Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said he planned to file a bill to ban the sale of seats on planes in the air during the coronavirus pandemic. I would have been on an American Airlines flight and I’d feel like there were too many people. Although this type of law is popular for some, it has no clinical basis and an incredibly naive understanding of the fundamental economy. It’s the law through emotion, not through data.
There is sufficient evidence to recommend that you dress with a mask and a combination of intelligent distance to decrease the threat of transmission of the virus. Airlines require masking and compliance, adding that it prohibits passengers from flying while the mask requirement is in effect. The ban on the sale of intermediate seats does not create social estrangement and I have not noticed any studies identifying a positive link between empty middle seats and alleviating the spread of the virus. The vertical airflow mixture, the HEPA filter, everyone who sits in front, facing the back of a seat or partition, and applying the mask creates an environment that some have compared to a hospital. Sitting 18 inches from someone doesn’t create significant incremental barriers to sit next to them. So give one in science for this bill.
Economically, not allowing airlines to sell a third of their product has significant consequences for airlines and the economy. Fares would be fired to cover the costs of the aircraft, fuel, other people and the services required to perform an advertising flight. Decades of knowledge show how sensitive air is, meaning small value adjustments are causing disproportionate adjustments. Lower the value a little and many other people decide to do it through the plane. Increase values and request rock-like falls, unless those who don’t yet have an option to fly. This bill would take thousands of people out of the paint and, once again, slow the economy rather than keep it on its ever-low positive slope. I learned those concepts at the Princeton School of Public Policy, but maybe the senator missed that course when he attended. He hit two in the economy of this bill.
Finally, airlines compete for consumers and competition, resulting in better products. American said loudly and transparently that they would sell all their seats and Senator Merkley saw the effects of that in real time. But other airlines, adding Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, all to block seats on planes as a strategy to attract consumers. By the way, all four airlines fly to Oregon. Senator Merkley and others who are upset about U.S. policy can send a message to Americans and praise airlines that do the right thing when flying on airlines that voluntarily offer seating blocks. Third strike by suggesting regulation when the market is already directly solving the central challenge in an effective and easy-to-use way.
This bill deserves to die in silence, because it is a bad policy that does not correspond to the realities of science and economics. If you live in Oregon and are still not convinced that air travel is safe, there is Amtrak. On this journey, you’ll have enough time to believe in new, crazy tactics to regulate the economy in oblivion.
I am the former CEO of Spirit Airlines, where my strong team became the highest margin airline in North America and created a new style for air travel.
I am the former CEO of Spirit Airlines, where my strong team redesigned the company to become the largest airline in North America and created a new air style in the United States. Now I sit on the forums of several public and personal companies, I am an assistant professor of economics at George Mason University and co-host of the popular weekly podcast Airlines Confidential.