Random economic anecdotes from my Thanksgiving travels:
I never truly notice the 2000+ mile difference between my home in Seattle and Rochester until I sit on my ass for more than seven hours. This aside, airports proved to be a very apt locale to observe economic concepts in action. One of the first things I noticed when I was checking in was the plethora of computerized check-in stations. Some might argue that the introduction of this technology eliminated ticket agent jobs. There was actually, however, an abundance of agents directing people where to go and stepping in when the computers couldn't complete requests. This was especially helpful when, on account of the Continental/United merger, I couldn't use the computer to check in. The check-in technology likely created more jobs upon it's implementation when the computer service jobs are factored in with the front desk agent positions.
Unfortunately, there isn't a direct flight between Rochester and Seattle, so I had the pleasure of connecting in Chicago. The Midwest isn't the most lovely of places, but I would rather fly through O'Hare than a large number of other places. The Midwest region isn't particularly health-conscious, so searching for consumables other than McDonalds-like health level took a bit of looking. When I finally stumbled upon a vendor that sold something with actual vegetables, the line was decently long. The wait signaled the degree of salad scarcity. Regarding allocation of these scarce goods, the price system was of extraordinary assistance because other distribution methods would have probably caused me to miss my flight.
My last economic point on airline travel centers around the "everything's great and no one's happy" concept. Griping was commonplace during the day-before-Thanksgiving travel rush. People were upset about not having open overhead bins above their row, making a fuss about needing to consolidate their carry-ons to meet regulation requirements, and visibly perturbed that United Airlines would suggest that Pepsi was a substitute good for Coke. The fantastic idea that we were able to make a cross-country journey in the span of seven hours was totally lost on all of these travelers. Instead of bitching about the little things wrong with their flight, these people should marvel at the fact that they reached their Thanksgiving destination in a matter of mere hours.
This is fantastic!
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