Hijacking the topic a little already and as much as I hate to be on the same side as Dick....
We may scoff and chuckle about the US aviation system and industry as a whole.
But from a safety & efficiency comparison....
They are really no worse (or better) statistically than Australia & New Zealand.
and they have WX, Terrian and conjestion to deal with as well!
Therefore, are we suffering overall from overpolicing & overregulation for no real benifit?