The 'Future' of Airline Travel
Will air travel become a blood sport?
July 2, 2008 — -- A typical customer of the future is on his communication device, trying to change a plane reservation.
"Hello, Mr. Anderson. Thank you for choosing OneWorld 2011 Airlines. How can I help you this evening?" The online digital customer service rep's voice is slightly robotic, but alluring.
"Well," Mr. Anderson says, staring at the pixel-woman on the screen in front of him. "I need to change my flight from Wednesday to Friday."
"Very good, Mr. Anderson," the digi-rep says. "Report to the Rollerball court at 0300 hours. If you are successful in utilizing this quasi-futuristic bloodsport to hurl your carry-on bag past the android attendants and into the correct bin, and you pay the change fee of $550, we'll be happy to book you on that Friday flight."
Is this the future? With oil prices on the rise, airlines adding new fees on what seems like a daily basis and dropping customer service scores, insiders, experts and average travelers have begun to prognosticate, trying to read the "signs" to see where all this is heading.
I have to admit that future-of-air-travel-type questions always bring out the movie buff in me. "Rollerball" came instantly to mind; then, after seeing a news segment on the airlines called "Doomsday Oil Scenario," I immediately envisioned a "Mad Max" situation where fuel was the last surviving currency, and we all started wearing spiked football pads.
Of course, things aren't quite that bleak yet, but we are starting to glimpse trends that could significantly alter the way we fly in the not-too-distant-future. I thought it might be fun to take a look at six possible scenarios. Some are truly Hollywood-worthy, but others aren't as far-out as you might think …
With the Delta-Northwest merger, the recent alliance between Continental and United and more potential mergers on the horizon, we're seeing a reduction in the number of major carriers. Perhaps we're moving toward the "single airline" domestic market that some futurists predict.
