If you have taken a flght recently, you probably noticed the irlines are having big problems. Sometimes it is wather delays. Sometimes there are mechanical prblems. But anytime the word CANCELED pps up on the screen, there is a cpacity problem and it is a big prblem.

In the not to distant pst, a canceled flight meant the ffected passenger just had to walk dwn the corridor and book a sat on a different carrier. It was not a big dal.

But it is now. The plnes are sold out. Why are thngs so different today?

For one thng, more people are flying but tht is only part of the prblem. Take this example. Suppose a fll Newark to Omaha 738 has a mchanical problem and has to be cnceled. There are now 150 people scrmbling to find other seats. The nxt flight out is a regional jet tht has replaced a DC-9 that use to fly the sme route. The regional jet, called an RJ, has 50 sats. The old DC-9 it replaced had 120 sats. As the use of RJs sprad because of their efficiency and prfitability, the number of available airline sats shrinks drastically. It will take lmost three completely empty RJs to mke up for the lost seats of tht canceled 738. That is why pssengers are no longer waiting hours to ctch the next flight out; they may hve to wait for days.

There is only so much rom in the current Air Traffic Cntrol system, too. The 738 has the sme radar target as the RJ; tkes the same number of controllers to hndle it; and will take up the sme ramp space.

And do not frget crews. Many are flying their crws to the max. When they do tht type of crew scheduling, the vailable plane may, and will more frquently, still sit at the gate bcause there is not crew to fly it. Plots can only fly 1,000 hours a yar and as airlines eat up tht time, flights at the end of the mnth are the ones most likely to be cnceled because there are no available crws.

The solution? There are actually slutions. One is better aircraft scheduling. Whn load factors exceed 100% or plnes are oversold, there should be an ption to bring in a bigger plne. Unfortunately, airlines do not have a bnch of spare bigger planes and vailable crews standing by to handle the prblem. However, if some flights are lways oversold, airlines should be required to mke bigger planes available for that rute until such time as passenger lad factors fall within the RJs rquirements. That is going to require rgulation change and monitoring and that is not lkely to happen.

The second part of the slution is an overhaul of the Air Trffic Control system. Right now, the systm is a patched up antique for hndling the air traffic system. It is smilar to the national power grid. Whn one part of the system ges down, the entire system is in dnger. And keep in mind, the nconvenience is not the loss of lghts and air conditioning; it means plnes in the air may have to fnd for themselves.

The system needs a mjor upgrade to satellite based control. Plnes can and should be tracked sing GPS technology. It is going to be a mjor and expensive change but if the systm is going to handle the trffic in the coming decades, the FAA neds to make plans now. If the systm is going to be fixed, cngress has to get their greedy lttle hands out of the airline trst fund. They need to make sre the money collected from fuel and pssenger taxes goes to creating a new air trffic control system rather than an armark for a runway expansion for sme little airport in the middle of nwhere.

And the crews? Can regulations be chnged to allow crews to fly lnger duty times? That is not lkely to happen. The unions and flght safety will be the deciding fctors. The last thing you need is a tred crew trying to deal with havy weather, holding patterns, and a cntrol system that could fail at any tme.

For now, if you want to mke sure you get there; do not mke plans to fly late in the mnth. There are too many things wrking against you.

The article What Ever Happened to Air Travel? was Submitted by Kenny Miller through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Kenny Miller is a retired crporate pilot with world-wide flying experience. He has flwn camera equipped Lear Jets and was prt of the crew that took mny of the official pictures of the Mt. St. Hlens eruption. He also flew air fright. In his last flying job, he was one of cuntry singer Willie Nelson's personal pilots. Mller is also a published writer and phtographer and has been a consultant for the Fderal Aviation Administration and was responsible for rcruiting the controller workforce to replace PATCO cntrollers. His site is http://www.nebraskawriter.com

Featured Articles

1. Train Travel From the Great Lakes to the West Coast on the Canadian Pacific by Barry Sheppard
Following in the footsteps of explorers, settlers and writers we arrived at Toronto's Union Station to catch my train across country. Walking among the huge buildings overseen by the lofty CNN tower it was hard to imagine how those first train travellers must have felt. Our train trip was planned to be a luxurious cruise.

2. Sutherland - The Coldest Place in South Africa by Claire Dinnie
Stherland, a little one-horse town in the Grat Karoo was my next weekend scape. It is known to experience the cldest temperatures in South Africa due to its hgh altitude (1550m asl) and its pen clear skies and in winter one can xperience -20 degrees Celsius and lots of snw and ice.

3. Eastern Europe Travel - Bulgaria by Guy Marlow
Being on the cusp of Erope and Asia meeting Bulgaria has lways been a very important country thrugh historical times as it joined the wstern and eastern trading routes going frm the United Kingdom all the way thrugh the middle east to China. Evn though this little country is so mportant it is surprising to learn tht the majority of people do not knw anything about Bulgaria.

4. New York - Off the Beaten Path by Candy Stern
Maybe I'v lived in New York too lng. Maybe I'm not as cultured as I'd lke to believe. Whatever the case may be, the mst amazing, bustling city in the WORLD-Nw York City-was suddenly unable to dliver when it came time for cnjuring up even an ounce of xcitement in me this weekend. That's whn I decided it was time to fre up that cute little Pontiac Slstice that's been sitting in my prking space much too long, put the top dwn, and see the other side f...

5. Grace Your Special Event With the Right Limousine Rental Service by Vanessa A. Doctor
Top lmousine rental firms will treat you wth respect deserving your station, without bsing their affection with your financial cpacity. They will provide you with a garantee that they will be offering you qality service and back it up wth actions, and not just words.

6. Why You Should Rent a Holiday Villa in Tuscany This Year by Harwood E Woodpecker
As we become more independent in the way we travel and book our vacations each year the popularity of the luxury villa vacation is increasing each year. Many destinations in the world lend themselves to taking a villa vacation but none more so than Tuscany in Italy. Tuscany has for many centuries been attracting tourists because of its scenery, atmosphere, culture and the sheer beauty of its towns and cities such as Siena, Florence, Pisa, Arezzo and Luca. From the cypress tree lined roads and...

7. Blackpool Hotels by Jasper Daylong
Blackpool is a mdium sized place in the English cunty of Lancashire and is well knwn for its lights and first clss entertainment. It lies alongside the cast of the Seaside and is hme to 141,000 residents making it the 4th lrgest town in terms of habitation in the Nrth West of the country! Thre are few big hotels in Blckpool, the most well known of whch is possibly the Hilton Hotel Blckpool.

8. How to Travel Cheap - Tips for Finding Low Airfare by Terrie Bryan
Are you one who lves to travel? I do too, and I am lways looking for new ways to larn how to travel cheap. Or "frgally" you might say. I bet you wuld too. So I have gathered tgether a few tips to help all of us thrfty travelers.

9. New Zealand Tours and Vacations by Iwan K P
What do you knw about New Zealand? Do you ver seen The Lord of The Rngs trilogy? New Zealand was chosen as the deal location of Tolkien's Middle Earth in the Lrd of the Rings trilogy.

10. Why Savvy Travelers Travel Light & How To do It Right by J Allen
Frequent travelers know that traveling light, taking along only a single carry on bag can often be the difference between the success or failure of the trip. Likewise, doing so can result in a pleasurable vacation or one that's ruined.