nieworld.com

Teachers

Students

Families

Projects

Email NIE

Sunday, September 8, 2002

Ailing airlines: Travel industry struggling to recover

By JIM HAUG
NEWS-JOURNAL BUSINESS WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — Talk about timing. Four days after Sept. 11, Norm Nelson took early retirement from Delta Air Lines, escaping an industry that's struggling to survive the impact of that horrible day.

He was at his local shop, BMW Motorcycles of Daytona, 118 E. Fairview Ave., when he got the news of the terrorist attacks. Like many people, the pilot felt that "sick feeling" from watching the television.

A former naval pilot trained for the worst, Nelson returned to Atlanta for his last trip as an airline pilot and garnered the distinction of flying the first plane out of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport after the ban on flying was lifted Sept. 13.

When Nelson flew the jet back from Salt Lake City on Sept. 15, he ended a 29-year career with Delta. While he felt some relief, the end was still bittersweet.

"I enjoyed being an airline pilot," Nelson said. "My retirement was not related to Sept. 11."

He had already made plans to take over a motorcycle shop in Daytona Beach. The joy of driving motorcycles -- the exhilaration, the sense of freedom -- is not so different from flying airplanes, he said.

A pilot is trained to deal with uncertainties. Nelson learned to trust his intuition as a safeguard against terrorist activity. As a precaution, Nelson once asked a woman and her child to deboard his airplane. His flight crew had suspicions the woman's husband had placed a bomb in their luggage. When the plane reached its destination, Huntsville, Ala., Nelson said, he'd never had so many passengers thank him as did that day.

He is confident the airline industry will survive its current disaster.

"We're going to emerge from this much stronger and wiser," Nelson said. "(Air travel) is still the most efficient way to get from Point A to Point B. It's a lot safer than driving on I-4 or I-95."

But John Wensveen, professor of airline management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, believes it will be two years before airlines are profitable again.

"There are some airlines that won't be able to recover," Wensveen said, noting that US Air has filed for bankruptcy.

With many airlines racking up huge debts before the crisis, Wensveen said the terrorist attacks can't be blamed for all the airlines' problems. "Sept. 11 pushed them over the edge," he said.

Daytona Beach International Airport was experiencing steady growth in passenger travel until last year's disaster. Now airline passenger traffic is down 14 percent from a year ago, getting 480,635 passengers through July compared to 558,108 in the first seven months of last year.

Amid the gloom, there are at least some signs of continuity in air service at DBIA.

Delta is negotiating for a new five-year lease. Katie Connell, a spokeswoman for the airline, said Delta would like a longer lease if it reaches favorable terms.

Because of profit guarantees from the federal government, Continental Airlines will resume its direct flights to Newark on Dec. 12. The $743,333 grant is good for a year. Continental is asking for a one year-extension on its lease, but the expectation is the airline will stay much longer.

Without Continental, DBIA would be running deficits by 2006, said Steve Cooke, the air service marketing director for DBIA.

Airport officials are enthusiastic about a new code sharing agreement between Continental, Delta and Northwest. If approved by the unions and the U.S. Department of Transportation, it could go into effect by spring of 2003.

It means the three airlines could book each other on their flights. It would be a boon for DBIA since both Continental and Delta fly here.

The new partnership between the airlines also gives a new incentive for Northwest to come to Daytona Beach, Cooke said.

The DBIA has also been lobbying Jet Blue to fly here, suggesting it break up its New York to Puerto Rico flight with a stop in Daytona Beach. Cooke has provided Jet Blue with demographics about the Hispanic population in Volusia County.

The most profitable airline in the industry, low-cost Southwest, has already told DBIA that it won't be adding any new flights until 2004 at the earliest.

They may be making money, but "they have to be very cautious for the next few years," said Dennis McGee, the manager of DBIA.

Wensveen, the airline management professor, does not expect many changes at DBIA. He said the worst is probably over as far as loss of services. He does not expect any new airlines to come here.

"There's just no incentive for them," Wensveen said.

Airlines realize they can make more money elsewhere, he said.

Because DBIA controls 2,000 acres of prime real estate, it's not so dependent on airline revenues. It's a landlord to the Hilton Garden Inn, the Hampton Inn, Olive Garden, an RV park, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Courtyard by Marriott that's under construction. Over the last five years, non-aviation revenue has accounted for 48 percent of the airport's income.

If the airline industry survives its slump, it might be because of resilient business travelers like Larry Beres.

A self-described road warrior and frequent Daytona Beach visitor, Beres traveled on three of the most emotionally trying days of the last year.

At 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, he flew past the skyline of Manhattan, oblivious to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Beres reached his destination, Hartford, Conn., but had to drive 14 hours back to his home in Dayton, Ohio.

On Nov. 12, the business executive was travelling again to Hartford, Conn. when an American Airlines plane crashed into a Queens neighborhood. Later that month, Beres was among the 10,000 travelers exiled to the walkway outside Hartsfield when the Atlanta airport closed for three hours following a security breach.

"We were prisoners," he said. "People were calling their friends on their cell phones, asking them to watch CNN and tell them what was going on."

Without access to toilets, people were sneaking into the airport garage to relieve themselves.

Despite his wild experiences, his job as executive vice president of the Tooling Tech Group won't allow him to stop travelling. Beres has clients to see.

In a company policy change since Sept. 11, Beres is driving if the trip can be made within five to six hours. While other companies are going to video conferencing, Beres does not like it. "There's no handshake," he said.

Because of the technical nature of his work, he needs to see close-ups of blueprints and designs.

To meet a client in Ormond Beach, Beres boarded a 6 a.m. flight from Dayton, Ohio. He arrived at 9:45 a.m. His meeting at Florida Production Engineering lasted two hours.

He was back at the Daytona Beach International Airport by 2 p.m., dealing with the common problem of killing time while waiting for a flight.

Looking at the schedule of flights, Beres noticed DBIA did not have any Delta flights between noon and 4:20 p.m. on a weekday.

The businessman flies to Daytona Beach every two to three months. "I'd come here more often if there were more flights," he said.

Copyright © 2008 NIE WORLD (www.nieworld.com). All content copyrighted and may not be republished without permission. The News-Journal has no control over and is not responsible for content on other Web sites. Privacy Policy.