Last year, the President opened up military airspace along the Eastern Seaboard to Thanksgiving travelers.

Today, as expected, Mr. Bush did it again – only on a much broader basis – by expanding the effort to include the Midwest, Southwest and the West Coast of the U.S.

These extra lanes allow aircraft more room to maneuver in order to avoid bad weather, and subsequent delays. However, a spokesperson for the air traffic controllers’ union said this is nowhere near what is needed:

“It is all for show and, frankly, this show is getting quite tiresome to the American traveling public that has gotten fed up with mounting delays and FAA mismanagement that has degraded the system during the current administration.” –Doug Church, National Air Traffic Controllers Association

Ah, but here’s something everyone will like: starting in December, the federal government is increasing the compensation airlines must pay passengers when an airline loses a bag – the amount jumps from “up to $3,000″ to “up to $3,300″.