Alright you guys… finally, a real post non-related to my life (well, sort of)! I promised news commentary… here you go. The only news story I’ve kept up on, and frankly cared about (as horrible as it may sound) over the weekend is the volcano in Iceland and half of European airports and airspace shut down for the last 5 days as a result. This is mostly because my best friend from high school was studying abroad in London this semester, and she was supposed to leave for home today. That clearly will not happen – her and her mom and aunt, who came to visit her last week, have extended their hotel room until Friday – and now they’re left waiting to see whether or not they’ll even be able to fly out before next weekend. I’ve been reading at least 5 or 10 news stories a day from different sources on this topic, and have read some interesting quotes. Here’s what I’ve found most interesting from stories published this morning:
From BBC –
Mr. Bisignani, of the International Air Transport Association, has said the scale of the crisis facing the airline industry is now greater than at the time of the 9/11 attacks on the US.
“The decision that Europe has made is with no risk assessment, no consultation, no co-ordination, no leadership,” he said.
“Europeans are still using a system based on a theoretical model which does not work… instead of using a system and taking decisions on facts and on risk assessment.”
He said airspace closures were costing airlines $200m (£130m) a day in lost revenue.
European airlines have asked the EU and national governments for financial compensation for the closure of airspace, British Airways says. BA estimates that it is losing between £15m and £20m a day.
From USA Today –
Passengers [at Incheon International Airport in South Korea] complained about having to sleep on the airport floor due to a lack of hotel rooms and said they were only receiving a voucher for one meal a day at McDonald’s. Some were running out of money.
“We are on the floor,” Andrew Turner, a graduate student en route to London after a holiday in Sydney, told Korean Air officials, referring to sleeping accommodations. “We have one meal a day … at the moment a lot of people are not eating.”
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said it had flown four planes Sunday through what it described as a gap in the layer of microscopic dust over Holland and Germany. Air France, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines also sent up test flights, although most traveled below the altitudes where the ash has been heavily concentrated.
“There is currently no consensus as to what consists an acceptable level of ash in the atmosphere,” said Daniel Hoeltgen, a spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency. “This is what we are concerned about and this is what we want to bring about so that we can start operating aircraft again in Europe.”
From CNN –
“I believe this is one of the most serious transport disruptions we have faced,” [British Prime Minister Gordon] Brown said. “It’s got financial consequences as well as human consequences and we will do everything in our power to make sure all the arrangements are in place to help people where possible to get back home.”
Brown said that he had spoken to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero about using airports in Spain — which have been less affected by the air travel chaos — as a hub through which to bring people back to Britain, the agency reported. Further information would be released later today, Brown added.
From NPR –
The loss of air transport to Europe has also wreaked havoc in countless other ways.
Some U.K. schools may not be able to reopen after spring break because teachers and students are stranded in holiday destinations.
Motorists cannot get their cars fixed because foreign parts can’t be shipped in.
Kenya’s fresh flower industry is losing $2 million a day and fresh fruit from Africa destined for Europe is rotting in warehouses. Still economists say Europe’s economic recovery should not be derailed unless the disruption lasts for many weeks or months.
I’ve been getting conflicting numbers, but from what I can tell, the last major time this volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted (yes, this is really a name – an entertaining lesson in Icelandic pronunciation here) was in 1821. Eruptions continued intermittently for at least a year.
First of all, I’d like to point out what this says about our society, as far as globalization goes. I know it’s pretty cliché, but it’s incredible how much “smaller” the world has gotten over the past centuries. Right now, millions of people are stranded, some with little or no money or food. Billions of dollars, euros and pounds are being lost in an industry – and in economies – that are already struggling. People around the world are being affected by a naturally occurring event that, even 50 years ago, would not have been nearly as impacting. It’s times like these that make me, at least, step back and realize how much we take technology like the airplanes (directly affected by the eruptions), or the internet (used to communicate the news, and with people affected by the eruptions) – technology we now depend on – for granted. As the saying goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
So what now? Do we keep waiting with no direction, no set system of rules, no certainty, until this volcano stops erupting? How long will that take, and how much more money will be lost? Not only does this event say a lot about society, but about the airline industry, already halfway down the hole. I think a serious change is in order over the next few years. What happens the next time this volcano erupts? I think there needs to be standard protocol – or more specific guidelines, at the very least – for crises such as this. Passengers are pointing fingers at airlines, airlines are pointing fingers at government officials, government officials are pointing fingers at Mother Nature… and it’s getting us nowhere.
And don’t even get me started on the already absurd standards that everyone just seems to accept about the airline industry. Charging prices as much as a ticket for a person – for LUGGAGE? Being able to double the prices of your tickets in the middle of you purchasing them – for NO reason? Being able to overbook flights? Charging $150 if you want to change your ticket? Providing little to no compensation for errors on their part, such as delays or lost baggage?
Right now, in my humble opinion, I don’t think the fate of the airline industry is looking so hot. There are a lot of standards that seem corrupt and a lot of issues that remain unaddressed. Now, I know I talk the talk, but I will never claim to walk the walk. As a college student and avid traveler, these facts affect and irritate me, but I haven’t the slightest idea of how to change them. It’s going to be tough; we’ve seen in the past, and will continue to see, that world-wide laws and agreements are next to impossible to achieve. Cultural differences prevent understanding and willingness to cooperate, even though both are needed so badly right now. Unfortunately, we depend on airlines as much as they depend on us, so that’s another reason why these standards will probably never change. We all complain about high fees and poor service, but they’ve got us. With our increasingly globalized world, we have no choice but to depend on them – and we will undoubtedly continue to do so.
