Sept 11th 2002 Flights??
May 8, 2002, 1:11 pm
#1
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Sept 11th 2002 Flights??
Just did a little checking and discovered something interesting.
Was thinking that this Sept 11th there would be a psychological drop off in air travel given the one year anniversary. No doubt that week there will be a number of retrospectives on TV which I think will reintroduce a higher level of anxiety in the traveling public.
Thought it would be a good time for a run since fares may be lower around that time.
Lo and behold I couldn't find any discounted trips. Even cross country flights which mimic the trips of the hijacked planes are selling at a premimum. (The AA morning flight BOS to LAX is selling for $1299 in coach with no Sat stay)
I for one will be flying not only to support the industry but to keep my elite status.
Any thoughts? Or am I just crazy here. Shouldn't flights around 9/11/02 be discounted?
Was thinking that this Sept 11th there would be a psychological drop off in air travel given the one year anniversary. No doubt that week there will be a number of retrospectives on TV which I think will reintroduce a higher level of anxiety in the traveling public.
Thought it would be a good time for a run since fares may be lower around that time.
Lo and behold I couldn't find any discounted trips. Even cross country flights which mimic the trips of the hijacked planes are selling at a premimum. (The AA morning flight BOS to LAX is selling for $1299 in coach with no Sat stay)
I for one will be flying not only to support the industry but to keep my elite status.
Any thoughts? Or am I just crazy here. Shouldn't flights around 9/11/02 be discounted?
May 8, 2002, 1:51 pm
#2
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Yes, you might be crazy joebeenyc. Whenever you research for tickets more than 1 month out, airlines always give the higher price as they think your dates are set in stone. Weeks closer to that date however, you will see fare sales and the like. I am sure the load factor is low that day but most travel will be watched very very carefully that day.
Security would be more touchy (no pun intended), maybe less flights and more tense flyers and FAs.
Last thought, imagine something did happen that day, would you really want to be on a mileage run with multiple segments considering the chaos last year of travel stopped for days? Platinum status does not get you into heaven any faster but I do hear hell has less of a line!
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If It's Such a Small World Then Why Have I been Sitting on this Airplane for Twelve Hours?
Security would be more touchy (no pun intended), maybe less flights and more tense flyers and FAs.
Last thought, imagine something did happen that day, would you really want to be on a mileage run with multiple segments considering the chaos last year of travel stopped for days? Platinum status does not get you into heaven any faster but I do hear hell has less of a line!
------------------
If It's Such a Small World Then Why Have I been Sitting on this Airplane for Twelve Hours?
May 8, 2002, 3:07 pm
#3
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by requalifly:
Platinum status does not get you into heaven any faster but I do hear hell has less of a line!
</font>
Platinum status does not get you into heaven any faster but I do hear hell has less of a line!
</font>
that's not what I heard......
May 8, 2002, 10:59 pm
#4
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I never thought about this, but it's intriguing. I would definitely be interested in doing a run that day, if for no other reason than to support the industy. I agree that sales should be forthcoming.
May 9, 2002, 10:40 am
#5
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I guess when you say "sale" I am thinking "no way" - i.e., there's no way they're going to highlight that day or bring attention to it. Quiet discounting? Perhaps, but I still kind of doubt it. To any degree that they issue really low fares specifically for that day, you have a bunch of people like us telling our family, friends and coworkers "wow, I got on that same AA flight that crashed last year for $50 this morning!"
I just don't see marketing or yield management consciously discounting into such a situation.
I just don't see marketing or yield management consciously discounting into such a situation.
May 9, 2002, 1:06 pm
#7
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My thinking is yields will be lower due to the anniversary. Airlines will need to discount fares to put people in the seats.
Economics may cause the reductions in fare. Thats just my opinion I could be wrong.
Economics may cause the reductions in fare. Thats just my opinion I could be wrong.
May 10, 2002, 6:17 pm
#8
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The airlines would be stupid to create a one-day sale for Sept. 11, 2002.
Sure, they'll probably will be fare discounts for the month of September 2002, or awards available at discounted levels or sales for the Fall season, but not a one-day sale.
Anyways, the country would freak if they thought that the airlines are trying to benefit on behalf of this disaster, even if done unintentionally.
