I work for a large pharmaceutical co. and usally travel several times a year for sales meetings, launch promos, etc. Since 9/11, we are still on corporate freeze for any non-essential travel. What 's happening in other corps. across the U.S.?

Well I traveled to NYC from Chicago and back earlier this earlier week. I will be flying to Indianapolis next week, up and back in one day. While many conventions and such have been cancelled, I see no slow down in business travel for those of us that have appointments all over US. I am a legal consultant and am continuing to travel. My company is even having me fly from Chicago to Indy and back which realistically is only about a 3 1/2 hour drive. The thing is if I drove, I would probably spend the night and incur hotel charges aw well. Its cheaper to fl;y so I can leave in the morning and get home that night. So far the longest check in I ahve had at an airport was jsut over 1 hour at JFK. I guess the trick is that I am always flying on weekdays. I hear the lines are extremely long for Friday and Sunday travel though.

My husband is a security manager for a big defense contractor. Neither he nor anyone in his field plans to fly for the forseeable future. They know all too well the chinks in the armor.

Security managers are proactive by the nature of their profession. The only trouble is convincing the corporate big wigs to spend the money on something that they feel is completely unnecessary. Only when people are injured or die (and the threat of litigation becomes real) do CEOs change that attitude. Hubby just received all the personnel and every bit of high tech equipment he has been requesting for the last five years. He practically has a blank check right now, but it's all reactive.

And he knows that the airlines have not made the same kind of security commitments that his company now has, so he and other security managers are driving, by choice.

Business travel will pick up when revenues for those businesses pick up.
Wall Street analysts (most) project that's going to be several months yet.

When the lines at the airport are under control. Now the lines (due to lack of airline staff) are so long that it just is not worth the time. Regular business travelers are driving if ay all possible. it is faster considering the 4 hour waits in line.

Larry is correct. Business travel, which is my husband's bread and butter, (running a hotel geared to business travel) was off dramatically well before Sept 11th. Plenty of groups were cancelling prior to the 11th, preferring to lose the hefty cancellation fee rather than spend the even bigger $$ on the meeting. These weren't groups that were cancelling and going elsewhere. They were not traveling. They do a lot of business with PWC. There was a freeze on all but absolutely necessary travel there.

The 11th was the icing on the cake. All group business he had on the books for Sept cancelled. October's groups have held together, but because of the poor economy, bookings were way down from a year ago. It's going to take an improved economy before business travel shows any signs of life again.

Olive-My husband's company suspended all business travel after the 11th because they are self-insured.

Gretchen...this chain is too until a certain loss level, then reinsurance kicks in. More bad news. Their reinsurance premium went up this week 110% for property and 90something% liability!!

Reinsurance companies were saying after the 11th...not to worry, "we've been collecting premiums for years and have money in place for the claims". Looks as if we are re-paying them for all their losses in one fell swoop. lt; So what do we do to recoup *our* losses due to these new expenses and lost revenue...double our rate? OL Where is the end?!

A friend of mine flies to europe several times a year and their business contracts out to GM.Last I heard they were still on grounded status.

Beth -

What is a legal consultant?

Wow, our VIP's have been going all over the place. But thats the entertainment industry for you.

Corporate America has begun to fly already, but in private, corporate jets.

There was an article, I think in the NYTimes, about people turning to private, corporate, and general aviation to avoid the mess at the airports.

This gives me the willies, because general aviation, esp. going in and out of non-major airports, is generally "free" of much security or supervision. I live near a private airport with no staff there after dark, but becuase of automatic landing lights, anyone can come and go all night long. They only leave a record if they buy fuel.

I don't see how the FAA or any "homeland security" department can even begin to keep track of what comes and goes -- never mind whether they will head for the White House, what about other forms of attack?

The more general aviation traffic there is, the less chance of monitoring it and securing it. Look out below!

YES!to the top.

Also: Watch out for super-powerful lobby group AOPA (Airplane Owners and Pilots Assoc.) to resist efforts to get a better handle on general aviation. They don't hesitate to come down hard on any level of government or community that tries to take away their "freedom."