The New York Times’ Matthew Wald reports that the FAA expects already miserable flight delays to worsen. Wald touched on the subject earlier this year, but his update emphasizes an especially bleak summer. Some contributing factors:

• Unprecedented Traffic – Air traffic has recovered to surpass the peak year of 2000 when all those VC dollars were buying tickets for all those 22 year-old VPs of Internet Business Development. Those kids all all back on the plane, this time as 29 year-old Managers of Internet Business Development. It’s Web 2.0 y’all…you know…ajax ‘n’ stuff?...
• International Traffic – The rest of the world is getting mobile, and the sliding dollar makes Disneyland as cheap as a Saturday afternoon at Chuck E. Fromage.
• Crazy Weather – The National Weather Service is calling for record-breaking hurricane and tropical storm activity. An inconvenient truth, indeed.
• Union Hijinks – Aside from a wave of retirements and the resulting under-staffing, the guys watching the scope have been accused of slow-down pranks to get back at The Man. The union is apparently looking into it.

What’s the FAA’s solution? An as-yet-undefined software system jointly overseen by NASA, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. Hmmm…big government software projects? What could possibly go wrong with that?

So what to do? If you can at all afford it, stay away from major commercial airports. Even private planes can’t avoid the congestion and scarcity of runway slots at the major hubs. The good news is that most private flyers are better served by smaller airports closer to their destinations.

We’re hearing that private jet providers have had a strong year to date, buoyed by the robust stock market and the growing roster of the very-wealthy and ultra-wealthy. If you’ve considered private jets but have yet to pull the trigger, we recommend a quick charter trip or one of the simple card programs. They’re easy to get into and out of, and they’ll help determine whether private aviation is a good fit for your lifestyle. If the answer’s yes, you’ll want to sign up with a provider in time for your summer vacation plans. For the full skinny on private jets, download the free Helium Report Decision Guide to Private Jet Travel.