> it makes it harder for a smart person to schedule optimally, since now the data they have includes an unknown fudge factor. The fudge factor always existed,

> it makes it harder for a smart person to schedule optimally, since now the data they have includes an unknown fudge factor. The fudge factor always existed, it is now the airline's job rather than mine. They have an incentive to pick a good-enough one, while adjusting it daily/weekly while I tend to fly once every couple of months and that too to a completely new airport most of the time. If you do the fudging right and leave enough padding, it makes everyone happy - if you pad too much, you lose business as several normally possible connections become impossible by the published schedule. Indigo did this in India a few years ago and the flights were 30-45 minutes longer on paper (like a 90 minute flight marked as 120), but because of their on-time reputation they got a lot of business customers who take multiple flights a day over other airlines.