A couple of years ago, a reporter asked Blackpool FC’s manager at the time, Mick McCarthy, about his team’s terrible form, saying, “One win in 17. It can’t go on like this, can it?” The Irishman took a beat, smiled grimly and said, “It can.”

US air travelers know the feeling. No matter how punishing they might have thought flying was in recent history, it just seems to keep getting worse. It’s certainly not the most important thing going on in the world right now, but it adds to a malaise among American consumers that could have real economic and political repercussions.

© Bloomberg