less stringent hiring parameters. We went to far trying to be "equal" and forgot...
@Ben..I want to say I 100% support equality, but there were times where airlines literally set focuses and quotas for hiring. United said 50% of new pilots would be DEI hires. The reason this is not good is you may only have 50% or less of applicants falling under whatever a DEI category is, meaning you would clearly have to have less stringent hiring parameters. We went to far trying to be "equal" and forgot what equal means. Equal is not spekaing of it at all. If you want to hire 100% DEI ..fine...just do it, do not speak of it. Hire the best people for the job and let the results speak for themselves.
We know why he was selected and it wasn't because he presided over a city with a large transit structure. I would imagine South Bend may have had at most a dozen bus routes. Hardly DOT material. Recruitment should based upon the knowledge and experience, period.
As far as this guy, if he gets rid of some of the useless TSA screening like the nude o scan and restrictions on liquid sizes I'd be happy....
We know why he was selected and it wasn't because he presided over a city with a large transit structure. I would imagine South Bend may have had at most a dozen bus routes. Hardly DOT material. Recruitment should based upon the knowledge and experience, period.
As far as this guy, if he gets rid of some of the useless TSA screening like the nude o scan and restrictions on liquid sizes I'd be happy. And we wouldn't need Pre Check which gets more and more clogged up by the day.
@George Romey - what exactly is Sean Duffy's experience that qualifies him for the job then? If you're going to complain about Buttigieg at least apply the same standard to Duffy. Bittigieg is well educated, sharp, and had exposure to advising large complex organizations (including Government agencies) at McKinsey.
That is about as relevant as Duffy's similarly non-transit background in his role as a Representative for Wisconsin.
I personally don't think you need...
@George Romey - what exactly is Sean Duffy's experience that qualifies him for the job then? If you're going to complain about Buttigieg at least apply the same standard to Duffy. Bittigieg is well educated, sharp, and had exposure to advising large complex organizations (including Government agencies) at McKinsey.
That is about as relevant as Duffy's similarly non-transit background in his role as a Representative for Wisconsin.
I personally don't think you need transportation experience in either case if you're a sharp, adaptable person and I don't know enough about Duffy to say anything disparaging - it's certainly not a concerning appointment at face value (from my view), but at least be balanced in going after Buttigieg for something equally applicable to Duffy.
No airline is hiring unqualified pilots.
Except for president♂️
As far as qualifications on paper, the DOT secretary has usually been a political appointee without airline experience.
In the 1950's and with the old Civil Aeronautics Board, airlines expressed political views and were rewarded or punished. American was Democratic and Continental was Republican. Both airlines are dead now. America West runs the American brand and Texas International runs the United brand.
@Ben- with all due respect, you have no issues with democratic candidates for virtually every government position highlighting how they will focus on DEI initiatives to increase diversity in the industry, but when Trump lists it as one of the things he wants his Transportation Secretary to do, you can't handle it....
Read the article again before posting a comment like this. Trump specifically said he wants DEI to be something the new secretary DOESN’T allow (ie eliminates)
@ ML -- I think I'm handling everything just fine? Sorry, did I miss when Biden nominated Buttigieg, and the only focus he listed for the airline industry is to increase DEI?
@Ben - apologies if I came off a little harsh. I merely wanted to point out how this would've been treated had it gone the other way. And for the record, while Biden may not have made it his priority for Buttigieg, it was clearly Buttigieg's priority nonetheless. https://rollcall.com/2021/02/23/buttigieg-makes-equity-a-top-priority-for-dot/
@ ML -- Often tone gets lost when writing online, so my apologies if my response made you think I interpreted it as harsh, as that wasn't the case.
I'm not looking to get into a big DEI debate. I have my feelings on the matter, but I don't think we're going to change any minds in this in the comments section. Absolutely, DEI is something that's important to Buttigieg. It's something I overwhelmingly agree...
@ ML -- Often tone gets lost when writing online, so my apologies if my response made you think I interpreted it as harsh, as that wasn't the case.
I'm not looking to get into a big DEI debate. I have my feelings on the matter, but I don't think we're going to change any minds in this in the comments section. Absolutely, DEI is something that's important to Buttigieg. It's something I overwhelmingly agree with him on. But I also understand how and why others interpret it differently.
Back to your initial comment, if Biden had nominated Buttigieg, and he listed the only priority for him with airlines as being "making our skies safe again by introducing DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers," I would've of course called that out, because that's not the single biggest priority for the industry.
Surely we can agree that whether we're for or against DEI, that shouldn't be the single biggest priority for aviation in a country where our air traffic control system needs a full overhaul, and serious modernization?
The primary concern of DOT, at least with regard to aviation, is keeping air traffic flowing as efficiently and safely as possible. I am less concerned with how the incoming administration deals with airline mergers as how they administer the actual operations part of the puzzle.
And here is where it gets tricky and unfortunately, partisanship may encroach. Not so much on the DEI issue, with is a red herring, but on the competency...
The primary concern of DOT, at least with regard to aviation, is keeping air traffic flowing as efficiently and safely as possible. I am less concerned with how the incoming administration deals with airline mergers as how they administer the actual operations part of the puzzle.
