Warning: Bumpy summer ahead

By James Wysong

Travel columnist

updated 11:59 a.m. ET May 25, 2007

James Wysong Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

Last year, I predicted a bumpy summer for air travel. Sure enough, the season experienced a record number of cancellations and a lower customer satisfaction rating, but overall the airline industry did better than I expected. I think that's because so many airlines were in such dire financial difficulty that the employees were in last-ditch survival mode.

Will we get the same lift this year? Don't count on it.

What's different from last year?

1. Going mad. Most airline employees are angry that their paychecks and pensions have been slashed while the CEOs are raking in record salaries and stock options. It seems that sacrifices have not been shared by top management, and that doesn't sit well with the frontline employees.

2. Understaffed. Many airlines are short on employees, and have been for some time, but this year they are especially short on pilots. A flight can operate — poorly — with a shortage of flight attendants, gate agents and mechanics, but there is no flying at all without a full complement up front. The airlines are counting on pilots to pick up extra hours to make up for the summer load. Let's see ... less money, no pension, CEO making a record salary? Can you read the tea leaves here? My prediction is that many flights will cancel because of this pilot shortage.

3. Overcrowded skies. Now that the airline industry is beginning to bounce back, many airlines are adding new routes. New routes mean more traffic, and more traffic means more delays and cancellations. New flights also call for the hiring of more employees, something management seems not to understand.

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4. Sold out. Airlines are already selling out flights for the summer. This is great for the industry's per-seat revenue numbers, but what happens when a flight cancels? You can't put the passengers on the next flight when there are no seats available. Sold-out flights create a domino effect, which leaves many passengers fuming by the end of the day.

As a flight attendant, I dread the summer flying season. The hot, sweaty, manic, busy lines, plus the oversold flights, packed check-in counters, flight delays, cancellations, manpower shortages and unhappy passengers all add up to one big nightmare. I would give anything to have June and August off.

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If I am gun-shy as this season approaches, it's because I think of the summer of 2000, which was the worst summer travel season I have ever experienced. That year, work slowdowns and flight cancellations caused a giant customer-service fiasco. I was yelled at so many times that I started wearing an overcoat in the terminal to disguise the fact that I worked for an airline.

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