What happened to "free flight"?

Free flight—the notion that commercial pilots should pick their own routes to save fuel and shorten travel times—has been dying a slow death at the hands of the FAA, overseers of air-traffic control. The idea, first brought before Congress in 1994, is enchantingly simple: Pilots would fly the routes of their choosing and change those routes when necessary to avoid other planes. "Today, I have all the navigation capability I need to fly the way I want, anywhere I want," says R. Michael Baiada, 58, a captain for United Airlines. But pilots have to do the bidding of ATC, and the low-tech system corrals aircraft into indirect, congested routes. Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant who's testified before Congress on the subject of free flight, says ATC uses just 3 percent of available U.S. airspace. And because ATC's technology is so out of date, controllers separate planes at great distances—imagine the traffic jam that would ensue if cars on an interstate had to stay 100 yards apart. Boyd estimates that free flight could be implemented for less than $5 billion and be operational within three years. The system would free up more controllers to monitor takeoffs and landings, which would ease the congestion at major airports. But don't expect to see free flight soon. Instead, the FAA is hard at work on its NextGen system, a $15 billion technology update that should be ready sometime around 2025.

What happened to glamorous flight attendants?

Nothing. They're all beautiful, especially when they're beaming down at you from the booze cart. But we know what you mean. In the U.S., safety and practicality—not to mention fair hiring practices—have ushered out the days when airlines shamelessly sold sex appeal and designers like Ralph Lauren put together outfits for TWA. That's probably a good thing. But some foreign airlines continue to care about style. Malaysia-based AirAsia's flight attendants sport fitted uniforms, while Singapore Airlines continues to market its glamorous "Singapore Girls." And, says Brian Finke, a photographer who spent two years working on his book Flight Attendants, Icelandair wins points because "the flight attendants still wear hats."

Which is the least reliable airport in the country?

Newark Liberty, which is smaller than JFK and LaGuardia airports but absorbs runover from New York's two major hubs, suffered the most delayed arrivals in the U.S. last year (39% of all flights). Newark's average arrival delay (71.7 minutes) also ranked dead last among the country's 32 major airports.

Which is the most reliable airport in the country?

Salt Lake City wins the gold star with the fewest delayed departures (15% of all flights) and arrivals (19%) of any major airport, as well as the second-fewest cancellations (0.7% of all flights). Metropolitan Oakland had the shortest delays last year, averaging 41.8 minutes on departure and 45 minutes on arrival.

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, January–December 2007