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Air travel industry has been one of the very important modes of travel in the twentieth century and continues to be so in the twenty first century too. Air travel industry’s history also has been unique with several experiments being done before success was finally achieved by man to fly a man made machine in the skies. Since time immemorial man had seen birds and was also inspired to fly like them but it only remained a dream. No doubt in epics and Hindu mythology we had the Pushpaka Vimana. Which was a aircraft which king Ravana of Lanka had. There were many airports too according to the epic. There are many similar different details in different cultures and their history too. But after the industrial revolution took place and the new world developed. There was competition among many countries who had the knowledge and capability at that time to try and develop a flying machine which can be of use to those countries during the times of war and peace.
Some of the interesting things which happened at that time in earlier twentieth century and a few years before that are the flying by hot air balloon, the invention of the zeppelin, both these could carry people in the air many trials too took place. Then the famous Wright brothers invented their aircraft which worked and was a turning point in the history of aviation. Later many new models and variations too came. Some of the countries which had and have this technology were the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japanese and a few others. This air superiority gave them an advantage of superior technology over others. Unfortunately this technology was used in wars and caused massive damage. Other than wars these aircraft were also used to transporting people, mail and cargo. Travel times got drastically reduced as crossing seas and oceans at a fast pace was a feasible idea.
Later came the jet engine which changed the speed at which aircraft and helicopters could travel. Companies like General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Aerospatiale, McDonald Douglas, Embraer and others came with different variants of aircraft for commercial purposes and for military use. This industry was advancing very fast technologically. Small 2 seater, 5 seater, 7 seater, 12 seater and other smaller varieties led to turboprop model then came the jet engines which are used even now. The different between the older generation aircraft and the present ones is that the carrying capacity of load and passengers has increased exponentially. Now aircraft carry around from around more than 200 passengers and cargo to the latest even able to carry more than 400 passengers on board and cabin crew are an additional capacity too.
Air travel industry is not easy to run due to logistics, amount of funds to be invested, technology involved, maintenance and repairs, maintaining airports, runways, training people and the high quality of man power required to make air travel fool proof and safe. This means it is a high investment business and cannot be easily afforded by all countries. This leads to lack of mobility and faster transport of people by air from one point to another. Due to the costs governments were the first to invest in this business and mainly it was owned by the state. As the business grew and the number of people required to service passengers and cargo increased then governments all over the world adopted the government, public sector and private sector model and the same is continuing even today.
These all are multi billion dollar industries which are handled nowadays by not one but by a consortium of companies belonging to the private sector belonging to different countries who specialize in the planning, investing, building, construction, maintenance, repairs, aquisition of aircraft, financing, leasing and many other operations associated with it. For all these the cost involved being too high, to achieve the break even airlines need more number of flights which means more runways and increase in the amount of logistics stated above.
They need more airports to achieve connectivity and to see that costs workout both for the airlines and the passengers too. As of now the cost of air travel is very high and people have to think twice before considering air travel especially in developing countries. While in developed countries there are too many airlines operating so there it is a case of more airlines fighting for less number of passengers leading to price wars which are damaging the future prospects of the industry as achieving break even is turning out to be a difficult preposition. In developing countries with high population there is a problem of connectivity as resources are less so there are less number of airports whereas the population to be served is increasing and the existing airlines are unable to keep pace with the growing population.
This is leading to a demand and supply problem in both the cases stated above. Over and above this is the cost of low cost or low budget airlines which have started operations which are eating away the business of the standard quality airlines. Forcing them to indulge in price wars which even if they try to their best of ability they are unable to match the price of low cost airlines. The result of all this is that the standard quality airline end up reducing and compromising the quality of their flight services on board the aircraft and at airports and airline offices leading to difficulties to passengers in obtaining proper services.
Low cost airlines are doing most of the business online from a single point using technology having not much of ground staff as they want to cut costs and thus reduce prices. Some airlines are also telling the passengers to buy food and such other things if they would want those services. This turns out to be the pay and use concept. Standard airlines cannot afford to do these kind of things as they are governed by International Air Transport Association guidelines which they have to follow while low cost air lines are covered by a different set of rules.
This is leading to a unhealthy level playing field and leading to closure of many airlines as some are unable to manage their finances due to the volatility in the industry and others are closing down as they are unable to pay the dues which they are supposed to pay like lease, aviation turbine fuel charges, parking fees, landing fees, airport charges and other such services as incomes are low. In view of all these bodies like the IATA and National Airport Authorities, Director General of Civil Aviation, governments of different countries and such others work out a common level playing field to get a standard quality of service from all airlines and to see that prices do not become too volatile. Leading to losses to airlines, governments, aviation bodies, passengers and others concerned with the aviation business.
There is a silver lining for the aviation business in that the number of people wanting to travel will only increase as the population increases, demand for mobility too increases, which means need for more airports, more service providers, airlines and increase in infrastructure. This means a forecast of a bright future for the airline and aviation industry. The only thing the concerned bodies who are in this business need to chalk out is that they should not cut into the other airlines business to increase their profits. Which in the long term will prove detrimental to them and the aviation industry as a whole.
A standardized procedure all over the world in rules and in the method of implementation of which will avoid fare wars leading to stable air fares and thus helping in the growth of the industry which ultimately will benefit the common man, who would want to travel to different parts of the world in a safe way and with peace of mind while also getting all the services which he is entitled as a passenger.
A lot of effort has to go into this by different bodies and it should be a concerted effort worldwide. Only then will air travel industry survive and lead to the progress of the countries economies and the also help the passengers of different countries around the world. This should be the approach for all concerned if things have to be retrieved and improved to have a bright future for this industry which is vital for any country in the modern world. Readers do you want airlines to survive and air fares to be stable? Share your opinion.
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Airlines if they want to tighten their belts. It is better they provide good quality service, maintain flight times, see that passengers are not harassed, provide amenities to passengers at airports rather than charging and making every service a pay and use variety, See customer is respected from whichever part of the world one is.
They should avoid too much of automation and cutting of jobs as if any serious problem arises then manpower is required to handle such issues and machines will not solve the problem. Respect employees for what they are appreciate their work, see their requirements are well taken care of and they are not treated as use and throw material or like a tissue paper.