The holidays and the end of the year give us all a chance to pause and reflect, including the airline industry.
What have we learned from the airlines this year?
A great deal, actually.
First and foremost, the airlines have done a nice job of rebounding and rising to the top in the face of scrutiny. Remember, it was just a year ago that the carriers, particularly Southwest Airlines, had a meltdown and had to catch up with technology.
That included re-booking passengers and rescheduling pilots and flight attendants. So far, through Christmas Day, the airlines have reacted admirably. That includes Southwest; like they say, no news is good news.
We also learned, or re-learned, that aviation is a business. Some carriers recently raised baggage fees and set a precedent in the industry. Ancillary fees, such as baggage or changing your seat, have become big business for the airlines in the last decade. It’s a big revenue source, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that baggage fees are going up.
Airlines have also seemingly become the poster child for the government’s crusade against potential mergers. It’s a story that will be on to follow throughout 2024. We still need a resolution to the merger between JetBlue and Spirit, and then Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines.
This is by no means saying that the industry is fine. It’s not. The government and the Federal Aviation Administration still have to tackle the problem of near-misses and a lack of air traffic controllers.
But the airlines are doing something that is sorely needed. They are slowly but surely restoring our faith in an entire industry.
It’s going to take time. It doesn’t happen overnight. But you have to start laying a foundation somewhere.
The industry also needs to listen to the foresight of its leaders. Remember, Delta CEO Ed Bastian called the pilot shortage years ago, but nobody listened. Now it’s coming back to haunt almost every major domestic airline.
But for the most part, this is a year for the airline industry to start building upon.
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