Coffee, Tea, or Mike Flynn on Airline Regulations on CNBC?

Nick Gillespie & Dan Hayes | April 30, 2008

Reason Foundation Director of Government Affairs Mike Flynn appeared today on CNBC to discuss "airline misery" with former Department of Transportaton Inspector General Mary Schiavo.

What's to blame for rising fares, long delays, and the demise of Braniff? Watch this white-hot, four-minute debate for answers, dammit.

Click on the image below to view.

More Reason Foundation material on airlines and airports here.

Comments

|4.30.08 @ 1:40PM|#

"I don't even know what color the sky is in Mary's world"

HA!

robc|4.30.08 @ 1:43PM|#

Is it normal for CNBC to pluralize words with a dollar sign? Or is that just a blurry image.

I see: AIRFARE$

robc|4.30.08 @ 1:44PM|#

Okay, the S in Since looks sorta similar and the dollar sign in the previous line is shaped different. Im going to blame the image.

Rimfax|4.30.08 @ 1:45PM|#

transcript?

|4.30.08 @ 1:52PM|#

All I know is I generally fly a discount airline (Southwest) and haven't had a non-weather-related delay in probably a year. Am I just really lucky?

robc|4.30.08 @ 1:56PM|#

ClubMedSux,

That is generally my results with Southwest too. Except for flying BWI->SDF which is always late.

Now, in Dec 2006, my SDF->BHM flight landed at BWI, but that was weather related. (Okay, they put me on a different flight becuase my flight to Birmingham wasnt going to happen in time for me to get to JAX like I needed, so they diverted me to BWI, still seemed odd)

|4.30.08 @ 1:56PM|#

clubmedsux, I was thinking pretty much the same thing. People complain about air travel so damn much. I fly 3-4 times a year for business. I always book the cheapest possible flights, usually with southwest.
I have no complaints. It is almost always a somewhat pleasant experience for me.

Brian|4.30.08 @ 2:00PM|#

Amusing to watch the bureaucrat constantly flip-flopping between whether prices are too high or too low.

Yeah, service is bad. Fuel is expensive, and most customers would rather have fewer frills than pay more. And one of the more obnoxious elements is the TSA security theater.

|4.30.08 @ 2:03PM|#

Mary Schiavo would blame the first 2 little pig's houses on deregulation.

Guy Montag|4.30.08 @ 2:07PM|#

When did Mike Flynn stop drag racing?

|4.30.08 @ 2:11PM|#

I thought it said "former Department of Transportaton Inspector Terry Schiavo" at first. I just had an incredible spit take at my desk.

|4.30.08 @ 2:21PM|#

Is she still hooked up?

Naga Sadow|4.30.08 @ 2:21PM|#

Mike Flynn totally owned the beauracrat in that debate! Totally worth ignoring my friend's phone call.

Taktix®|4.30.08 @ 2:25PM|#

What's the difference between Terri Schiavo and a cell phone?









When the cell phone is dead you can plug it in again...

|4.30.08 @ 3:00PM|#

[neil hamburger]

Why did Terry Schiavo go to hell?

Well, for the sin of sloth of course!

[/neil hamburger]

|4.30.08 @ 3:13PM|#

On a side note, I thought it was hilarious when Mary Schiavo made the comment that Mike Flynn wasn't considering the cost of walk-up business flights when he said that airfare is cheaper. Who cares if flying is cheaper for the Average Joe... Businessmen might have to fly coach!

Dello|4.30.08 @ 3:50PM|#

Michael,
"I thought it said "former Department of Transportaton Inspector Terry Schiavo" at first."

And you wonder why so many planes aren't fit to fly: Looks like somebody was brain-dead on the job...

Dirty Frank|4.30.08 @ 6:54PM|#

Sounds like the pulled the wrong Schiavo's feeding tube...