Any decrease in flyers, I wonder
 

I was just wondering if hassles with security and crappy airline service has had any noticeable impact on the number of people who choose to fly. Today, for the first time in my life, I cancelled plans for a trip just because it is a pain in the neck to fly. It was a vacation trip, not something I had to do, and it just all seemed too much of a pain. Am I alone in finally saying "Screw this. I can't be bothered?"

You're not alone.

Did you try googling the question? Quite honestly, I fly a lot and the hassles aren't much different than they were before. The bigger issue is what the airlines are doing.

Sadly, it seems that more people are flying this year than in past years in spite of the TSA and bad treatment by airlines.

http://tsanewsblog.com/13856/news/su...e-despite-tsa/

1. Air traffic in and from the US is way up and it looks as though this will be a banner summer season. So, the answer is a resounding no.

2. With pre-check being deployed more and more, even those who may have found the checkpoint a hassle have little about which to complain.

Bottom line is that you should enjoy your vacation. So, if there's some vague issue, you should stay home. But, it's clearly not a trend or mainstream view.

As soon as they get rid of the Peek-a-Boo booths (body-scanners), pat-downs for those who opt out of them, shoe removal requirements, ban on liquids (over 100ml outside of a 1 qt baggie), and "sharp" objects like fingernail clippers, I will start flying again. Until then -- no dice, as I am old enough to remember the saner days of security before 9/11, Mr. Shoe Bomber, and Mr. Underoos Bomber. :p

This article provides another view:

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/06/1...ake-the-train/

I personally don't care what the "mainstream view" is. I stopped flying when the body scanners and "enhanced" pat downs became primary. It's all about my morals, values, and religious beliefs, which I won't sacrifice because they make up the core of who I am. And l will continue to spend my travel money elsewhere until saner and less invasive methods are in place.

I still go on vacations and enjoy them, much more so than if I would have had to deal with the unnecessary stress and anxiety I would face at a checkpoint these days. I am also involved in a long-distance relationship where we are separated by approximately 800 miles. Everything is fine. We are finding ways around the whole TSA stupidity.

Probably a minority here & I'm a retired airline employee for those who may not know but I pretty well ditched it as long as I can get in the car & drive. Like others I just could no longer deal with the bull .... of TSA & being raped because I'll not go through the "nude" machine.

Despite the nonsense I continue to fly.

In my case it is a lot more inconvenient and time
consuming to not fly.

I also truly enjoy the flying part.

I am retired and have the time and money to travel but I stopped flying when they installed the scanners and started the enhanced pat downs. I was a victim of molestation when younger and if anyone put their hands on me at the airport I would probably wind up in jail. When people ask me why I don't fly I tell them that security at the airport violates my 4th Amendment rights - but it goes much deeper than that for me.

I made a switch in my employment to avoid work travel because of the assault on privacy and rights by the TSA. I've also given up on air travel for leisure and vacation unless there is no other way about it. Two or three day car drives are a standard now, requiring me to use extra vacation. But it's worth it to keep the perverts of the TSA's hands/eyes off of my wife and I.

There was an economics paper published on this question, which I have somewhere but can't seem to locate at the moment. The authors objectively demonstrated the approximate number of people who have been killed by the TSA since it was established. They controlled for variables such as seasonality and changes in base level demand to estimate the number of people who decided not to fly because of the TSA, and who travelled by road instead, then applied the difference in mortality rates between these two modes of travel to calculate gross deaths, and then substracted reduced terror deaths to estimate the total net increase in mortality arising from the TSA. Will post here if I can find it.

Hate to break up all the idle speculation with actual statistics, but ...

http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/press_releases/bts013_14

Short version:

• From 2007-2009, there was a big drop in US passenger traffic (roughly 50 billion passengers out of a total of 830 billion). However, that time period also coincides with the recession in the US, which might be seen as a better explanation for the drop than dissatisfaction with the airline industry.
• Since 2009, there has been steady growth in US passenger traffic (roughly 1-2% each year), to the point that current traffic loads are approaching the peak reached in 2007.

Of course, one could argue that this growth rate could have been higher with a better traveling experience. But that would be sheer speculation. One could just as easily argue that the imposition of "security theater" had an effect on increasing passenger traffic, since it provided emotional reassurance to those for whom security theater is designed to impress.

In short ... the raw data doesn't really support a conclusion that bad passenger experiences has lead to a decrease in passenger traffic.

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

My wife rarely travels with me anymore because I am not able to stand by and watch her be "scanned" or "patted" without causing a major ruckus. I fully understand your opinion and feelings on this issue.

Relevant article on the FT homepage today: "Travelers Forego 38 Million Trips to Avoid Hassles"

http://www.frequentflier.com/blog/tr...avoid-hassles/

Take with a grain of salt, seeing who commissioned this study.