During a summer storm at Boston Logan International Airport, flights were grounded, affecting many travelers, including Maxwell Tabarrok's parents. Analyzing 30 years of transportation data, Tabarrok discovered that long flight delays are now four times more frequent. Airlines have started padding scheduled flight times by an average of 20 minutes to artificially enhance on-time performance metrics. This strategy has resulted in longer actual travel times and an estimated annual economic loss of $6 billion in passenger time due to these added delays.
Long delays of three hours or more are now four times more common than they were 30 years ago, indicating a significant trend in flight delays.
Airlines have padded flight times, averaging an additional 20 minutes, to improve on-time performance metrics even as actual travel times increase.
The hidden economic cost of this padding accumulates to roughly $6 billion in lost passenger time annually, reflecting broader systemic issues.
From 1987 to 2000, actual and scheduled flight times remained close, but since then, airlines have diverged from this trend to mask delays.
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