Even at this point, many people have put off travels to countries abroad. Melissa over at the Road Gladiator, who travels a great deal on business, has said that a lot of people are putting off travel abroad for business. Leisure travel probably could be lumped in as well too. However, in my opinion, this is the wrong thing to do.
The US airline industry is still suffering their hardest few years, some still have yet to recover. It has been over 5 years since United Airlines made a profit and last quarter was the first profit for them. American Airlines was so close to filling for bankruptcy it was scary for everyone at the airline. Delta Air Lines and Northwest have yet to even come close to exiting their reorganization. Continental is in the the best shape of all the international carriers based in the US, is only slightly better than all the other carriers. The airline industry is very fragile. It will be interesting to see how the terrorist plot will affect travels abroad.
So many world governments have banned all liquids on board aircraft. You have to take off your shoes at security. Still with everything that goes on in the world, air travel is by far the safest form of transportation. I am NOT postponing my travels. In fact, I booked more travels recently. I'm off to Los Angles in two weeks; Atlanta,and Dallas in the coming weeks, and the big trip to Auckland, Christchurch, Sydney and Melbourne in December. Don't let terror stop you from closing that deal, seeing your grandchildren, visiting Big Ben, or enjoying your beach vacation.
Just like what happened after 9/11, this "paranoia" about air travel shall pass. My colleagues and partners, though, belong to the paranoid crowd.
Posted by: Melissa Petri | August 14, 2006 9:12 AM | Permalink to Comment