Comments on: 10 tips for surviving the coming air travel crash

By: KG2V

KG2V — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:19:17 +0000

Just came back from one of those “Once in a lifetime” trips (My wife and I were celebrating our 20th). Believe it or not, it was overall not a bad experience. Yeah, of the 4 flights, 3 were full (the 4th had 5 first class seats open – I counted)

The aircrews were nice, the passengers seem organized (except for the one who was trying to get on with TWO carry ons), there was even room in the overhead bins. (all flights on AA – no affiliation except as a passenger – not even in their frequent flyer club any more)

I guess the travel Gods wanted to give us a gift

By: TTT: Surviving the crash of the U.S. airline industry « Feisty Tourist

TTT: Surviving the crash of the U.S. airline industry « Feisty Tourist — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:02:47 +0000

[...] 8, 2008 This Tuesday, my travel tip is to reach Timothy O’Neil-Dunne’s 10 tips for surviving the coming air travel crash. He has some good tips for preparing for the impending contraction of the industry. My favorite [...]

By: chris

chris — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:00:11 +0000

Can you elaborate on the dire outlook here? You say:
“Already, the demand and forward bookings after September are just way off. This is not just anecdotal.”
If this is not just anecdotal, can you provide statistics or other proof that bear out this alarmist sounding assumption?
Thanks

By: Highland3r

Highland3r — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:18:52 +0000

I’d love to hear how you reconcile tip # 3 (” If you don’t have to travel, don’t”) and tip # 7 (“That trip of a life time you wanted to take… take it now if you can afford it”)

By: jlawrence01

jlawrence01 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:50:11 +0000

Southwest also does NOT let you make reservations 330 days in advance.

Priceline and Hotwire rates will be very attractive as occupancy rates decrease after Labor Day.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:48:17 +0000

Nor does Southwest. Southwest opens up its schedule in chunks and is currently booking through early January, about six months out.

By: Beth Bowers

Beth Bowers — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:28:33 +0000

Airline Allegiant does NOT let you make reservations 330 days in advance.

By: Janice Hough

Janice Hough — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:20:31 +0000

And one more tip. This may be the time to spring for the service charge and book through a travel agent. That way if your airline cancels service to your destination, or reduces the flights so badly that you lose a day or more of your vacation, you have someone who can go to bat for you, and try to find a decent alternative.

See tip number five, the airlines are indeed cutting back on customer service. So your agent may be the only human help you can find.