It might be a good time to invest in bubble wrap.

The other morning, I heard on NPR that back in 1981, air traffic controllers went on strike.
So, President Ronald Reagan fired their bahookies.
And hired all new ones who were mostly in their 30's.

Apparently, as of this year, a lot of them are hitting the mandatory 57-year-old-retirement-age.

And new ones must be hired. Lots of newbie air traffic controllers.

Sidenote: Have you seen this movie, Pushing Tin?
Hilarious comedy about feud between two air traffic controllers. Cusak and Thornton.
Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett are in it also.





The FAA had to know this was coming, right?
So, they prepared for this?

Ahem. Nope.

Instead of a gradual transition, steely-nerved air traffic controllers with decades of experience are going to be replaced en masse with rookies.




I'm thinking it's probably not a good year to fly.

But I already have two trips planned involving airplanes...one of them here, the other here.
and I want to go to the BlogHer Conference in Chicago too.
That's three trips, maybe.

I might have to start packing these into my carry-on.

Can we bubble wrap planes?
Make them fly real slow so that if they bump, no one gets hurt?
Any good ideas?