I'm Sorry, So Sorry...

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The novel Love Story made this line famous: "Being in love means never having to say you're sorry." But this week two of the country's largest airlines, United and American, decided that being an airline means sometimes having to say you're sorry. Especially when you run a lot of flights through Chicago's O'Hare airport, where weather and air traffic control problems have led to a record number of canceled or delayed flights over the last six months. The two airlines sent letters of apology to their most frequent flyers to make up for the 4,677 United flights and the 2,700 American flights that experienced difficulty at O'Hare.

Anyone who flies often knows airlines find it pretty difficult to apologize. Heck, most of us are grateful if a ticket agent will explain why a flight is delayed or canceled. To head off congressional legislation, the airlines last month promised to do better. Although, just last weekend, Delta couldn't seem to tell my daughter the reason her flight from New York to Miami was delayed seven hours. Turns out it was weather.

What's with that? Are thunderstorms some kind of national security secret? Look, we want to reach our destination -- the airlines want to get us there. Seems to me we're all in this together. The airlines need a fundamental shift in attitude. I hope this week's gesture by United and American is a start.

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