June, 2008

Will Road Warriors Be Grounded?

With rising fuel costs, higher airline ticket prices and the constant barrage of media hype, it is no wonder that road warriors are cautiously worried about the current state of airline travel. In the last few months I have experienced more than one flight cancellation, for no apparent reason. My conspiracy theory is that the airlines are calculating the fuel cost against each flight’s total revenue and then making the business decision whether or not it is profitable to proceed with the scheduled flight. They seem to be making these decisions regardless of how travelers are inconvenienced. After all, what are we really going to do? While I would love to show the airlines that I am completely fed up, throw my ticket on the counter, and then storm off to the rental car desk and start driving to all of my destinations, that is just not a realistic option.

Flight delays have also become more common recently. If you are flying in or out of New York, Boston or Chicago, forget about it! Over half of their flights are over an hour delayed, 365 days a year. No one is quite sure when they got off schedule, but seasoned travelers have come to expect the added delays. Again, what are we going to do? Not flying to, or through, some of the world’s busiest airports is not a realistic option.

Here are some more interesting facts: Continental is going to reduce its work force by 3,000 people and reduce its capacity by 11 percent this fall. United is going to cut up to 1,100 jobs, ground 70 airplanes and completely close their coach-only service carrier, Ted. The largest air carrier, American, chimed in saying it would cut thousands of jobs and drop capacity 12 percent after the busy summer season. Finally, Delta, who will soon own Northwest, is planning to cut capacity by 10 percent in the second half of 2008.

With fewer flights and higher fuel costs, this fall will see record high fares and airports will become more crowded, if that is even possible. The media tells us that fewer people will travel because of these factors and that hotels and the related travel industry will lose billions. But that is what the media wants us to think because it is a good story.

I believe - no, that is incorrect. I know that Americans are resilient. The events of 9/11 brought the travel industry to its knees, but we recovered and have had record earnings in the last five years. If road warriors will still get on airplanes when they are literally falling out of the sky, a spike in fuel cost and airfares is not going to keep us grounded. Right?

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