Justin Wolfers, from the Freakonomics blog, has noticed something troubling on US Airways. The clothes hangers are gone from First Class.

Arriving uncrumpled used to be one of the few perks for those at the front of the plane, but now the racks behind seat 4B sit unemployed. It can’t be that these hangers had much value on the secondary market, and the number of flight attendants hasn’t changed, so I can only guess that the cost reductions come from the fuel savings that come from carrying a few less ounces. (How big could these be?)

If this is true, Wolfers suggests it may backfire on US Airlines as passengers start packing their carry-ons with hangers.

One commenter had another theory about the missing hangers.

Maybe it was a typo in a cost reduction memo:

“maintain fewer hangers”

versus hangars.

Crumpled suitcoats abound.

Free the Hangers [Freakonomics]
(Photo: Flying Photog )

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