I feel like I have been writing about fuel related issues with airlines for all of my posts. It’s a big problem, no doubt. Perhaps so big that airlines haven’t figured out how to adapt to it. For the past 40 years, airlines have had a historical model to follow for: mergers & acquisitions, route mapping, etc. Now, Airlines are in a panic due to the rise of fuel, and they have no model for dealing with it.
Currently, Airlines are saying, “We need to downsize operations, cut capacity, then raise ticket prices… and oh yeah, we should add more fees.” I’m curious to know if passengers would rather keep the frills, but take the hit on ticket prices. Yet I’m sure that all legacy carriers realize that low cost carriers, like Southwest, would eat up passengers right then and there; it’d be no surprise, since Southwest currently has been able to capture a large portion of the market. In order to keep up with Southwest, they’re adding fees, which pretty much dismisses their titles as ‘legacy carriers.’
It’s something new. These next few years will be some of the toughest for the airline industry.
Image: www.nj.com
