Airline turbulence not deterring US travelers
The assumption might be that recent airline woes are making some US travelers consider other means of transportation but a recent survey shows otherwise: passengers are continuing to fly.
More than two-thirds of respondents to a TripAdvisor poll intend to fly this autumn, “despite being exasperated over airline delays and cancellations,” the site says. The survey contacted 1,800 travelers.
Oddly enough, late arrivals and lingering problems seem not to have affected the airlines.
“More people than ever are flying, and ticket prices remain relatively stable,” writes The New Yorker magazine.
One reason, of course, is that there are often no real alternatives to flying.
“Anyone who vows never to fly with a particular airline again likely will have an equally bad experience on a rival carrier soon afterward,” adds the magazine.
“While travelers appear committed to taking to the air this fall, they are not without their gripes,” says TripAdvisor.
Over half of travelers said recent airline delays and cancellations are completely out of hand, and people shouldn’t have to wait on a plane for more than an hour.
More than a third of respondents believe that while delays are inevitable, airlines should have a maximum number of hours they can keep people on a plane.
Another 15% of travelers expect to fly less in the coming year than they did in the past 12 months because of recent airline problems.
There’s probably no quick fix and no easing of the problem in the immediate future unless the entire system is changed, observers say.
Airlines could improve the current system by investing more money in planes and staff, reducing the number of segments flown and increasing the number of direct flights.
But even doing that, airlines would still face bad weather and air traffic control inadequacies, which are real problems, says The New Yorker.
“We’re stuck with the current system because it isn’t really in any airline’s interest to try to change it,” says the magazine.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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