Were you aware that you have available to you a wealth of information on all the major airlines coming in and out of the United States? The Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings under the United States Department of Transportation maintains a monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. This document catalogs information taken when a consumer reports travel experiences, incoming and outgoing, within the States.
In the last couple of years, due in large part to the reckoning administered by the Great Recession begun in 2008, many American airlines have experienced bad public relations situations. For a long while American citizens were not traveling on planes as often because of the economic climate. Vacations were simply an extravagance many people could not risk spending their hard earned dollars on. According to Jim Glab’s article “Survey finds recession’s impact is still felt on business travel” in Executive Travel Magazine, the Great Recession’s effects have caused businesses to reconsider their expenditures as well. Eight out of ten businessmen poled say that their company has had to rethink how it engages in business meetings. Nearly a third say that they have greatly increased their meetings via teleconference as a result of the budget crunch.
This sudden tightening of the belt has helped to put many airlines in dire circumstances. Multiple American and international airlines have had mechanical failures, chronic delays in their flights, and subsequent failing of consumer confidence. Others have simply shut their doors as doing business in the Recession was unsustainable. More recently, two American giants, US Airways and American Airlines, have begun the merging process in hopes of more successfully weathering the storm.
This shaken confidence leaves American citizens in need of finding out all the facts before they buy a ticket for an airline or consider purchasing travel insurance. The Air Travel Consumer Report offered by the Department of Transportation offers a publicly available wealth of airline information including average number of flight delays, cancellations, and reasons for these issues. This helps in choosing the most reliable carrier.
For travelers looking into travel insurance, looking into travel insurance consumer reports can be equally informative. ConsumerReports.org notes in “Do you need travel insurance?” that travel insurance is often unnecessary depending on what insurance plans you already subscribe to. Should you find, after doing your research, that you are in need of coverage looking into travel insurance reviews consumer reports is a great place to start.
Looking into consumer reports travel insurance and the Air Travel Consumer Report are two equally great resources to take full advantage of before taking that next vacation. While the Great Recession is technically over, many of the issues it exposed in the travel industry still subsist. Through research and careful planning all Americans can enjoy safe, convenient travel options.
