Fewer Commercial Flights
Travelers have lost accessibility to business hubs and favorite vacation spots as commercial airlines have cut flights amid higher fuel prices and declining corporate travel. Commercial departures from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the largest airport in the world by passenger traffic, had declined 3.2 percent in the 12 months ended in April compared with a year earlier and departures from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York had fallen 4.1 percent.
Aspen/Pitkin County Airport's departures had dropped 13 percent through April, while departures from Orange County, California's John Wayne Airport had decreased 9.2 percent and Honolulu International Airport had declined 9 percent.
United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's biggest airline, said it expects to decrease the number of available seats by 3 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, according to a conference call discussing earnings this month. Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's second-largest carrier, plans to reduce seating by as much as 5 percent in the same period and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines said it will trim available seat numbers next year and close routes.
Airlines Ranked Last
Private planes can fly in and out of commercial airports as well as about 4,800 airports in the U.S. that commercial planes don't have access to, said Flexjet's Reid.
"They can go to eight cities in two days," Reid said.
U.S. commercial airlines ranked last among 47 industries in customer satisfaction, according to the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index released in June. On average, 21.5 percent of major commercial carriers' flights were delayed this year through May, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"It doesn't matter if you are a CEO, CFO, you have to go through the same regimen," said Bijan Vasigh, professor of air transportation at Embry-Riddle.
Spontaneous Vacations