Record high fuel prices + a slowing economy = trouble
It’s really as simple as that. Costs are up while demand is weakening. Trouble means flights will be full or close to full all the time. Get use to it, if you aren’t already. Higher fares are a given too.
And yes, trouble also means fewer flights. So far CLT is holding its own, with just some seasonal reductions (Delta not flying to its Salt Lake City hub, some AirTran cuts) that look to come back by the spring. That is certainly subject to change though.
Some other places aren’t that lucky. RDU is losing its only transcon — a Delta flight to LAX — and Raleigh has far from the weakest economy going.
