Putting aside the increased delays, the padding on its own is good for us, right? Having a more conservative estimate makes planning easier, especially when connecting flights.
The padding makes it easier for an average person to not miss flights. But it makes it harder for a smart person to schedule optimally, since now the data they have includes an unknown fudge factor.
Imagine if gas stations showed the true price of their gas plus a few cents. You’d be pleasantly surprised when they charged you $1.97/gal instead of $2.00, but your ability to budget precisely would be adversely affected.
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