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Silver Linings in the Sky
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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Member Comments
Posted By: propjet72 @ 04/12/2008 10:45:18 PM
Comment: 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.
Posted By: propjet72 @ 04/12/2008 10:44:26 PM
Comment: Personally, I do not think that using LaGuardia Airport as an example is fair. It is one of the most congested airports as it is geographically and physically challenged. We cannot associate it as a reference for airport congestion around the country. If the author had driven to Islip or Newark, I doubt he would have waited as long on the tarmac. It is true that economic recession will reduce flying and improve congestion; however airlines, as businesses, have to remain profitable and must look for savings by reducing the frequency of flights, increasing fares, and adding a surcharge for fuel, baggage and amenities. If the frequency of flights is reduced, so capacity, in turn it will increase load factors. The recession will also increase bankruptcies amongst carriers and reduce competition. It is going to be very difficult in this type of environment for travelers to find affordable flying. It is true that security measures such as airport screening needs improvement, but I will stop short as to call them foolish. The author probably already forgot that the demise of the airline industry after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were due to lapses in airport security. It would be disastrous to disregard security in order to improve congestion. New technologies and efficient procedures should be the solution to the problem. Since deregulation, airlines as businesses are free to add and remove flights as they wish. They will cram flights if it is profitable and remove some if they are losing money. The main reason traffic has dropped has to do with constant rising fuel prices; airlines are dropping routes that are unprofitable at current fuel prices. The fuel cost has to be passed on to passengers who in turn have fewer choices and have to pay more for travel.
In addition, Mr. Gross is blaming airline congestion on general aviation and business jets, arguing that they are taking away precious slots and airspace from commercial airliners. As an experienced airline pilot, I can state that business aircraft have actually very little impact on airline congestion. Business aircraft usually do not utilize airlines hubs or major airports, this is the reason they fly to/from Teterboro or PDK. They do not usually fly on the same major routes that airlines use, and sometimes fly at much higher altitude than airliners, for example, a Gulfstream cruises at 51000 ft. while an airliner usually tops at 37000 ft. Blaming the private jet market for airline delays is totally baseless and reflects a lack of knowledge on how our air traffic control system operates.
Posted By: propjet72 @ 04/12/2008 10:42:40 PM
Comment: American Airlines, under pressure from the FAA and concerned about safety, decided to cancel 2000 flights this past week so they could inspect their fleet of MD 80s. Again, insinuating that that they would have purposely cancelled flights to free up gate slots is totally irrelevant and baseless. American Airlines, as a result, had to absorb a tremendous financial loss and disruption for their travelers and operations. We can only wish that they remain in business so they can still offer affordable travel.
When Mr. Gross states: ???With fewer planes in the air, and fewer passengers pushing their shoes through security machines, the flying experience should theoretically be improving??? He is, absolutely right, travel will improve, however in a recession, it will improve only for the people who will still be able to afford to fly. Maybe we will see a return of the old glamorous days when travel was reserved exclusively for the rich and famous. I personally do not wish and do not believe, like the author, that a recession will solve the problems that plague air travel. Instead our government, airlines and passengers, need to all work together to find solutions that increase the efficiency, economy and viability of our air travel system. New research and technology such as ADSB (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) and free flights for air traffic control, smart recognition system for security screening, new fuel alternatives to fossil fuel that reduce dependency, and systems that feed live information to passengers are all solutions that need to be implemented. In such a complex and fluid system that is air travel; there will always be someone who will complain that their flight was too late, too long, too hot, too uncomfortable or too expensive. I wonder what passengers would say if they had to cross the country by train or by bus. Air travel has accomplished tremendous leaps in the past 50 years; let???s just hope that it continues to do so.