When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened."| Your feedback is important to us. Click here to email us your feedback. |
| Airlines for America SmartBrief |
| December 9, 2008 |
Looking back at 2008
Over the course of 2008, I have been pleased to bring you the industry news that matters to your business. Part I of this ATA Smartbrief special year-end report rounds up the most important trends, stories and events of the past year. Part II, which will hit your inbox Thursday, will provide a glimpse into what's in store for 2009.
At the beginning of 2008, ATA and the airlines were focused on helping Congress pass a meaningful FAA reauthorization bill to direct the modernization of the air traffic management system and to establish a fair funding mechanism in which all system-user groups pay proportionally for the services they use. In the end, however, Congress put off that debate until next year, extending the existing funding mechanism through March 2009.
As 2008 wore on, energy prices became the main focus. Skyrocketing energy prices and a slowing economy had a serious impact on all Americans and businesses, including airlines. Crude-oil prices peaked at $147 per barrel; unregulated oil speculation contributed significantly to this situation. While a slowing economy finally caused this bubble to burst, jet fuel prices remain more than three times 2000 levels. In the first nine months of 2008, U.S. airlines had already spent $4.4 billion more on fuel than they had in all of 2007.
These factors forced unprecedented efforts to reduce fuel consumption and increase efficiency. By December, capacity had been reduced more than 10 percent, with hundreds of airplanes parked and many capital projects shelved. Still, airlines have not come close to earning back the $27 billion in net losses incurred since 2000, and they are likely to lose another $5 billion in 2008.
In this tremendously difficult environment, ATA is calling on the government, as never before, to first "do no harm." More on this in the next installment.
And now, here's what was most important to YOU in 2008.
When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened."
--Alexander Graham Bell,
American inventor
Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win."
--Jonathan Kozol,
American nonfiction writer and educator
The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B."
--James Yorke,
mathematics and physics professor
You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
--Mahatma Gandhi,
Indian political leader
It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously."
--Peter Ustinov,
British actor and writer
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
--Aristotle,
ancient Greek philosopher
Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time."
--Marian Wright Edelman
children's activist
In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
--Theodore Roosevelt,
26th president of the U.S.
Most companies don't exercise patience during the hiring process. There is no development system that is going to compensate for making a bad hire."
--Eric Foss,
CEO of Pepsi Bottling
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