bluebravo

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/13/news...ion=2006121310


Now before some of you go off half cocked saying the media.....blah blah blah....

This actually makes sense. The fact that there is fewer airlines could make flying very difficult for some who fly or have gotten the chance to fly after 9/11...

mike734

Good. The public needs to spend much more on flying. They have been spoiled for too long. Flying is cheaper today than ever before. Let them drive if they don't want to fly. HA.

bluebravo

Hmmm........not sure what to say to that one

hatetobreakit2u

good in the long run, yes
not good for the next 10 years waiting to get the thousands of guys off of furlough, both major and regional levels

Skygirl

Hmmm...I've been thinking on that one Mike. I agree that airfare wars were ruining the industry, both for the crews, as well as the traveling public -they definitely needed to be raised. But truly, do we know what effect consolidation is going to have on the passengers, as well as you pilots? Would it cut many routes (and put many pilots on furlough) and raise airfares so high that the traveling public opt to drive instead of fly?

I can't even begin to imagine what effect it might have on you pilots, if say, a CAL/UAL merge happens, but speaking from a different point of view in the same industry, I'm concerned. My latest issue of the travel industry bible states that although leisure travel has gone "slightly" up, business travel is down. Business travel has long been the bread and butter of the airline industry, booking last minute, and paying the higher fares, but all of my industry sources are saying that business is clamping down on business travel and opting more for video and conference calls. It's a very cautious time and I am carefully following the weekly trend reports that I receive. Last year was an upswing, but it's starting to fall. Hotels, rental cars, etc. all made huge jumps in rates over the last year. Couple that, with giant airfare leaps = companies clamping down on travel expenses....it's a bit nerve-wracking for us all.

ToiletDuck

Could be a good trend in the long run. Get the prices of tickets going up and make the glory days come back. Of course there will be fewer pilots. But that's how it was in the past. The one that everyone complains isn't around anymore.

hatetobreakit2u

although i agree somewhat with you skygirl, i bet part of the equation why business bookings are down is because of the increase of fractional ownership corporate jets. a corporate jet once out of the reach of one business is now becoming more of a reality because they only need to buy 10% of it instead of 100%

Skygirl

Fractional corporate jets are definitely on the upswing, I won't dispute that. But truly, the people that they fly and serve, mostly corporate executives, have nothing to do with the hundreds of thousands of business travelers who may be flying to conferences and sales meetings, or business incentive travelers. They don't put those folks on the corporate fractional jet. One of my clients is a former senior TWA captain who opted for early retirement after the AA fiasco, and he is happy flying millionaires around the country, but he isn't flying the thousands of sales reps, etc. around on the corporate fractional jet. Those traveling road warrior sales reps, and business conference folks, is the business that I was speaking of.

Pilotpip

One of the big places that business travelers have been lost is short-haul. St. Louis, for example. Flying costs about 5 times as much as driving to Chicago or KC. It also only saves me about an hour by the time you factor in security. Now, if I have to pick up a rental car it's equal.

Agree about the fares. They're too low. The problem is that every airline is loosing money (short of Southwest) yet nobody is willing to raise prices. It's like they're all purposely bleeding to death but hoping they have more blood than the other guys. Rather than matching Southwest's fares, why not do something to set yourselves apart? This is the reason that your business traveler avoided the LCCs in the first place. However there's no difference in product anymore. It's working for Continental.

Spongebob

Speaking from the business side, travelling on an airline for a meeting is such a pain now it's not worth the money (aka time):

Travel to the airport, get there 2 hours prior. Check luggage (if you have to). Carry on your suit (uniform) in case your luggage gets lost. Get strip searched at the terminal. Argue with TSA for 30 mins about the "classified" material in your briefcase that no, they can not see. Oh, and you need to travel a day early in order to make sure you make it in time.

Sit in airport, board flight. Plane is so cramped you can't do any work on the plane.

Land, sit in airport again waiting for a connection. You schedule the layover for 2 hours in order to not miss your flight. Board next plane. Same routine with being cramped.

Get in, get car, try to find luggage.

Go to meeting(s)...repeat trip back.

Quite simply, people are using Video Teleconferencing or Conference calls for 90% of business nowadays as it doesn't take some out of work for 3 days to do a meeting.

And that's assuming you don't end up late somewhere and miss the last flight to Jacksonville, NC, and have to spend the night in Charlotte; get to your hotel at 0130, crash, and get up for the 0630 to arrive late for a 0900 meeting.

Commercial air is just way too painful for routine business flying.

Those that have to do hands on work with clients will most likely go fractional, own a plane outright or charter - less sitting around, and you can get a lot done enroute. No connections, no lost luggage.

My $.03
Spongebob