what do you all think of this?
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Former AMR CEO Says Business Fares Will Never Recover
Wednesday, October 15, 2003 06:33 PM ET
Dow Jones Newswires
NEW YORK -- Former AMR Corp. (AMR, news) chief executive Robert Crandall
said he doesn't expect business fares will ever return to their height
during the go-go days of the late 1990s.
Even though the economy and the stock market are now recovering, and even
though airline experts say improvement in business travel is in the works,
Mr. Crandall said he thinks it will be a long time before even the amount
of business travel is so high again.
"Business fares are not going to bounce back to the levels of the late
1990s, not now, not ever," Mr. Crandall said during a speech at a meeting
of the Association of Travel Marketing Executives. "And business volume
won't go back to its peak for a long, long time."
Business travel nose-dived as the economy dropped and more people began
booking cheaper leisure fares for business trips.
Mr. Crandall said another problem for business travelers is the long wait
at airports due to more thorough security checks since Sept. 11, 2001. He
said the best way to cut down the wait is to form a trusted-traveler
program.
Under such a program, travelers who agree to allow the federal government
access to their personal and financial records would be added to a database
and given special identification. Those travelers could breeze through a
separate security line at airports by showing their ID, while other
travelers wait to go through the usual metal detectors and carry-on checks.
"We need to collectively make clear to the government that these security
arrangements are unacceptable," said Mr. Crandall, who is a board member of
the Aviation Safety Alliance, a non-profit organization created to inform
the public about air travel safety. "A trusted-traveler program is the only
thing that makes sense."
Mr. Crandall said some politicians have opposed the trusted-traveler idea
because groups of passengers would be treated differently. For instance,
people who travel often to the Middle East -- no matter what the reason --
might not be allowed to participate in the program. Other people oppose the
idea because of privacy concerns.
Mr. Crandall further said the biggest problem for the network airlines is
labor costs, which are preventing the big airlines from defending their
turf against the growing low-cost carriers.
"If the legacy carriers can get their costs down, they will prevail,"
he
said. "Labor's what you've got to cut. But it isn't a matter of cutting
salaries. It's a matter of productivity."
Mr. Crandall said airline workers should be expected to work more hours
with less vacation. He acknowledged that cutting labor costs is extremely
difficult because of the power of airline unions. He predicted that some
network carriers may eventually managed to whittle those costs down.
____________________________________________________________
here's my take - you won't get me to give my personal much less financial information to any gov't body without a stink... AND there's no way someone can tell me to work longer/harder with less time off - unless I have 8 babies, nuthing but food stamps and no choice but to "take it"....
methinks he's been smokin the weed for too long during his "retirement"...
______________________________________________________
Former AMR CEO Says Business Fares Will Never Recover
Wednesday, October 15, 2003 06:33 PM ET
Dow Jones Newswires
NEW YORK -- Former AMR Corp. (AMR, news) chief executive Robert Crandall
said he doesn't expect business fares will ever return to their height
during the go-go days of the late 1990s.
Even though the economy and the stock market are now recovering, and even
though airline experts say improvement in business travel is in the works,
Mr. Crandall said he thinks it will be a long time before even the amount
of business travel is so high again.
"Business fares are not going to bounce back to the levels of the late
1990s, not now, not ever," Mr. Crandall said during a speech at a meeting
of the Association of Travel Marketing Executives. "And business volume
won't go back to its peak for a long, long time."
Business travel nose-dived as the economy dropped and more people began
booking cheaper leisure fares for business trips.
Mr. Crandall said another problem for business travelers is the long wait
at airports due to more thorough security checks since Sept. 11, 2001. He
said the best way to cut down the wait is to form a trusted-traveler
program.
Under such a program, travelers who agree to allow the federal government
access to their personal and financial records would be added to a database
and given special identification. Those travelers could breeze through a
separate security line at airports by showing their ID, while other
travelers wait to go through the usual metal detectors and carry-on checks.
"We need to collectively make clear to the government that these security
arrangements are unacceptable," said Mr. Crandall, who is a board member of
the Aviation Safety Alliance, a non-profit organization created to inform
the public about air travel safety. "A trusted-traveler program is the only
thing that makes sense."
Mr. Crandall said some politicians have opposed the trusted-traveler idea
because groups of passengers would be treated differently. For instance,
people who travel often to the Middle East -- no matter what the reason --
might not be allowed to participate in the program. Other people oppose the
idea because of privacy concerns.
Mr. Crandall further said the biggest problem for the network airlines is
labor costs, which are preventing the big airlines from defending their
turf against the growing low-cost carriers.
"If the legacy carriers can get their costs down, they will prevail,"
he
said. "Labor's what you've got to cut. But it isn't a matter of cutting
salaries. It's a matter of productivity."
Mr. Crandall said airline workers should be expected to work more hours
with less vacation. He acknowledged that cutting labor costs is extremely
difficult because of the power of airline unions. He predicted that some
network carriers may eventually managed to whittle those costs down.
____________________________________________________________
here's my take - you won't get me to give my personal much less financial information to any gov't body without a stink... AND there's no way someone can tell me to work longer/harder with less time off - unless I have 8 babies, nuthing but food stamps and no choice but to "take it"....
methinks he's been smokin the weed for too long during his "retirement"...