But still, I think the airlines need to consider the human aspect of their business. At the very least, they need to provide better compensation for people put at a disadvantage by errors on their parts, or errors beyond anyone’s control. Perhaps once their customers – without whom the industry has no purpose – are treated with more respect, they’ll start making more money because people will be more willing to fly. There needs to be better protocol for emergency situations, and somebody needs to start taking responsibility for these problems. Blaming Mother Nature, as I’ve said, gets us NOWHERE.
As for how this could actually accomplished… well, I’m not the one being paid the big bucks to figure it out. But I think the industry owes it to their customers – and themselves – to do so, because nobody can afford a crisis like this to happen again.
What do you think? Is a major change in the airline industry coming in the future? Is it possible, is it necessary? Leave your comments below!
Ramblings at Random 
What’s next for struggling airline industry?
19 Apr 2010 1 Comment
by arehrauer06 in News Commentaries Tags: Europe 2010, travel
Alright you guys… finally, a real post non-related to my life (well, sort of)! I promised news commentary… here you go. The only news story I’ve kept up on, and frankly cared about (as horrible as it may sound) over the weekend is the volcano in Iceland and half of European airports and airspace shut down for the last 5 days as a result. This is mostly because my best friend from high school was studying abroad in London this semester, and she was supposed to leave for home today. That clearly will not happen – her and her mom and aunt, who came to visit her last week, have extended their hotel room until Friday – and now they’re left waiting to see whether or not they’ll even be able to fly out before next weekend. I’ve been reading at least 5 or 10 news stories a day from different sources on this topic, and have read some interesting quotes. Here’s what I’ve found most interesting from stories published this morning:
From BBC –
From USA Today –
From CNN –
From NPR –
I’ve been getting conflicting numbers, but from what I can tell, the last major time this volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted (yes, this is really a name – an entertaining lesson in Icelandic pronunciation here) was in 1821. Eruptions continued intermittently for at least a year.
First of all, I’d like to point out what this says about our society, as far as globalization goes. I know it’s pretty cliché, but it’s incredible how much “smaller” the world has gotten over the past centuries. Right now, millions of people are stranded, some with little or no money or food. Billions of dollars, euros and pounds are being lost in an industry – and in economies – that are already struggling. People around the world are being affected by a naturally occurring event that, even 50 years ago, would not have been nearly as impacting. It’s times like these that make me, at least, step back and realize how much we take technology like the airplanes (directly affected by the eruptions), or the internet (used to communicate the news, and with people affected by the eruptions) – technology we now depend on – for granted. As the saying goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
So what now? Do we keep waiting with no direction, no set system of rules, no certainty, until this volcano stops erupting? How long will that take, and how much more money will be lost? Not only does this event say a lot about society, but about the airline industry, already halfway down the hole. I think a serious change is in order over the next few years. What happens the next time this volcano erupts? I think there needs to be standard protocol – or more specific guidelines, at the very least – for crises such as this. Passengers are pointing fingers at airlines, airlines are pointing fingers at government officials, government officials are pointing fingers at Mother Nature… and it’s getting us nowhere.
And don’t even get me started on the already absurd standards that everyone just seems to accept about the airline industry. Charging prices as much as a ticket for a person – for LUGGAGE? Being able to double the prices of your tickets in the middle of you purchasing them – for NO reason? Being able to overbook flights? Charging $150 if you want to change your ticket? Providing little to no compensation for errors on their part, such as delays or lost baggage?
Right now, in my humble opinion, I don’t think the fate of the airline industry is looking so hot. There are a lot of standards that seem corrupt and a lot of issues that remain unaddressed. Now, I know I talk the talk, but I will never claim to walk the walk. As a college student and avid traveler, these facts affect and irritate me, but I haven’t the slightest idea of how to change them. It’s going to be tough; we’ve seen in the past, and will continue to see, that world-wide laws and agreements are next to impossible to achieve. Cultural differences prevent understanding and willingness to cooperate, even though both are needed so badly right now. Unfortunately, we depend on airlines as much as they depend on us, so that’s another reason why these standards will probably never change. We all complain about high fees and poor service, but they’ve got us. With our increasingly globalized world, we have no choice but to depend on them – and we will undoubtedly continue to do so.
But still, I think the airlines need to consider the human aspect of their business. At the very least, they need to provide better compensation for people put at a disadvantage by errors on their parts, or errors beyond anyone’s control. Perhaps once their customers – without whom the industry has no purpose – are treated with more respect, they’ll start making more money because people will be more willing to fly. There needs to be better protocol for emergency situations, and somebody needs to start taking responsibility for these problems. Blaming Mother Nature, as I’ve said, gets us NOWHERE.
As for how this could actually accomplished… well, I’m not the one being paid the big bucks to figure it out. But I think the industry owes it to their customers – and themselves – to do so, because nobody can afford a crisis like this to happen again.
What do you think? Is a major change in the airline industry coming in the future? Is it possible, is it necessary? Leave your comments below!