Tom Kubik

SUPPLY AND DEMAND are pretty simple concepts. We all understand them, and they play a large role in our everyday lives. The cost of the items we purchase rests, in large part, on how these two key economic factors interact.
As life gets back to normal, we’re watching this play out in real time. Demand is rising and supply can’t keep up, driving prices higher. We’ll be seeing this in airline tickets, and not just because of skyrocketing oil prices.

I NOTICED AN AD from a discount airline the other week for a ticket from Cincinnati to Fort Lauderdale for $76 roundtrip. Folks, you can’t drive between those two cities for $76. The same carrier was advertising a bunch of other roundtrip tickets with similar prices.
Crazy cheap.
I get questioned all the time: Are these airlines safe? Do they have good pilots? Are their jets kept in good mechanical condition? Are they as safe to fly as American Airlines—my old employer—or Delta or United?

LET’S SAY YOU BOUGHT a few stocks on the advice of your financial advisor for $300,000. One year later, that same advisor says you’ve done really well on the stocks—which are now worth $400,000—and you should sell. After the sale, you net a $100,000 profit. Would you be willing to pay your advisor a 6% fee on the $400,000, equal to $24,000, for the advice he gave you?
If so, I’d think you were crazy.

WHEN I STARTED flying for American Airlines in 1978, the industry was regulated. Routes, fares, airline size, pretty much everything the airlines did was controlled by the Civil Aeronautics Board. Then, later that year, the Airline Deregulation Act became law. Overnight, rules governing the industry changed.
This had far-reaching effects. But the biggest change was the cost of airline tickets. They became a lot cheaper.
Over the next 40 years, established carriers went bankrupt and disappeared.

I WAS AN AIRLINE pilot for 42 years before retiring about a year ago. Traveling was the job and, of course, the opportunity to fly free on days off was a big deal. That meant more traveling. Now retired with kids and grandkids scattered around the country, my lovely bride and I continue to fly regularly.
Planning your next trip? Here are nine tips to make the inevitably stressful experience a little better:

Never book a trip with connecting flights unless it’s absolutely necessary.