William J. McGee

Feature Interview: Will distraction be our undoing? Whenever we talk about misinformation, the state of democracy, or what new technology is doing to public debate, one book comes up over and over again even though it was written 40 years ago. Amusing ...

So how did the we get to where we are now? A lot of it was foreshadowed in "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by the incredibly prescient Neil Postman in 1985. My good and great pal Andy Postman just spoke to New Zealand Radio on what his father was warning us about.
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Family seating on planes triggers tears, stress and social media rants Airlines face criticism for separating families on flights, despite efforts to address the issue and implement family-friendly seating policies.

Thanks to @washingtonpost.com:
"'To me, it's ridiculous we're still talking about this a decade later,' said William McGee, senior fellow for aviation & travel @econliberties.bsky.social, who has advocated for fee-free family seating for more than 10 years."
www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2026/...

Sean Duffy challenged by Fox News’ Laura Ingraham YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen News

In discussing DOD's sudden opposition to the ROTOR Act, let's recall this absolutely stunning interview with DOT Secretary Duffy in 2025, when he made it clear DOT & DOD don't even speak to each other, let alone hammer out policy. It's mind-blowing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbYG...

Spirit Airlines plans to slash flights, fleet in bid to emerge from bankruptcy as early as spring Spirit Airlines has reached an agreement with lenders to emerge from bankruptcy by late spring or early summer.

Spirit's downsizing has already led to higher fares on routes it once served.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/24/s...

As Air Safety Bill Fails, Backers Say Recent Near Miss Shows Its Need

Pentagon opposition to ROTOR Act. Now we'll see if the legislation will be quickly amended.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/u...

Live Airline Flight Cancellations Info & Statistics - FlightAware Real-time cancellation statistics and flight tracker links for cancelled airline flights. View top cancellations by airline or airport.

Monday was a very tough day for US airlines (especially JetBlue). Current national totals are 3,786 delays & 5,710 cancellations. Record passenger load factors these days raise the question: Where will all those distressed passengers fit once the weather clears?
www.flightaware.com/live/cancell...

“For billionaires, flying into the busiest airports means cutting minutes off their limo rides. For the rest of us, it means they're contributing to more delays and... higher fares."

In @frommers.com, @wjm-air.bsky.social breaks down how the ultra-rich flying private impacts everyone else.

William J. McGee on X: "1/2 🧵 Fox News asks DOT's Sean Duffy what he can do during snowstorms to prevent airfare gouging "jacked up" to "some crazy number" nobody can afford. "Is there anything you can do...to prevent price gouging? Or anything to give passengers some comfort?" https://t.co/GIJSuocscW" / X 1/2 🧵 Fox News asks DOT's Sean Duffy what he can do during snowstorms to prevent airfare gouging "jacked up" to "some crazy number" nobody can afford. "Is there anything you can do...to prevent price gouging? Or anything to give passengers some comfort?" https://t.co/GIJSuocscW

With another huge snowstorm hitting the East Coast today, a reminder: Last month Secretary Sean Duffy publicly stated that DOT won't address airline price gouging during such events. Instead, he put the burden on passengers to determine which airlines deserve your business.
x.com/WilliamJMcGe...

Airlines say the quiet part out loud on loyalty: "Why would an airline do that? Because it is no longer primarily in the business of selling you transportation from Point A to Point B."
And I can recall being criticized for calling them pyramid schemes...
danto.info/Frequent_Buy...

The El Paso airspace drama continues, with so many unanswered questions.
mailchi.mp/9a3a7fcb4be8...

"Duffy already axed the Biden-era rulemaking on flight disruption compensation. Next up may be junk fee transparency that will make booking flights much more opaque."

As consumer protections are tossed out in favor of big airlines,
@wjm-air.bsky.social warns it may only get worse👇

At Consumer Reports we filed a FOIA for DOT complaints on this issue a decade ago. And not once but TWICE Congress (both Houses/parties) told DOT to stop airlines from charging such fees. Yet the bullshit continues Secretary Duffy tells flyers to dress up. Talk about enshittification. Disgraceful.

Off-Duty FAA Inspector Claims He Got Lifetime Ban from United After He Pointed Out Alleged Safety Concerns Paul Asmus is suing the airline for $12.75 million in damages, claiming loss of wages, emotional distress and punitive damages

This will be a critical case to watch.
nz.news.yahoo.com/off-duty-faa...

NEW: Ahead of the Super Bowl, one of the busiest private jet days of the year, a new paper from @ashleynowicki.bsky.social and @wjm-air.bsky.social details private jets' preferential treatment as they further congest airways — and policy solutions to fix it.

