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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 1 2008, 9:30 PM EDT (current) | jimglab | 399 words added |
| Jun 1 2008, 9:29 PM EDT | jimglab |
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Consumers skipped 41 million air trips in the past year
A new study of U.S. air travelers by the Travel Industry Association concludes that consumers have grown so frustrated with the whole experience that they have avoided taking some 41 million airline trips in the past year. That conclusion was based on a survey in early May of more than 1,000 persons who have traveled by air at least once in the past year, TIA said. The decisions by travelers not to take those flights cost the airlines more than $9 billion in lost revenue, TIA estimates; the losses were $6 billion for hotels, $3 billion for restaurants and $4 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.
“The air travel crisis has hit a tipping point – more than 100,000 travelers each day are voting with their wallets by choosing to avoid trips,” according to TIA President Roger Dow, a former top executive at Marriott. Dow said the research should serve as “a wake-up call to America’s policy leaders that the time for meaningful air system reform is now.” Conducted by polling firms Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group, the survey found that travelers’ frustrations are not with the airlines per se, but with the larger air travel system. “Many travelers believe their time is not respected, and it is leading them to avoid a significant number of trips,” said researcher Allan Rivlin. “Inefficient security screening, flight cancellations and delays are air travelers’ top frustrations.”
More than 60 percent of survey respondents said they believe the nation’s air travel system is deteriorating. Some 30 percent of all respondents said they were dissatisfied with the current state of air travel – but the dissatisfaction level rose to 48 percent among those who travel by air five times a year or more. Of those 41 million air trips not taken, the study did not indicate whether individuals chose to travel by road or rail instead, or if they just stayed home. “With rising fuel prices already weighing heavily on American pocketbooks, we need to find ways to encourage Americans to continue their business and leisure travel. Unfortunately, just the opposite seems to be happening,” said TIA’s Dow. He noted that TIA has called an “emergency summit” of travel industry leaders for June 17 in Washington “to discuss the next steps for moving this issue forward with policymakers.”
