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Downgraded: Presidential candidate air travel
It’s not just you. Sometimes, even presidential hopefuls are diverted and grounded by mechanical delays. Barack Obama got diverted to St. Louis, instead of flying on to Charlotte, because of inflight mechanical problems with his campaign’s MD-80 — a plane that was formerly Hillary Clinton’s campaign plane. (His Boeing 757 is in the shop. Seriously.)

Downgraded: Delta’s SkyMiles
Delta has followed on US Airways’ steps in the continuing race to the bottom by slapping fees on frequent flyer tickets. They couch it as a fuel surcharge, which, as I have argued before, should just be considered a cost of business and included in the base fare.

Downgraded: Supply. Soon: Demand
All those reductions in airline schedules are working their way into the system, reducing the available seats. A lot. In Chicago alone, reductions amount to 322,084 fewer seats for sale in the month of November. Expect fares to go up even more as supply shrinks, to the point that demand will peter out, too. Supply, meet demand. Nice to meet you. (At least you might get a cheaper hotel room…)

Downgraded: Vouchers
Vouchers suck. They always have, much like mail-in rebates suck. But this primer on how much vouchers really suck is a good reminder of why this quasi-currency, often doled out by airlines when they screw up, is a royal pain in the butt to redeem.

Upgraded: TSA uniforms
Downgraded: Real law enforcement officers’ happiness
Over the past few months, TSA officers have been getting new uniforms, with blue shirts and (most controversially) a badge. The problem is the badge: In the opinion of many law enforcement officers, the badge confers an authority — symbolic, implied, and assumed by most people — on TSOs which they haven’t earned, weren’t trained for, and could be tempted to abuse. Judging by the defensive vitriol expressed by TSA officers in the comments thread on my original post from August 2007 announcing the new uniforms, this really is a sore spot for both real cops and TSA. I can understand the TSA’s desire for a more professional appearance (”Psychologists who have researched the effects of official-looking uniforms and badges find that they do indeed tend to make people more compliant”) but I fear that the badge — even if it carries as much arrest authority as an “official bikini inspector” badge — is only going to go their heads and lead to more arbitrary selective enforcement. Yay.

Upgraded: Southwest and WestJet
Southwest will be codesharing with Canada’s chief discount carrier WestJet. Much like the old codesharing deal with now-bankrupt ATA, this means Southwest customers will be able to buy tickets to a broader range of destinations, now including international locales. And WestJet has seatback televisions, so that’s an upgrade from the Southwest experience. Sounds like a good deal. But don’t hold your breath: The partnership requires government approval, and is slated for rollout in late 2009.