Air Travel Shrinking?

[EconomyClass]

On Google news was a link to a story about Delta management shrinking the company. One of the causes was shrinking demand. This should really be reflected in reduced capacity across the industry. Is Delta merely the first to act?

[W7PSK]

I think the main reason is the Cost is skyrocketing and they are feeing people to death. That and the 3 or 4 hours to get through the TSA Safety lines and people just are not willing to do it anymore. I used to fly to Sacramento and drive up the 2 hours to the in-laws. Now we find the 12 hour drive better than the airport.

[MCM]

Air travel demand is not shrinking around the world.

Look at the IATA figures and forecasts to see that.

In fact, is it increasing at an amazing rate.

There will always be localised effects where there will be reduction in demand, and Delta may be exposed to some of those places.

It could also just be a small rationalisation which has been long overdue. How many airlines made a profit in the USA last year?

[EconomyClass]

But Delta will remain No. 1 or No. 2 worldwide anyway, right? Maybe they will give away business outside our borders simply due to what corporate management in this country is choosing to do. Meanwhile, global commercial air will continue to grow? I'm just trying to imagine a scenario.

Also, since there has been a successful biofuel flight (I believe) and an experimental train has run on a fuel mix including beef fat, is there any chance that jet fuel prices will someday wean themselves from the influence of the shrinkng petroleum supply?

[EconomyClass]

Went looking for some kind of idea about air travel and biofuels. Found this (http://tinyurl.com/3zb2h5e). Being against most military expenditures puts me in a bind since apparently the DoD effort to field a "green fleet" is a big push behind making biofuels commercially successful. But, at the same time, if we aren't totally paranoid about the Middle East, that might (very conditional) lead us to transfer some tax dollars to something other than military expenditures. So, there's some kind of net here. The funny part of the article is that it isn't that business is dropping, it is that the revenue from business just can't keep up with the costs. Reminds of the old joke: "We lose on every transaction, but we make it up on volume". And the steady upward cost to fly is an attempt to break even when fuel costs have risen 50 percent.

[CathayPacific]

I think the main reason is the Cost is skyrocketing and they are feeing people to death. That and the 3 or 4 hours to get through the TSA Safety lines and people just are not willing to do it anymore. I used to fly to Sacramento and drive up the 2 hours to the in-laws. Now we find the 12 hour drive better than the airport.
Are airlines really "feeing" people to death? I feel that airline ticket price (even after adding in all the surcharges) have not been increased in the last 30 years. People have been getting used to having flat ticket fare and now even the slightest increase will cause uproar.

[EconomyClass]

Don't some airlines unbundle more than others? The more you unbundle and present flying as an a la carte purchase, the more people will perceive themselves to be "fee-ed". The hitch is that people seem to find none of the separately charged services as nonessential. Which means now they are presented with a list of charges rather than one higher charge. There must be a negative psychology to it. They make us do the math. Not a unique approach. Reminds me of a recent surgery when a paper blizzard hit my mailbox.