Airlines React to Rising Fuel Costs by Cutting Service and Flights
The major airlines reported Thursday that consumer demand is growing for airline travel this summer. The Reuters article points to yet another indication of an economic rebound.
The industry, however, is still plagued by the high price of fuel, which is up 40% versus year ago. The major airlines stated that there will be significant cutbacks on expenses, number of employees and flights. Delta is encouraging voluntary layoffs, reporting 55,000 eligible employees, in an effort to trim costs. All this while continuing to raise prices to ensure profitability.
As a long-time business traveler, I've seen that when airline demand is up and capacity goes down it leads to a chaotic experience for travelers, especially during the busy travel months of summer. There is great degree of stress associated waiting to board overbooked flights, load the planes and leave on time, along with the delays and cancellations associated with common summer rain storms that sweep the nation. The airlines risk daily meltdowns when everything does run on perfect timing due to already stretched capacity they have artificially created.
The airline industry, while going after cost reductions, ignores the customer experience too easily while it chases profitability. Topping last year's added airline fees to check bags and the elimination of most food offerings, lower availability of flights and employee cutbacks lead to poor service and lowered employee morale. The airline brands suffer as the travel experience worsens. Consumers really don't have an alternative but to wait patiently, knowing that everyone is trying their hardest in a difficult situation. It is not an approach that builds customer loyalty.
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