Letters to the Editor
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for me, it's the decision making
What I see most of all is a overwhelming disincentive for airlines to cancel or reschedule flights. For the airlines, if there's a 20% chance of flying and saving themselves millions of dollars, that's a gamble worth taking. It's a very bad bet for the passengers, though.
I was once trapped in a terminal (not a plane, thankfully) for 6 hours during a snowstorm while the airline (a respected European carrier) hoped against hope that the weather would clear. At about 2 a.m. they gave up and announced they'd try again tomorrow. Now, maybe they really were surprised that they weren't able to fly... but I doubt it. Take away the cost, and I have no doubt that by flight time they would have made the same decision they finally made 6 hours later, in the middle of the night.
We need a system that really allows (requires?) airlines to reschedule when it's prudent to do so. Penalties for trapping people past some point is one way to go. But there should also be some other ways to get there from here. What do the economists say?