How many airlines and how many flights have been cancelled in the past months?

[live love laugh]

It seems like about 1,000 or more flights have been cancelled stranding tourists nationwide.

This. Is. A. Travesty.

And I am not even affected by it. Yet.


How, in America, can citizens give up hard-earned money to a business and then have that business not make good on what they sell without repercussion?

What can an airline do to 500 flights in one day that they have been putting off that is so urgent?

It doesn't add up.

I--being the jaded, cynical person that I am--truly believe that these cancellations have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with Savings. Somehow the airlines seemed to have figured out that if they just ground flights, they save--with gas prices being what they are and in light of the recent demise of several airlines altogether.

Since I am planning a future vacation, I will prepare for the worst--by buying trip insurance.

Something tells me these one-day closings are going to continue.

[PoiBoy]

1. I think you're absolutely correct...! n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. There's certainly a problem, but it's not what you think.

Airlines lose money -- lots of it -- if they aren't flying, even with high fuel costs. Grounding those airplanes is costing AA a fortune because their only "product" they have to sell is a seat on an airplane. They will have to refund a brazillion bucks to those passengers; furthermore, airplanes that don't fly cost the airline money because airlines don't own many of their airplanes outright -- they lease them, and those lease charges are many thousands of dollars per month per airplane. If an airplane doesn't fly the airline still has to keep paying for it. AA is certainly losing millions for every day this very large fleet of MD-80s is grounded. They might also have to pay some pretty stiff FAA fines for failing to comply with the airworthiness directive (an AD is a regulation that has the force of law; it HAS to be complied with), which was intended to prevent chafing and damage to electrical wire bundles that theoretically could have caused a very, very bad accident.

You can be sure that AA is hating this a whole lot.

BTW, I know whereof I speak; I work in the industry.

[spanone]

3. as folks get pissed at airlines they will drive...more gas puchased ....ah ha

[Cerridwen]

4. I was about to post

something else. Instead I'll just say;

I remember the airline industry in dire straits in the months leading to 9/11. In a perverse way, the airlines at first benefited from 9/11 as they received government monies to sustain them through the post 9/11 down times.

Has the industry just picked up where it left off prior to 9/11?

[baldguy]

5. Its the price for haveing nearly no govt oversight for years & years.

[Parche]

6. Air

That would probably be true if they only cancelled a few 100 flights, and spaced them out, but as it was yesterday, today, and probably tomorrow, they have cancelled most all MD-80 flights
Example PDX all flights 5 to DFW and 2 to ORD, that is a lot of passengers, and they have to
authorize a FIM (flight interuption manifest) make reservations on a different airline, but at that
carriers fare at the time, and that can be very expensive, no matter what the price is of the ticket the passenger purchased, example you purchased a one way Portland to Dallas for $250 excursion fare 14day in advance, todays fare on United thru Denver if there is any space is $460 one-way, so American pays United the difference, it happens all the time, and they might have an agreement between certain airlines, that they charge less, but that is the bottom line....



:hi: