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We Hate To Fly And It Shows
Wednesday, 2005 September 14 - 8:26 am
Delta and Northwest, the current black holes of the airline industry.

It looks like both Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines may be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. Perhaps even on the same day.

Delta has lost $10 billion since January of 2001. TEN. BILLION. DOLLARS. You know, I never hear news that airlines are making any money. You've gotta wonder why they even bother staying in business.

Assuming that each company successfully secures debtor-in-possession financing, they should hopefully be able to remain in operation for a while... at least maybe long enough that my upcoming Las Vegas trip doesn't fall apart. I remember when Midway Airlines shut down operations on the day Leigh and I were taking a trip to Boston. That was no fun at all. We sat in line for the US Airways ticket counter for hours, as they tried to manage replacement flights for a few thousand travelers.

I have an idea for an airline service for flexible travelers. You have a plane sitting an airport. There's no particular scheduled departure time for it... you just take off when it fills up with passengers. And maybe if you don't fill up by the end of the day, you leave anyway. That's it. No reservations, no advance purchase, no minimum stay. People just pay, get on, and go, like a shuttle. Sure, maybe there are some logistical issues, making sure you have the right number of planes in the right places. But it can't be that much worse than the existing system. It would simplify things for last-minute travelers, and it would make sure that planes were being used cost-effectively.

I dunno... I'm kinda talking out of my ass here, as I haven't really thought this through. But hey, I'm not the one losing ten billion dollars.
Permalink  3 Comment   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: commentary

Comments

Comment #1 from olafandyjon (Guest)
2005 Sep 14 - 11:02 am : #
You ever wonder if deregulation may have had something to do with the current state of the airlines?
Comment #2 from elizabeth (Guest)
2005 Sep 14 - 4:47 pm : #
i agree that the airlines suck

but sitting on a plane with no set take off time sounds like hell to me.

i'm just sayin'
Comment #3 from Nicholas (Guest)
2005 Sep 15 - 11:08 am : #
At least one major carrier needs to stop operation. It will cause a few bad days like you had. But thinks will shake out quickly. There is just too much excess capacity. Bankruptcy protections just help the airlines limp along and force price wars with the other carriers not in bankruptcy.

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