Why are flights delayed?

Every single flight I have taken this year has been delayed.

I know that is the least I deserve for trashing the planet and flying, but to be fair, how else can you get to the states? I long to drift for weeks on the Atlantic but the shit is far to expensive and the crap they use to power boats is one part coal and two parts soot.

Back to the original question - why are they delayed? Did they get lost on the way? Maybe the Turkish pilots fly like they drive and cause all sorts of havoc in the skies over that particular part of the world. Maybe but that doesn't explain the delays in Britain and the US. Have the people who were in charge of timetabling the trains in Britain asked to consult on plane timetables worldwide? I mentioned this in passing to two Brits in the lounge area and the wife laughed but the husband got all defensive and the like on me, overly patriotic reaction to someone with an American accent daring to question the way the empire is run.

Which brings me onto another question - why are British people so defensive?