> Lie-flat beds in business class? On-demand entertainment? Power outlets and wifi? Well those are certainly improvements, but they're basically hacks around

> Lie-flat beds in business class? On-demand entertainment? Power outlets and wifi? Well those are certainly improvements, but they're basically hacks around the fact that flying is now slower than it was in the past. The biggest impediment to speed today is the dreaded 'Cost Index' which nearly all airlines now implement. I think Boeing have a different term, but it's the same idea; the crew are given a target CI which they punch into the flight management computer and which then determines the Mach number according to the cost-saving target. Flying from Belfast to London is now timetabled at 20 minutes longer than in 1973, regardless of the extra standing-in-line at either end.