Sure, they'll probably will be fare discounts for the month of September 2002, or awards available at discounted levels or sales for the Fall season, but not a one-day sale.
Anyways, the country would freak if they thought that the airlines are trying to benefit on behalf of this disaster, even if done unintentionally.
Jul 2, 2002, 11:53 pm
#9
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Jul 3, 2002, 6:36 am
#10
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by requalifly:
... Platinum status does not get you into heaven any faster but I do hear hell has less of a line!...</font>
... Platinum status does not get you into heaven any faster but I do hear hell has less of a line!...</font>
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preez mine da pratform gahp.
Aug 1, 2002, 6:37 am
#11
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Priceline came out with an earnings release yesterday. Buried in the numbers were statements saying the Sept advance bookings look "abysmal". Also heard AA & United are cancelling flights with routes similar to the ones involved on 9/11/01.
I knew over a month ago that the advance of 9/11 would have an adverse effect on bookings. I think as we get closer to the date it will be even more pronounced. I for one am taking the 9/9-9/12 off and going on a few runs (to show my support and pad my FF accounts). With the anticipated low load factors prices are sure to decrease.
My 2 cents.
I knew over a month ago that the advance of 9/11 would have an adverse effect on bookings. I think as we get closer to the date it will be even more pronounced. I for one am taking the 9/9-9/12 off and going on a few runs (to show my support and pad my FF accounts). With the anticipated low load factors prices are sure to decrease.
My 2 cents.
Aug 1, 2002, 6:48 am
#12
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I do not believe that the airlines will necessarily lower airfares for 9/11 but I would certainly expect substantially reduced
scheduled flights on or around that date.
scheduled flights on or around that date.
Aug 1, 2002, 7:20 am
#13
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From Associated Press:
By Dave Carpenter
AP Business Writer
Thursday, August 1, 2002; 7:07 AM
Some of the nation's largest airlines are cutting back their Sept. 11 flight schedules, bowing to Americans' reluctance to fly on the anniversary of the attack.
American and United, the two biggest carriers, are making unspecified reductions for that day based on weak bookings. No. 3 Delta is trimming flights for the entire work week of Sept. 9-13.
Unease about another terrorist strike is behind the decline in bookings, but so are patriotism and remembrance, according to interviews with consumers, travel agents and industry experts.
Some said the date just doesn't seem right for scheduling business or pleasure trips.
"To me, that's a national holiday now," Donnie Rose, a 49-year-old policeman from Cambridge, Ohio, said at the airport in Columbus. A frequent flier, he will avoid the skies that day.
Even for a midweek in September, a traditionally slow travel period, numerous agencies nationwide say they have noticed a particular reluctance among both business and leisure travelers to make reservations around Sept. 11, which falls on a Wednesday.
"A lot of people don't want to travel that day just for the feeling of it," said Marat Shkandin, a manager at Liberty Travel, just blocks from World Trade Center site in New York. "The actual day still means something to people."
More than 3,000 people died that day after suicidal hijackers crashed commercial jetliners into the trade center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Air travel fell dramatically after the attacks before making a strong comeback. Government measures have helped invigorate the ailing industry, including a multibillion-dollar bailout for struggling carriers and toughened checkpoint standards.
But passenger traffic was still down 10.4 percent in June from a year earlier, according to the industry's Air Transport Association. Many consumers remain skittish about air travel, with polls indicating that security improvements have only partially restored lost confidence.
Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the airline association, played down the fear factor while acknowledging that travel may be down on Sept. 11.
"It'll be business as usual that day. In fact, one of the safest places to be on 9-11-02 will be aboard a commercial aircraft," he said, citing the stepped-up security. "But I think people will be focused on other issues and not necessarily taking a trip."
None of the airlines cutting flights would say how many will be canceled or on which routes. Among those flights that won't be operating are those for the four planes that went down in the attacks. American Airlines retired the two daily flights, while United renumbered its two and canceled them altogether for the anniversary.
"We have made a small adjustment in our schedule downward just for Sept. 11, because of anticipated lower demand," said United spokesman Joe Hopkins. "But we'll still be operating the bulk of our schedule," including all international flights.
American, the No. 1 carrier, expects to cancel a smaller number of flights on Sept. 10 and Sept. 12 because bookings are lagging. Delta Air Lines cut back for a longest period, Sept. 9-13, citing weak bookings.
