In the early years of the twenty-first century, the air transportation industry is in a state of chaotic transition on a global basis. A souring of the global economy that began in late-2000, followed by the terrorist attacks in the United States in September 2001, wars in the Middle East, and continued deteriorations in economic activity in most areas of the world are cited frequently as the causes of the calamitous mess in the global air transportation industry.
Most certainly, there are justifications to support each of the factors mentioned in the preceding paragraph as a causal factor of the instability in the air transportation industry. There are, however, other factors that likely would have pushed the air transportation industry to its present state even in the absence struggling economies, terrorist attacks, and Middle Eastern wars.
Flying on passenger aircraft was once a privilege primarily for the economically well-off who demanded luxury and who were both able and willing to pay for luxury service. Today, in all parts of the world, a newer segment is developing rapidly into the major force in air transportation passenger market. This segment is comprised of people who prize utility over luxury. They seek reliable service, safe service, and low prices.
As a consequence of the shift in the composition of the air transportation passenger market, in concert with factors such as economic decline, terrorist threats, and a seemingly endless series of wars to satisfy the needs of a seemingly endless series of grasping politicians, traditional, well established airlines are experiencing serious profitability problems, while so-called low-cost airlines (also referred to as no-frills airlines and budget airlines) are developing profitable niches in the air transportation market.
Simultaneously with the development of instability and transformation in the air transportation industry, the pervasiveness of information...