Flight delays cost the U.S. economy $41 billion last year

including higher airline operating costs and lost passenger productivity and time, according to a study by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Delayed flights consumed 740 million additional gallons of jet fuel, costing an additional $1.6 billion; passengers were delayed by 320 million hours and 20 percent of all domestic flight time was wasted in delay, the study found. It was based on more than 10 million individual flight records.