Security fears may dampen demand for air travel in the short term, industry watchers said on Thursday, after British police foiled a plan to blow up transatlantic jets, but they won't throw US airlines off their long recovery from the September 11, 2001 attacks.The article stresses the "resilience" of the worldwide air travel market.
It took US airlines almost five years to regain pre-2001 passenger levels, as Americans regained a taste for travel, helped on by a resurgent economy and cheaper fares. This summer, several carriers reported their fullest planes on record.
The latest travel scare may put a dent in that upswing, as the consequences of the plot unravel, analysts said, but existing concerns about record-high oil prices, an economic slowdown and global security remain more of a threat.
"As we have seen after previous terrorist events -- 9/11, Madrid, Bali and London bombings -- the world will still fly," said Bank of America analyst Robert Stallard.We certainly hope so. We'd hate to see another painful round of crew furloughs, and airline bankruptcies and near-bankruptcies of the sort we saw following the 9/11 attacks five years ago.
Read the whole article here: US Airlines On Recovery Path Despite Fears - Airwise.com
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