The future of US air travel doesn’t look pretty

I had a terrible travel experience earlier this week, trying to get from New York’s LaGuardia Airport back down the east coast to my home airport in North Carolina. And I wasn’t alone. My misery was due to a massive summer storm front that swept eastward, causing damage and delays from the Ohio Valley to the Atlantic. That heavy weather threat triggered a last minute cancellation of my original flight, a unilateral overnight rebooking by American Airlines, being pushed to partner USAirways, routed to an airport other than my original destination, then charged nearly twice the price of the flight for an economy rental car to drive the two hours home (all of this for the second time this year). And I didn’t get a pizza from the captain as some lucky fliers did.