On the bright side: planes should be a bit emptier once the backlog is cleared!
 

As the public cuts back on their flying due to lengthier security processes and perceived lesser security, you may have an empty seat next to you!

Oil futures dropped today too. I bet traders are betting that air travel will drop. If this issue has a lasting effect, then it could result in emptier planes--and the concomitant lower prices.

... and more bankruptcies in an industry just starting to recover. :(

Yes you can count on the big one going this time. I was talking to the airport manager last quarter in LAX and she said that if they didnt start posting a profit and make the cost cutting they needed to do then they would be wrapped up. Well they did post a profit last quarter but now with this new death knoll knocking on the door................bye bye birdie

I'm seeing a little bit of karma in this.

The airlines bilked people with high fares during the summer. Now they may have to give some of those profits back.

Quite a statement about an airline with $5.1 BILLION dollars in the bank, an amount BTW, which increased by about $1 BILLION dollars since exiting bankruptcy. I do believe that someone else may go out of business if this gets rough but I think you better look at NW and DL long before UA is in trouble.

They'll just cancel more flights, silly.

Bilked people? The price was fuel has been sky high, not to mention that most airlines have been trying to operate their services with the same number of aircraft (or considerably fewer) than they had five years ago. It's supply and demand. It can hardly be said that the airlines have been gauging customers. God forbid the airlines should try to recoup their operating costs.

Posted in wrong thread and deleted. Robyn

So true. But maybe there will be a month or so of less full flights.

Are you guys done panicking?


Air travel isn't going to change significantly because of the foiled terrorist plot in the UK. The only long-standing security change that might stick is a prohibition on liquids. Hardly the end of the world as we know it.

Two weeks from now, we will not be talking about "lengthier security processes". It'll be business as usual.

I'm not altering my flying habits because I have to drop a couple bucks on a mini-tube of Colgate when I get to where I'm going.

I've been flying all summer long and I don't believe the airlines have been gouging us. My fully refundable last-minute fares to Seattle (from MCI via DEN on UA) have jumped about $40 from where they were a year ago. (From about $630 all in to $670 all in, round trip.) I don't think that's terribly unreasonable given the current market conditions. Granted, I give credit to WN for holding the costs in that range, not UA, but still I don't believe there is any unfair practice going on. If I ever decide those fares aren't worth it, I can simply choose not to fly.

By the way, thank you Brits for actually breaking up the terrorist plot to begin with.

I agree. People said the same things after 9/11, and yet many airlines have record load factors just a few years on. Planes were emptier for a while, but even the TSA couldn't keep people from flying.

Thanks,

Dr. PITUK

And carryon bans
 

And the carry-on ban. No, it isn't end-of-the-world, but it can be a real pain for many people and make flying much more unpleasant.

I can live with being required to buy sealed bottles of water, but banning all carry-ons would be a real problem, especially on long flights.

Yes, I think things will quiet down and we'll be allowed to take on liquids and carryons, perhaps with extra screening of liquids. Let's see what happens.

The real concern is whether we can carry on bottles of water, reading materials (books, etc), medicine, including OTCs, and our electronics that cannot be checked in.

Agreed. ^ ^ ^

They experienced record load factors because the airlines cut their total number of flights significantly.

I for one will choose to drive without a doubt if the drive is under 10 hours. After you factor in driving to airport, getting there early to get through security, sitting around in the airport and on the tarmac, flying time, waiting for luggage, and a fairly good chance of delay, plus all the inconvenience and chance of luggage getting lost, driving is the better choice.

"I for one will choose to drive without a doubt if the drive is under 10 hours."

Have you done many 10 hour drives? Ever done one in the winter? You can go ahead and say you're going to do that, but somehow I doubt it's reality. Anyone who is willing to drive for 10 hours because security might now take 30 more minutes is driving already. This might sway people's decision if they are on short hops, but not many people want to drive for 10 hours. It's all the discomfort of flying, the hassle of piloting yourself, but with traffic and many, many hours added on.