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Outside the Box

Opinion: Air travel is a nightmare. Who’s to blame?

The culprit is blindness to demographic change

Organizations are blind to slow-but-steady change. Photo: DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection

Flight delays, ground stops, and cancellations are all in the news. Travel over the July 4 holiday was described as a flightmare. Who or what is to blame?

The airline industry blames the FAA, the FAA blames the airlines, many cite the lingering effects of the pandemic, some blame technology, others point to extreme weather and smoke from our Canadian cousins to the north, some are even blaming passengers referring to them as “inexperienced travelers.” 

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About the Author

Joseph Coughlin

Joseph Coughlin, PhD, leads the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. Coughlin examines the market and societal implications of demographic change, consumer behavior, and technology trends. He is the author of "The Longevity Economy: Unlocking The World’s Fastest-Growing, Most Misunderstood Market," his latest book is "Longevity Hubs: Regional Innovation for Global Aging," with MIT AgeLab colleague Luke Yoquinto.

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