America Attacked
Travel Changes in the Offing

Dateline: 9/16/01

The horror we felt defies description.

The brutal and cowardly attack on innocent, unsuspecting people September 11, 2001 will reshape our consciousness in scores of matters far more important than budget travel.

But you should be aware of changes already underway. Airlines are scaling back their operations. A small minority of gasoline retailers is using the tragedy to pad profits. Rumors of non-existent shortages are driving people into panic buying.

More changes could be in the offing. But let's look at where things stand so far.

Airlines on the Ropes

Long before September 11, the year 2001 was going to go into the books as one of the worst--if not the worst year in commercial aviation history.

Now there is strong evidence some airlines will not survive the year.

One of the favorite carriers of budget travelers was Midway Airlines. The company filed Chapter 11 recently, but was reorganizing and making plans to survive in some form. Then the grounding occurred, and people began requesting refunds. Midway folded rather than face the financial music.

Las Vegas-based National Airlines is another favorite of careful spenders.

"National is making adjustments to its existing flight schedule which will reduce existing service by approximately 20%," says National CEO Michael J. Conway. "We are offering employees who are able, voluntary leaves of absence without pay in order to reduce the number of forced furloughs that will be required."

Conway anticipates a workforce reduction of about 300 employees as a result of the announced service reductions.

Perhaps you heard that Continental also plans a similar reduction in long-term service of 20%. In Continental's case, that means layoffs of 12,000 employees.

The list continues. Virtually all the major airlines will have to scale back. The forced and necessary grounding of all U.S. flights immediately after the attack probably cost the industry up to $1 billion USD.

The airlines are asking the U.S. Congress for $20 billion in aid. They see it as necessary for simple survival. That's how bad things have become.

Who pays for the new security?

Revenue falls. Security increases. Do ticket prices soar?

If so, it's a prescription for financial disaster. But there are rumblings that the U.S. government will pick up many of the costs of the increased security measures.

Perhaps the most expensive alternative discussed so far: staging armed U.S. agents on flights from so-called high-risk airports.

Beyond that, the ground-based precautions are paid for, at least in part, by local airport authorities.

For example, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport spokesman Ted Bushelman says his facility's charges account for less than four percent of a typical ticket price.

Stay tuned for more on this question. But initially, security measures alone probably won't drive ticket prices higher. If they do, I suspect many budget travelers will pay the increase without much complaint. The first rule of budget travel bears repeating: nothing is a bargain if it is unsafe.