As covered in @thelever.bsky.social 👇

Man Shares ‘Unpopular' Opinion About Airline Travel-Internet Has Thoughts A blunt take on reclining seats exposes how little room economy flyers have.

William McGee, senior fellow @econliberties.bsky.social, noted legroom on major US carriers has declined by several inches over recent decades. He added they "just kept whittling it down until finally it got to the point where just about everybody noticed."
www.mercedsunstar.com/living/artic...

2/2 Duffy: "We don't price fix for the airlines." But: "We know when our airlines are gouging us...you look to the airlines that actually don't do that and you give them your business."

Wow. There it is. Airlines engaging in unfair & deceptive practices? DOT won't be doing anything to stop you.

‘Across the spectrum, we’re having issues’: Transportation Secretary says crews working ‘overtime’ amid winter storm | Fox News Video Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy discusses thousands of flights being canceled due to a winter storm and what to expect for road and air travel in the coming days on ‘The Big Weekend Show.’

1/2 🧵 Fox News asks DOT Secretary Sean Duffy what he can do during snowstorms to prevent airfare gouging "jacked up" to "some crazy number" nobody can afford. "Is there anything you can do...to prevent price gouging? Or anything to give passengers some comfort?"
www.foxnews.com/video/638830...

NTSB issues 50 safety recommendations to FAA, Pentagon and others as D.C. midair crash investigation concludes - The Air Current

BREAKING: The NTSB issues 50 total safety recommendations to the FAA, Department of Defense and other entities as the D.C. midair crash investigation comes to a close.

via @theaircurrent.com

theaircurrent.com/intel/ntsb-i...

x.com/WilliamJMcGe...

"We allow Boeing and the airlines to self-police. Can you tell me what they've done in recent years to earn that trust? They haven't."

@wjm-air.bsky.social discusses the FAA, the government shutdown, and the problem with having companies self-police.

Eye on Travel - New York - January 24, 2026 - Peter Greenberg Travel Detective This week’s broadcast of Eye on Travel is from a very cold New York City. I have all the updates, including how airlines are now saving money on fuel costs, thanks to…Ozempic? What the TSA has been se...

Happy to join long-time pal Peter Greenberg to discuss the upcoming year in air travel--airlines, Boeing, FAA, DOT's Sean Duffy, etc. Our talk starts at 26:20.
petergreenberg.com/2026/01/24/e...

Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....

Just went you thought DOT's laissez-faire oversight of airlines couldn't get any worse...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Travel's dirty little secret: How your comfort is engineered for profit Learn about the dirty strategies airlines and hotels use to influence your spending and how to protect your wallet.

AIRLINE: Want some free, overly salted snacks?
PASSENGER: Yes please.
[10 minutes later]
AIRLINE: Want to pay for a drink now?

Great piece by @elliottdotorg.bsky.social on how travel companies game their products to sell you junk fees.
www.elliott.org/on-travel/tr...

An important statement on the Boeing 787 from my airline safety colleague Paul Hudson at FlyersRights:
www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

Want to skip the bot and talk to a human? It could cost you A number of travel companies want you to pay extra to bypass the bot and talk to a human. The Travel Troubleshooter opines on why that's a terrible idea.

These extra charges could fall hardest on Americans with less access to tech.

“Smartphones, laptops and other electronic toys are beyond the financial reach of quite a few Americans,” @wjm-air.bsky.social says.

www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/...

United's strong quarterly profits match Delta after turbulent 2025 United’s fourth quarter earnings beat Wall Street’s estimates, with revenue up 9% in the planes’ front cabins and up 7% in the economy cabin.

And the Delta trend continues with United: Wealthier Americans are spending more on premium bookings. And low fare airlines find it hard to keep up.
www.marketplace.org/story/2026/0...

Travel companies want to charge you to speak with a person over a bot — a move that will disproportionally impact those who cannot access tech easily.

“Smartphones, laptops and other electronic toys are beyond the financial reach of quite a few Americans,” @wjm-air.bsky.social warns.

U.S. Travel Association: Government shutdown cost travel sector $6.1 billion On average, the U.S. saw 88,000 fewer trips per day during the shutdown.

www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/...

Yes, and it's intentionally complicated. These systems are designed to induce a certain percentage of people to give up and walk away.

Opinion | Life Is Too Short for Frequent-Flyer Miles The complexity of trying to ‘optimize’ everything has a cost.

This is truer than ever, particularly since there are fewer and fewer seats available for redemption. In chart form, FFPs look like a pyramid. As in scheme.
www.wsj.com/opinion/life...