Tuesday’s launch of the up to 800 seat Airbus A380 is a useful time to consider the state of air travel:

• Milwaukee based Midwest Airlines has substantially reduced it’s award winning business class service. I imagine the wide seats will be gone completely in the near future. Tom Daykin takes a look at Midwest and wonders which direction they will go. I frankly think they should take another look at slightly up market service. The race to the bottom is never a successful strategy.
• The use of regional jets (50 to 100 seats) continues to grow. In effect, we passengers are packed in tighter than sardines on these small jets. Some airlines fly these things on 1000+ mile routes. Not a great way to travel.
• The emerging microjet or air taxi business offers an interesting glimpse into the future. 4 passenger jets….