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Mar 2023
19m 57s

What’s causing the US airline chaos?

Financial Times
About this episode

Recently, flying in the US seems to be more chaotic than calm. And while it may seem like this all started recently, the FT’s Chicago Correspondent Claire Bushey takes us back to a decision that happened in the 1970s that got us to where we are now. 


Clips from NBC, PBS, CBS

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For further reading:

How the US fell out of love with flying

Passengers to keep ‘paying the price’ of aviation chaos, says United CEO

Hyper-efficiency is bad business

US airlines: higher fares and (hopefully) better service

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On Twitter, follow Claire Bushey (@Claire_Bushey) and Michela Tindera (@mtindera07)


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


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