“High gasoline prices also could be playing some role for people weighing lower airfares against the costs of driving.”, he said. This quote was in an article in the Albany Times Union. When I read it, a light above my conspiracy theory filled head came on. Before I get to that, though, let me give you some completely unnecessary background information on my life. While I cannot promise I will not get sidetracked, I do have a point and I can link it to this personal anecdote… maybe.
August 2001: I flew back to Florida, from New York. Visions of world travel in my head, I debated taking some time off from college, and becoming a flight attendant. Perks of the job include: great pay, free travel, and no school for a while. Flying back and forth between Florida and New York every time I got a little home sick was getting very expensive, and having no idea what to do with myself career wise, school was seeming more and more like a waste of time and money. What could be better? This was the perfect job for me. I had convinced everyone I knew that it was for the best.
September 2001: I was getting settled back into my apartment and searching the papers for training programs when three planes were hijacked and crashed in the Northeast.
You know to what I refer. After September 11, airlines suffered major losses, people were afraid to travel and invest in the market. Without travelers, especially international tourists, the airlines were going broke. Poor, poor mega million corporations, don’t you just feel for them?
After a couple of months people began to fly more and more, and airlines were back up to pre-9/11 business. Did they make up for the months when business was bad? Probably not.
This makes perfect sense. With rising gas prices, it is true, you must way your gas costs against ticket prices and ease of flying. It is no longer economically logical to make that 10 hour drive to go on vacation. I myself, make long trips in the car often, but do consider the option more now that a tank of gas hits my wallet for almost twenty-five dollars (I have a four cylinder, not a gas guzzling SUV, so this is a lot). Wow what a way to boost the business!
Ok Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts fans, get on board with me here. What do you do when business is bad? Whatever it takes to compete in the market, right? Well, what if you could influence that competition? Doesn’t our government do that everyday by regulating the market and prices. For all you eye rollers right about now, think about it. Why are we paying more for gas? Is there a shortage? For some reason that seems to be the general consensus; but check into the profit margins of the oil companies. While we are paying record high prices, aren’t they making record high profits?
So I ask again, why are we paying more? Well, usually the best way to find out why, as I learned from the movie JFK, (Does anyone else think I watch too much TV?), is to find out who benefits. Albany airport is seeing an influx of fliers, so many in fact that they are having trouble finding parking for them. Seems to me that the air travel business, is back in business. Do the math, I don’t want to. I took calculus in high school and have never looked back.
Maybe I am on to something, or maybe I am upset that my plans were foiled by 9-11. I have a college degree, a nice apartment downtown and a job that pays my bills, but have yet to go out of the country, you decide.
I wrote this in response to a April newspaper article, during Spring Break travel rush. Anyone know how air travel has been lately, with gas rising to almost $3 a gallon? Anyone have any other suggestions as to why we are paying so much, because I just don’t get it?
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