Fly By Night, Rob By Day

US corporate profits hit a fifth straight record year in 2013 and that includes the airline industry, which is now flying high at the expense of workers, passengers, and taxpayers.

The nation's airlines continue to rebound from the recession and the 9/11 terrorist attacks with a report Monday of $12.7 billion in net profits last year, up from $98 million in 2012.

The profits come on $199.7 billion in operating revenues for the nation's top 26 airlines, compared with $156 billion for 2012, according to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 

For 2013, the airlines collected $120.6 billion from fares, $3.3 billion in baggage fees and $2.8 billion from reservation change fees. Fees for food, WiFi service and other onboard extras are not reported separately to the bureau. 

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the industry lost a cumulative $55 billion before the nation's airlines started a rebound in 2008 by consolidating carriers, adopting bag fees and cutting less-profitable routes. 

"We have every fee known to man," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of the travel site Farecompare.com. "That tells you why there are profits now." 

Airlines also increased profits by filling more available seats on bigger, newer, more fuel-efficient planes. 

In 2013, the number of flights from the top 26 airlines dropped to 9.1 million, down from 9.3 million in the previous year, according to the Department of Transportation. 

At the same time, the number of passengers grew from 734 million in 2012 to 741 million, according to the federal agency.

So the airlines are specifically gunning now to give us worse service, fewer flights, and less competition. Revenues jumped by nearly a third, fares and fees jumped especially at smaller airports.  In fact, airlines are rewarded for giving us as awful service as possible.  There's no profit motive in good service for the industry anymore.

But of course we can't regulate the airlines, because taxes and regulatory burdens are too awful.  So awful in fact the airlines are making record profits...