and that's why these companies have to be allowed to go bankrupt. some are simply horribly run companies. oh yeah...can you tell me why seattle's best coffee is always so strong? i like strong coffee but it is strong like burned tar bitter strong.
Really? Believe me, you are the first one to ever tell me that. The thing that I always here from some customers is that our coffee is not strong enough. We have about 16 different blends and maybe 2 would qualify as actual dark roasts. My sales rep is from Starbucks of course and she is always telling me how Starbucks burns their coffee and SB is actually better as far as drip coffee is concerned. Espresso based drinks are pretty much a wash.
I'm not sure what to think. Obviously, the fuel prices hurt but most of the big dawgs have emerged from post-9/11 bankruptcy and are posting profits. For the consumer you can still find cheap fares. Obviously, if I live in New York and want to fly to Hawaii it will cost an arm & leg but that's expected. Between my parents they have a combined 70+ years of service with USAirways so i've been there and heard first hand of all the hardships this industry has been through. I don't think people realize how truely devastated this industry was by 9/11. Just bring up the words “9/11” or “pay cut” to my dad and you’ll see smoke come out of his ears. To give you an example, prior to 9/11 USAirways employed over 12,000 and ran over 500 flights a day out of Pittsburgh. Those numbers have since been reduced to something like 1,800 employees and 100-something flights. Hopefully this industry can manage to stay on its feet despite the staggering fuel costs. Air travel is one of those simple pleasures we take for granted. If we didn't have accessible and affordable air travel the tourism industry would essentially die completely so when I see a topic like "The Fate of the Airline Industry?" you can't help but to think THERE HAS TO BE A WAY, right?
I hypothesize some european involvement. The feds hate the idea, but it'll happen. I also forecast 1 or 2 large carriers left behind with a ton of smaller puddle jumpers.