Northwest declined to comment and Continental Airlines hasn't decided whether to scale back on Sept. 11. Spokesmen for both US Airways and America West Airlines said they anticipate neither a travel drop-off nor schedule adjustments.
Nervousness about flying could be highest in the cities of last year's attacks. At STA Travel in Boston, where two of the hijacked flights originated, agent Idoia Mezo said it's clear people are trying to avoid Sept. 11 flights.
"If they can choose, they won't take the 11th," she said. "It's more like a superstition than being scared."
In New York, cook Darryl Cherry said she wouldn't mind traveling on Sept. 11 "so long as it's not by plane." Neery Melkonian, who also works in New York, said she would have no trouble flying that day.
"Life goes on," she said. "Besides, I don't think they'd strike on the same day again."
By Dave Carpenter
AP Business Writer
Thursday, August 1, 2002; 7:07 AM
Some of the nation's largest airlines are cutting back their Sept. 11 flight schedules, bowing to Americans' reluctance to fly on the anniversary of the attack.
American and United, the two biggest carriers, are making unspecified reductions for that day based on weak bookings. No. 3 Delta is trimming flights for the entire work week of Sept. 9-13.
Unease about another terrorist strike is behind the decline in bookings, but so are patriotism and remembrance, according to interviews with consumers, travel agents and industry experts.
Some said the date just doesn't seem right for scheduling business or pleasure trips.
"To me, that's a national holiday now," Donnie Rose, a 49-year-old policeman from Cambridge, Ohio, said at the airport in Columbus. A frequent flier, he will avoid the skies that day.
Even for a midweek in September, a traditionally slow travel period, numerous agencies nationwide say they have noticed a particular reluctance among both business and leisure travelers to make reservations around Sept. 11, which falls on a Wednesday.
"A lot of people don't want to travel that day just for the feeling of it," said Marat Shkandin, a manager at Liberty Travel, just blocks from World Trade Center site in New York. "The actual day still means something to people."
More than 3,000 people died that day after suicidal hijackers crashed commercial jetliners into the trade center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Air travel fell dramatically after the attacks before making a strong comeback. Government measures have helped invigorate the ailing industry, including a multibillion-dollar bailout for struggling carriers and toughened checkpoint standards.
But passenger traffic was still down 10.4 percent in June from a year earlier, according to the industry's Air Transport Association. Many consumers remain skittish about air travel, with polls indicating that security improvements have only partially restored lost confidence.
Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the airline association, played down the fear factor while acknowledging that travel may be down on Sept. 11.
"It'll be business as usual that day. In fact, one of the safest places to be on 9-11-02 will be aboard a commercial aircraft," he said, citing the stepped-up security. "But I think people will be focused on other issues and not necessarily taking a trip."
None of the airlines cutting flights would say how many will be canceled or on which routes. Among those flights that won't be operating are those for the four planes that went down in the attacks. American Airlines retired the two daily flights, while United renumbered its two and canceled them altogether for the anniversary.
"We have made a small adjustment in our schedule downward just for Sept. 11, because of anticipated lower demand," said United spokesman Joe Hopkins. "But we'll still be operating the bulk of our schedule," including all international flights.
American, the No. 1 carrier, expects to cancel a smaller number of flights on Sept. 10 and Sept. 12 because bookings are lagging. Delta Air Lines cut back for a longest period, Sept. 9-13, citing weak bookings.
Northwest declined to comment and Continental Airlines hasn't decided whether to scale back on Sept. 11. Spokesmen for both US Airways and America West Airlines said they anticipate neither a travel drop-off nor schedule adjustments.
Nervousness about flying could be highest in the cities of last year's attacks. At STA Travel in Boston, where two of the hijacked flights originated, agent Idoia Mezo said it's clear people are trying to avoid Sept. 11 flights.
"If they can choose, they won't take the 11th," she said. "It's more like a superstition than being scared."
In New York, cook Darryl Cherry said she wouldn't mind traveling on Sept. 11 "so long as it's not by plane." Neery Melkonian, who also works in New York, said she would have no trouble flying that day.
"Life goes on," she said. "Besides, I don't think they'd strike on the same day again."
Aug 1, 2002, 8:15 am
#15
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