Less Free To Move About The Cabin

[question everything]

Less Free To Move About The Cabin
Flights Growing More Crowded

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 3, 2007; A01

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Over the course of a year that many airline passengers would rather forget, most attention has been focused on travel woes created by record-setting flight delays. But another trend may be causing as much havoc and frustration for passengers: Planes have never been so packed, federal data show. The jammed flights have changed the experience of flying. Passengers complain of less personal space as they get poked by others' elbows. Overhead bins fill up. Even bathroom lines stretch farther down the aisles, frustrating those with aisle seats. And for unfortunate travelers like Quate, the packed planes have upset travel plans, making it difficult for airlines to recover after disruptions and get passengers to their proper destinations.

(snip)

Federal data show that planes have grown steadily more packed in the past two decades. In 1990, U.S. air carriers' planes were about 62 percent full. By 2000, the figure had climbed to 71 percent. Through the first eight months of this year, planes were 81 percent full, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Why the increase? A strong economy has spurred business and leisure travel in recent years. But airline executives and analysts point to complex forces that are also responsible for driving up "load factors," the industry's measure of how many seats get filled.

Just 10 years ago, airlines could make money on a flight that was a little over half full, because business travelers were willing to pay thousands of dollars for a ticket, compensating for unsold seats. But when the tech bubble burst in 2000, business travel and demand for expensive seats declined. The 2001 terrorist attacks also hurt leisure travel. Both trends forced many carriers to slash costs and try to find ways to fly more efficiently.

Meanwhile, such low-cost carriers as Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways continued to grow, spurring demand for air travel from people who may not have flown much, or as much, before. That prodded traditional carriers to match cheap fares to remain competitive. Travel-booking Web sites such as Orbitz and Travelocity also made it easier for passengers to compare fares, further reducing ticket prices. The lower fares meant airlines could no longer rely on a few expensive tickets to keep a flight profitable. They altered their tactics to concentrate on filling planes with more passengers on cheaper tickets to offset the loss of steeper fares.

(snip)



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120202342.html

[Union Thug]

1. Strong economy? Nonsense. Try overbooking.

I, sadly, have had to fly quite a lot for my job. The big difference that I've noticed is massive overbooking. In the past five years I cannot think of ONE flight that was not overbooked to the point of absurdity.

I once enjoyed traveling, but between this and the dept. of homeland insanity, I refuse to travel by plane for anything but that deemed mandatory to keep my job.

Oh yeah: THANKS DEREGULATION! Here's another remarkably successful testament to the magic of the free market.

[Matariki]

2. well, on the upside it's slightly better for the environment.

[Zookeeper]

3. I've never liked flying anyway, but the overcrowding is the...

final straw for me. Traveling by plane is unpleasant in every way.