And here is where it gets tricky and unfortunately, partisanship may encroach. Not so much on the DEI issue, with is a red herring, but on the competency side. This arises out of whether, and to what extent Schedule F is implemented as advertised by the incoming administration. Schedule F, for those not familiar, is a proposal to make many Federal employees who are now protected under the civil service rules, into political appointees, meaning that any incoming administration can replace an agencies personnel to a large extent.
Whether this means that FAA and TSB middle managers (including the men and women actually handling flight control and safety oversight) will be subject to a political litmus test rather than being judged on core skills is yet to be seen: however, given the preference of the incoming administration for loyalty above all else, there is some justified concern.
You don't have to worry about ATC middle management, half of them are already incompetent.
Front line managers usually don't work traffic except when the workload is light (slow periods of the day).
What's more worrisome is the potential to eliminate various agency positions that they view as waste, at which point they may expect controllers to pick up that slack. Imagine if the ATCS working your plane... or your families plane... has to split...
You don't have to worry about ATC middle management, half of them are already incompetent.
Front line managers usually don't work traffic except when the workload is light (slow periods of the day).
What's more worrisome is the potential to eliminate various agency positions that they view as waste, at which point they may expect controllers to pick up that slack. Imagine if the ATCS working your plane... or your families plane... has to split their attention between working air traffic and doing facility scheduling or training documentation or any other busy-work in the name of that "effeciency" that Musk wants.
Maybe it won't be quite that egregious, but maybe they cut controller rest breaks back so they can do busy-work. Now you've got an even more fatigued controller working your aircraft.
Good. I’m glad common sense comes back to the U.S. and these insane policies stop. The main priority should be improving the crumbling infrastructure and air/road/maritime safety. I don’t think we’ll ever see EC261 consumer protection in the U.S. as this would bankrupt every single airline within 6 months.
@ Stefan -- I'm curious, why do you think an EC261-style compensation scheme would bankrupt every US airline within six months, while European carriers do just fine with it?
Please..no more government intervention. No one here truly understand the challenges of what airline shave to do to operate in the environment they do. Flying is a miracle..cross the country for $200 then take away am airlines profits if they are late... Come one!!!
Yes, take away government intervention and let capitalism continue without controls. Let every airline merge into one giant airline with infinite pricing power. Then airfares will be many times what they are now.
Oh wait, that's a terrible idea.
Considering how much profit DL and US rakes in from credit cards and FF, they can easily compensate for something similar to EC261. Besides such a law would force airlines to perform their best. And EC261 can also be circumnavigated by airlines with exceptions beyond airline controls. Sometimes even for silly things like Swiss does
The previous administration passed a massive infrastructure bill to fix our crumbling infrastructure. Trump has promised to cancel any uncommitted funds from the bill when he takes office.
Republicans have not passed a major infrastructure spending bill in the last 40 years and that trend is not likely to change.
United and Delta each made over a billion dollars in net income last quarter, why do you think holding them responsible for flight delays...
The previous administration passed a massive infrastructure bill to fix our crumbling infrastructure. Trump has promised to cancel any uncommitted funds from the bill when he takes office.
Republicans have not passed a major infrastructure spending bill in the last 40 years and that trend is not likely to change.
United and Delta each made over a billion dollars in net income last quarter, why do you think holding them responsible for flight delays / protecting consumers is a bad idea?
The idea of EC261 isn't to make airlines pay it out. It's a mechanism to force airlines to focus on passenger delays/cancellations so that they don't need to pay it out.
I don't think I've noticed anything material Chao or Buttigieg has done that has dramatically changed my flying experience in the past 8 years. I expect this dude to do exactly the same. Fix the air traffic control staffing problem and stay out of the way.
I fully expect Buttigieg to run for office in 2028, people seem to like him.
@ Alonzo -- Ultimately the world doesn't change overnight, and you're right, there's not one single thing that has dramatically changed the flying experience. However, with consistent investments over time, things do change for the better.
I would not expect him to run, there is still huge hurdle. As much as US Business world has accepted LGB…T (maybe not Ts) into their fold, that is far less the case in politics. Strong religious beliefs are firm across many demographics and those drives votes, even amongst religious black - Latino voters who are consistently known to vote Republican when they see people different from their beliefs. This was also very true amongst...
I would not expect him to run, there is still huge hurdle. As much as US Business world has accepted LGB…T (maybe not Ts) into their fold, that is far less the case in politics. Strong religious beliefs are firm across many demographics and those drives votes, even amongst religious black - Latino voters who are consistently known to vote Republican when they see people different from their beliefs. This was also very true amongst many black - Latino voters this cycle who did not like the abortion and gender positions of Democrats.
Pete is an amazing choice for Prez. Very less controversy, a real family man like Ben, and an efficient bureaucrat-politician too. He can very well get far ahead in DNC caucus but in the presidential election, he will definitely loose.
US is not yet ready for a gay president, unfortunately.
But who knows, the world might change in 4 years and I will be proven wrong but right now I consider the best choice for democrats to be a strong figure with a vocal following.
The new cash refund for cancellations rule seems like a decently large one.
The way they forced Airlines to issue refunds is very major. And they were finally starting to crack down on the frequent flyer miles inflation fraud, but that's probably going to stop since interests of corporations (owners) are being put ahead of voters (workers).