I flew out on Monday on American. First to Chicago on a teeny tiny plane from Kalamazoo. We got there on time and the second flight to Washington was also on time. Again, a very small plane (the smallest one I've ever taken to Washington from a major city). All carry on luggage was "valeted" into a hold. Actually, this part is really cool IMO. All World War II WAC veterans are receiving a Congressional Medal of Honor this week in Washington. I sat next to one of the WACs who was from a small town outside of Knoxville, Tennesseee. She was this tiny woman who could still wear her service uniform (she had it on). During WWII, she had flown B-26s. She told me that she had enjoyed flying them until too many of her friends had been shot down. Then all she wanted was to come home. When she got home, she got to keep her parachutes which had bullet holes in them. Her sons used them as curtains in their rooms. She lives in a convalescent home today but does the bookkeeping and small management tasks. Wow.
Back to the airline. The insides of all four planes were old. Seats did not move up and back as they should have. All the planes were small. Flights out of Chicago were late all day yesterday because of early morning fog. Are US airlines in trouble? Why would they be?
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I think the quality of airline travel has been in a slow decline since the beginning of the century, obviously being accelerated by the 9/11 crisis and subsequent airline terror threats after that. The degradation of this industry is probably one of the most tangible effects of such threats on America. Since the amount of people traveling decreases out of fear, the airlines increase or create fees on minor components of travel that should probably be inclusive, like bag checking or in-flight pillows and blankets. The cycle of compensating for profits lost from low travel and the number of travelers lost because of increase in prices leads to further deterioration of a once powerful industry. I think this is a good example of the way that people respond to incentive (or in this case, don't respond to a lack thereof).
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Bridgett makes a good point about incentives. Another one is that oil is more expensive now which means that airlines are not as profitable as they once were. Think about how the variable cost curves are shifting up because of oil and fear.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the flights have to be more expensive due to the price of oil per flight. Also the economy right now doesn't allow for everyone to pay that price for a quick trip across the country. More people will take buses and trains to their destination now because they are cheaper and a lot less of a risk. Another thing that people don't want to go on airplanes is for the fact of being on a small type of airplane like Prof McKinney was on, they are not comfortable and have the ability to shift a lot in their flight. People would rather be on something bigger and safer if they were to fly.
ReplyDeleteI agree that airlines did take a hit after 9/11. Newer security measures posed because of 9/11 and other terrorism concerns also make flying much more inconvenient, which may make people reconsider flying. As less people use airplanes, the airplane companies try to make up the money by raising prices and charging for things that were originally free (for example, Northwest airlines pulled the complimentary pretzels and has started charging for snacks), as mentioned by Bridgett. Extra charges make people reconsider using airplanes, and so the cycle continues. I've always considered airplanes as the best way to travel, so I'm concerned about what's happening to airlines.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the discussion we had in class about monoplolies relates to the airline buisness. Perhaps at the beginning of the buisness there were only a few companies. As more companies started to enter the market the profits were cut. It seems like an airline is an economy of scale, because it takes a lot of fixed cost and capital. Just like the rainroad companies. Perhaps the airlines would be better off as a monopoly. It's one thing if a knock-off croc's strap breaks, but its a different problem for an airline.
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interesting, from my own experience, I kind of enjoyed the international flight I had before. Except once, in Chicago, I lost my luggage and my two flights that day were all delayed, that made me really frustrated. O'HARE airport probably is just...not my place, every time I went there, flights delayed,so crowded that you can't even stand on the train when you need move from A terminal to C terminal...things like that...
ReplyDeleteBut, I have to mention, the international flight I had before, UA,AA, they were nice,clean and huge. They also offered great services. But I can't deny, the domestic airlines sometimes are not as nice as international one...kind of surprised me in some way...E