... made one wonder if the U.S. airline industry is setting itself up for the perfect storm. The flight from Dulles was on American through DFW; unfortunately, a very nasty thunderstorm forced the carrier to cancel a slew of flights. It took two hours in line to finally speak to an American agent to reschedule. There were two options, both the next day – one had several connections.
Next day on the flight home, a news story said that Delta would trim system capacity by 10 percent the remainder of this year, and American would cut back 7.5 percent. Other major carriers have been right in step with cutbacks. Of course, capacity cuts are a component of the carriers’ attempt to reach profitability in a catastrophic economic environment. The Air Transport Association reports that passenger revenue fell www.oagaviation.com), in June the U.S. airlines planned a 7 percent drop in flight volumes over one year ago.
When a weather event like the one in Dallas hits, the airlines work with each other to accommodate passengers and get them to their destinations (in my case, I wound up getting home on United through Denver). However, as the flight out of Dulles exemplifies, the options are being taken out of the system.
Consider ... next January, a major cold front hits the Midwest with a blizzard and Dallas with an associated ice storm. In one day, hub airports in Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, and Dallas are shut down – six major airports along with many feeder airports in the Central U.S. That’s a lot of people trying to get on an airline system that no longer has much excess capacity to accommodate them.
The airline industry dynamic has changed. At the recent AAAE convention, US Airways CEO Doug Parker told airports that the airline economic model is broken and a new one needs to be found. No one seems to know exactly what that model will look like, but a system that removes options for passengers could leave them with one alternative – not to fly at all.
Thanks for reading. jfi