Safety move has business fallout
By David Koenig |
December 29, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW United States security restrictions implemented following a botched attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas Day are making air travel more burdensome and could discourage some business flyers, key customers for the airlines.
Passengers will likely face longer lines at checkpoints and less freedom to move around the plane during flight. Leisure travelers, such as the families that packed airports to return home on Sunday after the holiday, are likely to put up with the new inconveniences, as they have before.
But business travelers may think twice before flying if stepped-up security means spending hours at the airport. That's troubling to the airlines, because business travelers tend to fly frequently and pay higher fares.
Some business travelers could jump from the major airlines to smaller business jets to avoid wasting hours in the terminal every time they fly, said airline consultant Robert Mann.
New security measures are "just going to add to the overall onerous way we have to conduct travel," said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition. "No doubt it will dampen demand."
Alarmed by the prospect of losing their best customers, airlines are already asking federal officials to make any new procedures palatable to passengers.
Tougher security measures were imposed after a man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam then to the US on a Northwest Airlines flight tried to ignite an explosive as the plane prepared to land in Detroit.
On Sunday, police met another Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight after the crew reported a "verbally disruptive passenger." A law enforcement official said the man posed no security risk to the plane.
Government officials didn't detail the restrictions, saying they don't want terrorists to know about potential security measures.
They declined to say how long the measures would be in effect and said the limits could vary from airport to airport.
Travelers on incoming international flights said during the final hour, attendants removed blankets, banned opening overhead lockers and told them to stay in their seats, with their hands in plain sight.
Darryl Jenkins, an airline industry consultant, predicted any increase in airport lines would be temporary, until security screeners became proficient.
Passengers will likely face longer lines at checkpoints and less freedom to move around the plane during flight. Leisure travelers, such as the families that packed airports to return home on Sunday after the holiday, are likely to put up with the new inconveniences, as they have before.
But business travelers may think twice before flying if stepped-up security means spending hours at the airport. That's troubling to the airlines, because business travelers tend to fly frequently and pay higher fares.
Some business travelers could jump from the major airlines to smaller business jets to avoid wasting hours in the terminal every time they fly, said airline consultant Robert Mann.
New security measures are "just going to add to the overall onerous way we have to conduct travel," said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition. "No doubt it will dampen demand."
Alarmed by the prospect of losing their best customers, airlines are already asking federal officials to make any new procedures palatable to passengers.
Tougher security measures were imposed after a man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam then to the US on a Northwest Airlines flight tried to ignite an explosive as the plane prepared to land in Detroit.
On Sunday, police met another Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight after the crew reported a "verbally disruptive passenger." A law enforcement official said the man posed no security risk to the plane.
Government officials didn't detail the restrictions, saying they don't want terrorists to know about potential security measures.
They declined to say how long the measures would be in effect and said the limits could vary from airport to airport.
Travelers on incoming international flights said during the final hour, attendants removed blankets, banned opening overhead lockers and told them to stay in their seats, with their hands in plain sight.
Darryl Jenkins, an airline industry consultant, predicted any increase in airport lines would be temporary, until security screeners became proficient.
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