Demand for Air Travel Surges

By Terry Green
Feb 2 2011

According to several US airlines this morning, demand for air travel has surged so far ahead that it is the greatest increase in the history of aviation.

There have been lulls in the air travel industry before. When rough times hit travel is usually the first thing to go, according to the airline leaders. But when the economic crisis hit in 2008 times were far worse for airlines that were already suffering after the 9/11 attacks.

However, in 2009 there was a tremendous surge in the number of people that were willing to fly and that number increased tenfold in 2010. But there is a hitch in this new demand for air travel, oil prices. Just like most combustible fuels, jet fuel is refined from crude oil and as such it will increase in price with the price of crude on the upswing.

As such many airlines are bracing for some very lean times ahead. When the price of crude starts to increase the price of airline tickets will naturally follow and with the prices already high there is a chance that many will stop traveling once again.

Nonetheless, there is always the chance that crude will start to dip once again. At this time the crude prices are being artificially inflated thanks to the crisis in Egypt and the federal government is hoping that once the crisis is averted the crude prices will once again level out. This may be the only hope that the airline industry has for this coming travel season.