Airline concerns
 

With all the seasoned travelers who frequent this site I just wanted to see what reaction you all might have with the demise of the US airline industry. US Air, American, Delta and United are all on the ropes.
The 'stunt' US Air employees pulled over the Christmas travel season it leaves me concerned that more such actions may complicate summer travel season.
Air travel may never be close to normal again.

The demise of some will be an opportunity for another.
Frankly I wasn't surprised of the US Air stunt, their service has been seriously declining over the years with poor employee morale.
One of the newer airlines will come out on top. People will still choose flying over driving.

To say all these airlines are on the ropes is a bit of an oversimplification. There's a huge difference, for instance, between the present financial status of USAir and American.

USAir is in its second Chapter 11 filing and may have to shut the doors in a matter of weeks or months (or days?) if lenders are not willing to extend more financing.

Delta and American are losing money and may need to file Chapter 11 (Delta appears closer), but they're a long, long way from going out of business. United has been in Chapter 11 for quite a while and can't get to the break-even point. Is it "too big to fail?" Time will tell.

It appears there has to be a pretty big shakeout for most airlines to achieve profitability. Unfortunately for us travelers, this will translate into higher fares at some point.

What happens if you are holding air reservations on USAir and they go under either before you travel or during a trip?

On a personal level, my husband has decided that he is going to stop the airline guessing game by taking our last trip together this winter. I love to travel so I'm really heartbroken over his decision. We flew to Oklahoma for Christmas and I have never seen him in such an uproar. Winter has been so good here the last couple of years that getting away from the cold isn't much of a factor anymore, either.

Has anyone had experience with Spirit Airlines to the caribbean? Comments?