the sunlight that works

It may be a statistical aberration, but October was the first month that no US passenger sat on the tarmac for 3 hours waiting for lift-off - at least since the FAA started keeping track in 2008.

It was that year the government also threatened to fine airlines for holding travelers prisoner while waiting for take-off. Although the threat has never been followed through with, it could be that the FAA's onlooking eyes are enough to incentivize airlines to clean up their act.

While "sunlight" laws are most commonly known for making government transparent, throwing sunlight on corporations has become popular lately as well. (Tracking airline delays is just one example - if you live in a city where restaurants have to display their health department grade, that's another.)

It may be that, when it comes to the private sector, sunlight is a more effective disinfectant. That makes market sense: if an airline has a shoddy on-time record you may choose to spend the extra couple of bucks to fly a more reliable company - but if our government is doing a below-par job, we have less leeway to choose another government (voting a party out of office or moving across the border are not easy options).