3 Reasons Not To Fly
I hope that none of our readers were victims of the latest airline fiascos, and I’m not talking about the lousy inflight service or flight delays. No, this seems to be the year that airlines are hanging the “Closed For Business” sign at the ticket counter.
- Aloha Airlines was the first domino to fall on March 20th when it announced it was ceasing passenger service and made its debut in bankruptcy court 10 days later. Aloha, which provided inter-island service for the Hawaiian islands will continue its freight service. Aloha had been unsuccessful in finding a buyer or financing.
- April 2nd was Indianapolis-based ATA airlines day in bankruptcy court after ceasing operations. Rising fuel costs were to blame as well as the loss of a major government contract.
- Skybus is the latest victim of rising fuel costs and a slowing economy. Both reasons it cited for ceasing all operations on April 4th and announcing it was filing for bankruptcy. May would have marked the first anniversary for this Columbus, OH based airline.
How will this affect the remaining airlines? As others have come and gone, there will always be someone ready to fill the gap. Both ATA and Skybus were low-cost carriers focused on a small niche market. Both flew out of my neighboring Piedmont Triad International Airport (aka Greensboro Airport) and offered few flights, which never worked for me. As for Aloha, I remember it and Hawaiian Air being the only inter-island carriers in Hawaii, and it seemed like Aloha was more of a household name than Hawaiian.
While air travel will continue, the remaining operators now have 3 more excuses for why they have to raise ticket prices, reduce inflight services, and make you wait longer in line. Boy, I can’t wait for this summer’s trip to Hawaii.
on April 10th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I kind of feel sorry for the airlines. They are between a rock and a hard place with passengers all the time. If the plane does not take off, people get angry. If it does take off and there is trouble, people get angry.
I admit they do not always handle every situation correctly, but I personally would rather be alive on the ground as opposed to dead from a crash due to weather or maintainence needs.
on April 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I agree with your point on safety. The recent groundings of American Airlines’ fleet of MD-80 aircraft has now added to the woes of air travel, which could have easily been avoided. From what I’ve seen on the news, it came down to the plastic ties that hold all the cabling together not being spaced close enough together. AA had the ties 2 inches farther apart than the FAA wanted.
Now, I find it hard to believe that AA would risk the grounding of their fleet to save a few pennies by not using a couple of extra cable ties per plane. These are the plastic zipties you get at your local hardware store. Did the FAA issue a spec sheet on the exact spacing and AA ignored it? If so, then AA had it coming. However, if this is one of those “gee, I’d like to see more cable ties being used” then the FAA has dug themselves a deeper hole than they are currently in. Somebody got it wrong and since AA is not screaming “foul” I got to assume that they dropped the ball when they rebundled those cables after their inspection.
Thankfully, I’m not flying American or on a MD-80 aircraft on my weekend trip tomorrow.
on April 12th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Just heard on the news on Friday, April 11th that Frontier Airlines is filing for bankruptcy.
on April 12th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Flying used to be lots of fun but these days it’s not even remotely enjoyable. We took a recent trip to Washington DC and took the train down from Boston. I have to say I didn’t mind the extra time it took because I was able to get up and walk around and have a conversation without the constant roar of the engines.
on April 18th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Best way to fly is to only go on smart airlines. Southwest and Jet Blue are the best examples because they have slim chance of going belly up since they’re really profitable (at least Southwest is, not sure about Jet Blue).
They’re cheap and don’t try to over expand or add too many cities too fast, so they won’t have to worry about a huge sunk cost that has been swallowing up other airlines.
on April 20th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I agree with JBourne, at least for Jet Blue as I’ve never flown Southwest. Jet Blue just appears to be set up for efficient air travel. No unnecessary extras. Of course, they still have to roll up and down the aisle with the free drink cart. When will airlines wise up and tell customers to bring their own beverage and snack for the shorter trips. Seems like a lot of extra nonsense for a 2 hour trip.
on April 21st, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Agree with the “NO drink cart”. Leave the aisle free for getting to the bathroom if needed. There should be no reason to even suggest it for any flight less than 2 hours.
I’ve heard Midway Air is reliable and generous seats.
Generally competition sparks good prices & service. However, there isn’t the competition in areas served, so it comes up as a monopoly. Therefore, if you want to get from A to B, you don’t have much choice. Except maybe chose the delightful train!