Why Our Skies Are So Crowded

Flights have increased and ticket prices have gone down. In the past recent years, airlines have experienced a higher demand in their market than ever before. This is partially due to the decline in ticket prices. The decrease in ticket prices has made flying more affordable for more people, however there are also some downsides.

Low airfare has in fact increased some aspects of airline service. Flights have been arriving on time more, luggage tracking has become more efficient, and passengers are getting denied from flights less often.

Delta and Nothwest, United and Continental, as well as Southwest and AirTran are based in the United States and are some of the largest airlines in the industry. These few airlines command more than three-quarters of the airline business in the U.S. and control most of the airline market shares. Most of these big business airlines have lowered their ticket fares in order to increase demand and profits on flights.

Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group, and China Southern/Eastern Airlines are some of the other largest airline companies around the world. Even the largest airlines have been hit hard by the rapid expansion of the major airlines, and others have lowered their prices to increase their ticket sales and generate more profits. These airlines have taking on new business techniques, such as increasing the size and number of their planes, increasing work hours, and "keeping planes airborne for longer each day to cut costs", in order to succeed in the progressively competitive industry.

Although low airfare has increased ticket sales and flight efficiency, there are many disadvantages that come along with lowering ticket prices. The disadvantages include airlines charging extra fees to make up for the lower prices, crowded and limited flights, as well as little incentive for change or innovation. Many airline companies have undergone a series of innovations and consolidations in the past few years, allowing them to generate large amounts of profits. Although the new strategies and deals have led to greater efficiency, the airline industry will face upcoming challenges as airline companies no longer have much incentive to change.