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Business trends for 2006
Airlines
Carriers set sights on recovery
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published January 8, 2006
The new year rang in the biggest airline failure since 1991 with the demise of Independence Air, and seven other carriers are flying under bankruptcy protection from creditors.
Still, 2006 is shaping up as a year of recovery for the battered industry that lost more than $8-billion in 2005.
More people will fly, and they'll pay more - from $8 to $15 extra on average for each leg of a trip, by some estimates.
Floridians will still reap some of the cheapest fares in the country, thanks to heavy leisure travel and lots of low-fare competition.
But as bankrupt carriers such as Delta Air Lines cut back capacity, annual passenger growth at Tampa International Airport will slow to about 5 percent, half the rate in 2004 and 2005.
Delta replaces its low-fare Song brand, which featured live TV at every seat, with standard Delta flights later this year. Song now makes the airline's only flights from Tampa International to New York and Boston.
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport will likely continue to reel from the loss of its two biggest airlines in the past 13 months.
The tiny carriers that fly into the airport are particularly sensitive to bumps in the volatile industry, like spiking fuel prices. Hooter's Air is suspending flights this week to Columbus, Ohio, and Gary, Ind., with plans to resume in March.
[Last modified January 8, 2006, 11:24:48]
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