Airline industry will get a makeover in 2002
Terrorist attacks rocked an already turbulent industry
For the airlines, the grim reality of industry-wide red ink was at hand long before Sept. 11. What was unfathomable was the depth of those losses in a post-attack environment.
Dire as the estimate of a cumulative industry shortfall that could reach upwards of $10 billion for the year is, it is not totally unprecedented and won't wreck an industry that has long weathered such cyclical shakeouts.
What it will do is forever change how Americans - and, really, the entire world -- take to the skies.
The terrorist attacks that horrified the nation and left it without air transport for nearly four days have ushered in a whole new set of security rules and regulations that affect everyone from the catering crew to the passenger to the pilot - no matter what part of the world they are in.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yh oo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid=%7B74D83E0E%2D002E %2D4897%2DB6EA%2D9EFC2E308C6B%7D
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New Sense of Urgency in Debating the Future of Airlines
Long before Sept. 11, many executives, analysts and consultants were convinced that the airline industry had fundamental problems. Even in the best years, returns lagged those of other industries. And recently, with profits slim to nonexistent, the calls for better service, cheaper fares, more public accountability and tighter security have grown louder and louder.
Now, after the attacks, which presented the biggest commercial threat to the airlines in aviation history, the question of the industry's future has taken on new urgency.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/17/business/17FLYY.html
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Please also see:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/003258.html
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With Seats Empty, Airlines Cut Fares to Bargain Levels
Airlines desperate to fill seats in the economic downturn that deepened after Sept. 11 are cutting some fares to levels not seen in years.
The deals include several destinations, like Hawaii and the Caribbean, that have rarely been put on sale during the winter season. On some routes to Europe and Asia where bargains could be found in previous years, the discounts are deeper than usual.
For example, a round-trip coach ticket from Los Angeles to Tokyo is on sale for as little as $398 on American Airlines. Coach seats to London from New York are being offered as low as $198 round trip by several airlines, while business-class tickets to several cities in Europe from the Midwest and East Coast that have full published fares of more than $6,000 are now going for $1,200.
Still, some travelers have been disappointed to find few bargains on the routes that they want to fly. Especially in the United States, tickets to many cities continue to be offered at high prices that were set during the peak of the travel boom, which ended last year. Many of the best fares are already sold out during peak travel periods like the coming Christmas and New Year's holidays. And most such fares carry many restrictions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/18/business/18FARE.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 12-18-2001).]