ATTENTION SARDINES! // Crammed planes, crying kids compound travel
chaos // Flying this summer `like riding a bus'
Julie Schmit
07/02/1992
USA Today
FINAL
Page 01A
(Copyright 1992)
LOS ANGELES - Carolyn Freidt, 26, slumps into the airport bar. Her purple
dress is wrinkled. Her eyes are glazed.
It's Friday night. She's been stuck at the Los Angeles airport for four hours. Her
first flight was canceled. She couldn't get on a back-up; too full. Her next flight
is three hours away.
A beer sounds good.
``On the flight down, it took forever to get served. Then they didn't pick up the
trays until we were on the final approach. The rental check-in took 1 1/2 hours
and the hotel computers were down,'' she says. ``I'm going to look into a new
line of work. One where I don't have to fly.''
As the Fourth of July vacation kicks in, travelers lured by half-price airfares are
flying in record numbers. Airports are busier. Planes are crammed. Lines are
longer. Children seem to be everywhere - and crying. Routes to popular spots are
booked or overbooked. Tempers are flaring.
Welcome to the summer from hell.
``It is more of a cattle car than ever,'' says Mark Palmer of North Carolina as he
waits at New York's La Guardia Airport.
Frequent travelers are really grumbling. They've had the skies to themselves for
the past two recessionary summers. Now they're griping about the vacation
crowd - ``the bus people,'' as they're called.
``They don't know where they are going. They always bring three times as many
bags. They bring a lot of junk and they have babies,'' growls Tom Brennan, 37, a
New Hampshire sales manager.
``This morning we were taxiing down the runway and this kid had to use the
toilet,'' says Mitch Zenger, 28, of San Jose, who spent 2 1/2 hours at LAX due to
overbooked flights.
``The flight attendant told the father to return to his seat, but the guy said, `When
you've got to go, you have to go,' and took the kid to the toilet anyway. It
delayed our take-off. An entire plane waiting for a kid to go potty,'' Zenger says.
And it's only just begun.
Summer is the season for leisure travel. Last year, more than 36 million people
flew in June, 38 million in July and 39 million in August, says the Air Transport
Association.
While the airlines won't say how many seats they sold at 50%-off, analysts
estimate 25 million were sold for travel through Sept. 13.
Rental-car companies and hotels are affected, too. They report summer bookings
are up as much as 140% over last year.
With those millions all trying to make their flights, San Jose International Airport
felt compelled to warn the frequent fliers who make up 54% of its travelers.
Last summer, they could make it from the parking lot to the gate in 15 minutes.
Not this year, says Cathy Gaskell, airport spokeswoman. ``Some people missed
flights for not allowing enough time,'' she says.
The lines inside are longer, too. ``On Tuesday afternoons, we used to have six
business people trying to upgrade (to first class). Now we have 50 people with
kids, luggage and dogs,'' Gaskell says.
At San Francisco International, all flights out of the airport are more than 90%
full, says spokesman David Wilson. ``This airport is buzzing with passengers,''
says Wilson. ``It's like Thanksgiving.''
The airport wants fliers to arrive early and be dropped off at the curb rather than
hunt for parking.
Rental-car firms, which expanded fleets to meet the crunch, warn against getting
off a plane and renting a car on the spot.
``You may find there aren't any,'' says Ray Noble of Avis.
It's happened. When Randall McDermott, 30, of Florida flew to Columbus, Ohio,
he couldn't get a rental car. ``I couldn't believe it,'' he says. ``What goes on in
Columbus, Ohio?''
American Airlines spokesman Marty Heires says vacation travelers who still
want to book trips this summer should try to fly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
``Even then, popular routes may be hard to get,'' he says.
For business travelers, July is the second-slowest month of the year. But many
feel they have cause to complain because they often pay more for their seats than
leisure travelers - and help the airlines' bottom line in the process.
``We're victims.'' says Michael Lynch, a Minneapolis marketing consultant. ``We
go along because we have no choice.''
Tom Parsons, editor of the trade magazine Best Fares, says, ``The problem with
summer is that if all of the seats are taken, you end up in a middle seat trying to
work with some kid's drool coming down your shirt.''
``A lot of us are anticipating a summer rife with delays,'' says Grant Schneider,
34, a Boston executive.
Frequent fliers trying to cash in their free trips may find it difficult to get the trip
of choice.
Doug Gant, a South Carolina business manager, spent 20 minutes at American's
ticket counter at La Guardia trying to use frequent flier miles to fly his wife to
Texas. He couldn't do it - flights are full.
``I didn't want to send her to Texas and not get her home,'' he says. ``This is the
first time I haven't been able to make a frequent flier trip.''
Fliers aren't the only ones frazzled. Ask airline employees.
``With more people, you just have more demands,'' says airline attendant Camilla
Childers.
``The planes are going to be fuller, there is not much we can do about that,'' says
Heires. ``We've got people working overtime. We've got new part- time people.
We've got people who worked in headquarters temporarily moved to airports.''
Still willing to travel? Here are some tips to survive the trauma:
- Confirm reservations at least 24 hours in advance.
- Don't get a flight without a seat assignment. That way you can skip stopping at
the ticket counter - and standing in line.
- Arrive at least an hour before departure. If flights are overbooked, airlines can
bump you. United's policy is to release seats 20 minutes before take-off.
- Limit carry-on luggage; there won't be much storage space in overhead bins.
But avoid checking bags; they might get lost.
- Upgrade to first- or business-class. You'll be more comfortable.
- Use airline and car-rental clubs to avoid crowds and lines.
The best tip: Buy a better seat. ``You won't find anybody in the first- class cabin
with those cheap tickets,'' says Delta's Neil Monroe.
But most people are like Lori Smith-Williamson, a nurse practitioner from
Alexandria, Va. She waited five hours Wednesday at Washington's National
Airport after her first TWA flight was canceled and other flights were full.
Sue Whitney waited, too. ``I went to the TWA offices to see what was going on,''
she says. ``They said, `This isn't first-class service. This is like riding a bus.' ''
Contributing: Jonathan T. Lovitt , Deborah Sharp, Marybeth White
CUTLINE:STUCK: Carolyn Freidt kills time
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