The Travel Industry News - Editorial Archives

December 1, 2001

Half Empty…Or…Half Full?

Thanksgiving 2001 is now in the history books, and perhaps this is an appropriate time to reflect upon the things that we truly have to be thankful for. Last Sunday, Nov 18th, I climbed out of bed at 2am, went out onto my deck overlooking Port Susan on Camano Island and gazed in awe at the star filled black velvet sky which was a showcase that night for the flashing Leonid meteor shower. As my mother once told me to do, I wished every time I saw one of heaven’s jewels thrown across thousands of miles in time…in mere seconds.

I wished for happiness and love for my daughter, to me the most beautiful girl in the world. I wished for a successful future for my granddaughter and then thanked ‘my lucky stars’ for my precious ‘D’, my wife and partner. There were many meteors traversing the skies on that cool night and so my wishes were plentiful. I also wished for peace and success in and around all my colleagues in the travel industry, even those whose temperaments and ideas differ from my own.

Yes, for the ‘Travel Biz’ and many others, it is hard to find the upside right now, but it does exist.

I collect travel related news clippings from newspapers, magazines & news releases. I take notes from radio & TV programs, in fact from any source ( even the Internet ! ) that I come upon so that at the end of a week, a month … even a year, I can watch for trends to emerge or anticipate ‘the winds of change’. I also refer to ‘Ghosts of December TINs Past’, read the happenings, forecasts and my mistakes all written about in good faith over the last 20 years. Some things have changed but a surprising number remain the same, even though ‘newcomers’ believe that history … no matter how recent … has little value.

Prior to becoming Director of Marketing at Doug Fox Travel in those days of ‘yesteryear’, I spent 9 years as Travel Editor at the Seattle Post Intelligencer, and you know what, the media is still looking at the world through ‘Black Colored Glasses’. I once made a suggestion that the paper introduce a weekly ‘GOOD NEWS” section, hey perhaps on Pink newsprint! My logic? Wouldn’t advertisers rather have their ad adjacent to a story about a ‘PI Newspaper Delivery Boy Now a Ship’s Captain’ (there was such a story!) as opposed to next to a ‘Serial Killer’ thriller? Heck I even believed there were readers who would seek out the ‘positive’ news.

But NO! It wouldn’t sell newspapers I was told. Well the media hasn’t changed much in the past 30 years … in fact I don’t believe it has changed its approach much over the last 100 years! Bad news is good circulation, so why not always approach it from the negative viewpoint? I still think that they are wrong and right now I think most of us could use a little ‘positive’ input. That doesn’t mean we ignore everything going on about us, but it does mean for every wrong there can be... and, probably is…a right.

Lets do a ‘BAD NEWS’ – ‘GOOD NEWS’ item or two about our own ‘biz’ and decide for yourself just how you want ‘your glass’ to appear. However, let’s put the record straight to begin with. Many of the companies mentioned here who have, or are, falling upon bad times, were doing so long before Sept 11th 2001.

BAD NEWS: COMMODORE CRUISE LINE and sister company CROWN CRUISE LINE filed for Chapter 11. The reason is Overexpansion … a spreading virus midst cruise lines I’m afraid.

GOOD NEWS: Travel agencies were selling more cruises than ever before and in fact cruise commissions were helping to fill the void left by decreasing air commissions.

BAD NEWS: AMERICAN CLASSIC VOYAGES recently declared bankruptcy taking the remnants of AMERICAN HAWAII CRUISES, UNITED STATES LINE and four of the five DELTA QUEEN STEAMBOAT COMPANY’S classic riverboats.

GOOD NEWS: Thus far the flagship ‘DELTA QUEEN’ will continue to ply the Mississippi. It is also of interest to note … and cruise companies should realize that TAs know what their clients want … a faithful TIN reader and agency owner from Livingston, Montana – Christine – told me to keep an eye on American Classic Voyages because the ‘new’ CEO did not understand the ‘small ship’ market. She told me in June of 2000, and she was right!

BAD NEWS: CANADA 3000 – Canada’s second largest scheduled carrier – filed for Bankruptcy.

GOOD NEWS: This may not be the end … up to Sept 11th Canada 3000 announced a profit of $19 million CAD. Perhaps we haven’t heard ‘the rest of the story’.

ALSO – AIR CANADA – has started up a ‘discount’ (surprise) airline aimed at Canadian leisure travelers. The name? TANGO AIRLINE … let’s hope they can!!!

BAD NEWS: Confidence in air travel has fallen since Sept 11. Some members of the public … and some TAs … are apparently frightened to fly and believe that indeed not many people are flying.

GOOD NEWS: Think about it! When those ‘idiots’ broke through Security Check points recently in Atlanta and Sea-Tac, thousands were inconvenienced by having to gather in the airport concourses and go through Security again. DID YOU SAY TO YOURSELF – “Wow – look at all those people who are about to board airplanes?” The media sure didn’t put any ‘Positive’ spin on these stories … they’d rather spread the word that ‘the airlines are in trouble because no one is flying’…. That ain’t so! Now maybe the travelers are not paying enough for airlines to make a profit … but whose fault is that?

BAD NEWS: RULES … there is nothing wrong with rules, if they are for the benefit of the majority. Which brings me to DE-REGULATION. It was an experiment, an experiment that has not worked out well for anyone as far as I can see. The argument was that competition would increase and with it all the benefits of Free Enterprise. If that’s true, why are the airlines now complaining that they can’t make money on certain routes … because … of competition?

GOOD NEWS: Surely, and I say this somewhat ‘tongue in cheek’, the Federal authorities will take a closer look at the airlines … AND … make them accountable for the monies (our money) that has been loaned to them.

BAD NEWS: SABENA & SWISS AIR, airlines with a proud reputation for excellence and service, have joined the Bankruptcy line.

GOOD NEWS: ALASKA AIRLINES has not laid any of its staff off. SAS continues to take delivery of its new Boeing 737-800s. BRITISH AIRWAY’S Concorde is back in service ( and they don’t have cheap seats!). SOUTHWEST AIRLINES continues to prove Business Analyst – Tom Peters is a very smart guy. Tom said … 6 years ago … that Southwest had designed a ‘Blueprint for Success’.

BAD NEWS: AMAZON.com has opened an ‘Online Travel Store’. Some travel agents believe that ‘online ticket sellers’ will lead to the demise of travel agencies and people will flock to these travel sources.

GOOD NEWS: First remember that the Internet can also be your ally in many ways. AND during the recent travel upheavals caused by Sept 11 – Online sellers with their lack of ‘people contact’ agents fared badly when it came to problem solving. I admit I had to smile when a company named …IMPROVEMYBUSINESS.com …announced a 70% reduction in their staff. I would have thought every one needs their services right now! PLUS… Travelocity shares fell 29% recently and Expedia (who haven’t recorded a profit yet!) shares decreased 11%.

BAD NEWS: RENAISSANCE CRUISES waved farewell as the seas of debt swallowed them up.

GOOD NEWS: Isn’t that the company that at one time thought they didn’t need travel agents?

Well you get the idea. Life, beauty, success, happiness … they all rely on at least one constant … perception! Think quietly, I bet you have things to be thankful for, I know that I do.

David (Thankful) Bond.

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