Why is flying so miserable?
Everyone knows that the glamorous days when flying was a part of your vacation have vanished—but the reasons for this sad state of affairs are surprisingly complicated. The quick version goes like this: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has done a spectacularly poor job of managing our air-traffic-control (ATC) system, causing record-setting delays. Meanwhile, you can blame your wooden food and cramped knees on the penny-pinching airlines. Not a good-enough answer? We didn't think so, either. So we put together these 20 burning questions and then asked the experts.

What are pilots not telling you?
Surprising secrets from Captain Joe Burns, 46, a Denver-based United pilot
1. Psst … you can keep your cell on. Any one cell phone is not going to do anything to the aircraft. The problem is when you have a bunch together. We have such a wide variety of frequencies—from VOR navigation [VHF Omnidirectional Range] to GPS. We want to minimize the chance of any interference.
2. The air's not so bad. We have HEPA filters on the aircraft. People worry about catching colds on airplanes. But that's probably the purest air people breathe in their lives.
3. They do take naps. You're supposed to be at the controls for no more than eight hours at a time, and our international aircraft have bunkhouses up front.