54: Airline Shenanigans

You've probably noticed it: flying on commercial airlines has gotten a lot worse. Covid didn't help, but if we're being honest it wasn't great before covid either. In fact, didn't flying used to be really fun back in the 60's and '70's? What happened to piano bars in planes, good food, and decent legroom? In this episode we will get into how airlines got so bad, and how what we see of the airline industry is the tip of an iceberg of rot and deregulation. Editing and thumbnail by Noah JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE: www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism BIG THINGS ARE COMING Sources: Ryanair abandons controversial Afrikaans test for South African travelers https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ryanair-drops-controversial-test-for-south-african-travelers/index.html Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary accused of racism for saying terrorists are 'generally Muslim men' https://news.sky.com/story/ryanair-boss-michael-oleary-accused-of-racism-for-saying-terrorists-are-generally-muslim-men-11940064 US airline passengers are getting increasingly frustrated. Here’s why https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/jd-power-2023-north-american-airline-satisfaction-survey-results/index.html Summer air travel could be expensive and chaotic. Here's how to avoid trouble https://www.npr.org/2022/06/14/1104820079/summer-air-travel-could-be-expensive-and-chaotic-heres-how-to-avoid-trouble Why is air travel so miserable? - Transcript https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/why-is-air-travel-so-miserable-transcript-1.7140847 Why Flying Is Miserable: And How to Fix It https://www.amazon.com/Why-Flying-Miserable-How-Fix/dp/B0BW661PMJ How United Became The World's Most Hated Airline In One Day https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2017/04/11/how-united-became-the-worlds-most-hated-airline-in-one-day/?sh=66e70e3561f2 Spirit Airlines to Charge New Fee for Carry-On Luggage https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/spirit-airlines-charge-fee-carryon-luggage-bag-surcharge/story?id=10298802 The Ballsy History Of Extremely Crude Ads For Spirit Airlines https://www.businessinsider.com/spirit-airlines-ads-2011-6?op=1 The facts and figures behind Michael O'Leary's horse racing empire https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/horse-racing/facts-figures-behind-michael-olearys-23354749 Hard Ryanair landing https://youtube.com/shorts/ltkIWkUz0dk?si=iGfpgFlZAgLpbGse Pilot Destroys Plane Wing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tur3-W6-q6o