By Grady Andersen, Staff Writer

The current state of aircraft and airlines is horrible and getting worse, and I am sick of it.

I used to live in Dallas, a town home to two separate main airports: Love Field for Southwest Airlines and Dallas-Fort Worth for American Airlines. Having the ability to fly to pretty much to any airport is one I now miss. Now living in a faux international airport city, Des Moines, Iowa, the only flights we get are to hubs such as Chicago-O’Hare or Denver, most of the time on regional jets. I’m only able to fly to about 15 locations directly, which means a layover before getting to my final designation. I end up flying in the same type of aircraft, having no variation no matter where I go.

I am not suggesting that we return to a lost era of home-like airplanes, but can we have more variety? Unless you are travelling across the country or a long international flight, you are more than likely flying in a Boeing 737 or Airbus A319-21. The smaller routes are Embraers and Bombardier CRJs. It’s time to demand changes to the way we travel the skies.

It all starts with the aircraft. The first 737 was produced in 1966. The A320 family started in 1986. While the engines and upgrades have evolved and increased performance, the designs have remained largely the same. Now entering a new era of aviation, where airlines are slowly starting to switch back to a more comfortable experience, manufacturers’ current aircraft no longer fit these new goals.

Not only that, but most designs have reached their peak performance. This led to the introduction of the 737 MAX, which was supposed to usher in a new generation of Boeing’s flagship aircraft. 

What ended up happening was several accidents, a major scandal regarding the plane’s new autopilot system and one of Boeing’s worst years financially in 2019, a drop of nearly 400 aircraft deliveries. While they have recovered, this seems to have woken up the company, as it has reinvigorated their work on the Yellowstone project, aimed to overhaul all of the major aircraft markets.

This does not squarely fall on the aircraft manufacturers, but also partially on the airlines. Aircrafts getting used to the maximum of their performance, causing delays and airlines getting more and more greedy have caused several key issues. In the past half decade, Southwest has made several decisions that have caused them to smear the reputation they built up.

After the struggle of their holiday schedule in 2022, in which the airline canceled over 15,000 flights, they got fined a record breaking $140 million by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This led to a hedge fund buying a stake in the company and installing a new CEO. Soon after, they announced that they would be getting rid of the free checked bags and establishing assigned seating, the advantages that made people fly Southwest. This, on top of a rapidly aging fleet, has drawn concern for the airline.

Southwest is not the only airline dealing with issues. American Airlines seems to be heading the wrong direction. The company has been lagging behind its competitors in profits and is experiencing an increase of delays and cancellations. This has caused a lot of weird drama where the flight attendant and pilot unions have voiced their concerns to the airlines board of directors, ignoring the CEO Robert Isom.

Not only is American Airlines struggling in the company’s direction, they are struggling to hold a major hub. Chicago-O’Hare is United Airlines headquarters and American Airlines’ third largest hub, behind Dallas-Fort Worth and Charlotte-Douglas. The company is now being forced to pour resources into this airport to stay. Resources it does not have. Soon, the airline might lose its Midwest hub, severely affecting the company’s abilities to fly to more than 15 states.

As someone who loves airplanes and piloting, I am concerned and annoyed about the future of the industry.