In his article, Mr. Gross is describing a delayed flight out of LaGuardia Airport, and how unpleasant the whole experience had been. As his crowded airplane is number 22 waiting for take off and he has to endure the annoyances of other passengers, Mr. Gross is hoping that a US economic recession will reduce air travel, congestion problems, and eventually benefit travelers. In his analysis, Mr. Gross states that some of the airline industry problems lie with the ???foolish security measures,??? the excessive ???fuel surcharge???, airlines cramming flights, business aircraft congesting the skies, and he even goes further to say that American Airlines, because of congestion, may have voluntarily canceled 2000 flights so they could free up gate spots. Mr. Gross argues that recession is actually a good thing, it will reduce the amount of passengers and in turn reduce the amount of flights, decreasing air traffic so travelers can enjoy a more pleasant flight.
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Silver Linings in the Sky
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Since a Gulfstream V carrying a half-dozen fat cats essentially takes up the same amount of runway and airspace as a jet carrying 160 middle managers, the rapid growth in the private-jet market has helped contribute to the misery of the middle-class flier. While data on the use of corporate jets are hard to come by, the FAA reports that "general aviation" flights (the category into which corporate jets fall) at airports with control towers fell 1.8 percent from January 2007 to January 2008.
That trend has likely intensified as well. After all, many such planes are booked by dealmaking executives visiting clients, and kicking the tires on companies they want to buy. But mergers-and-acquisitions activity is way off, with the value of deals in the first quarter of 2008 down 50 percent from the first quarter of 2007, according to Thomson Financial. Far fewer hedge-fund managers are booking charters from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate the conclusion of a deal.
With fewer planes in the air, and fewer passengers pushing their shoes through security machines, the flying experience should theoretically be improving. And in my half-dozen trips this year, I've noticed some improvement: smaller lines, four planes on the runway at LaGuardia instead of the customary 22. Two flights actually arrived early, sending several fellow passengers into a mild state of shock. In February, the on-time arrival rate of U.S. carriers rose modestly, to 68.6 percent from 67.3 percent in February 2007.
Of course, every trend can be taken to extremes. And it's possible that some companies may have become overzealous in their drive to free up gate slots. Last week, American Airlines canceled more than 2,300 flights, including nearly half of those scheduled for Wednesday, so it could inspect wiring on MD-80 planes. This voluntary effort surely did wonders for reducing aerial logjams, and made it possible for thousands of fliers to reach their destinations on time. Alas, it did little for the hundreds of thousands of American Airlines passengers inconvenienced. The airlines may succeed in reducing capacity, but they're going to have a more difficult time reducing air rage.
© 2008
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