Air Travel Falls to Earth

Air travel has become a miserable experience. Every one of my scheduled flights in the last year was delayed or canceled. The taxes and fees add up to 50% of the base air fare in some cases. The airlines nickel and dime the customers. Nearly all airlines are reducing capacity and removing older planes from service.

Long distance air travel, the premise behind the A-380, is running into headwinds as well.

Airlines Cut Long Flights To Save Fuel Costs

Flying Was Supposed to Be Better This Summer. It's Not

Given that oil prices are expected to stay at elevated levels from here on, airlines can make money on a consistent basis only if

1. Their salaries and wages comes down significantly, and/or
2. They raise fares much further, and/or
   
3. They fly only a few routes where they can keep high load factors.
   

Any or all of these changes will make air travel less of a routine convenience and more of a luxury. This contrasts with the growth in air travel in India and in China, where any new airports are being built and more of the middle class is flying.

"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind."...........Bob Dylan.