This will be a different kind of column. Usually, I write about things that economics can explain. This time I’ll admit that I’m completely befuddled.

I just don’t get the airline industry, at least not the traditional carriers that have been around since before deregulation. The new upstarts like Southwest appear to have a model that works—but that just makes the older carriers look all the more old-fashioned and obtuse.

Fly the Stupid Skies…