The Power of Thresholds

In a recent post, I reproduce the figure showing the “stickiness” of odometer readings, when it comes to the price of used cars. Much better to sell your car at 49,999 miles rather than 50,001 miles. But here’s another sticky threshold, that was reported on at 538.com. It shows that when airplane flights leave 40 minutes late on long flights, the pilots speed up in order to make an on-time arrival. But if they leave an hour late, and an on-time arrival is out of the picture, they revert back to their normal cruising speed.

pilot speed

I am not sure this picture will help your peace of mind the next time you are sitting in an airport, wondering just how delayed your flight will be.
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