Valujet’s Demise Leaves Vacuum Grounding Sends Budget Travelers Scrambling For Other Options
With the grounding of ValuJet Airlines, the fallen star of the cheap fare airlines, what’s a budget traveler to do?
For many, it’s a choice between paying more to fly a larger airline or staying home.
The sudden absence of ValuJet, forced out of the skies Monday night by the Federal Aviation Administration, means the end of air travel for people like Bud Rodgers of Detroit. He flew ValuJet about six times a year to visit relatives.
“I would never be able to do this without ValuJet,” Rodgers said Tuesday at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.
“I’m going to lose two trips in July if they don’t come back. And I’m supposed to fly my grandsons to Detroit in August. I can’t afford to … with a higher-priced airline,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers’ latest round trip between Detroit and Atlanta on ValuJet cost $140.
“The other airlines are fine and safe and all that, but you come down here (on) Delta and it’s 400 bucks,” he said.
Until last month’s crash of Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades that killed 110 people, scrappy ValuJet was the success story of the airline industry, growing by leaps and bounds by offering cut-rate fares to folks who otherwise couldn’t afford to fly.
“These are people who were traveling not because they had to, but because the price was good,” said Asis Balagam, a travel agent in suburban Atlanta.
Now there’s a huge void in the market. And for penny-pinching travelers in the 31 cities where ValuJet flew, few alternatives. Other low-cost airlines, including Kiwi and Air South, fly to Atlanta, ValuJet’s home base, but neither of them serve the same number of destinations. And other airlines so far haven’t indicated they’ll increase flights to offset the loss of ValuJet.
In addition to cheap travel, ValuJet’s low fares forced other airlines to offer cheaper seats in order to compete.
Officials at Delta and USAir would not comment on whether they would scale back the matching fares. Industry analysts said such action was inevitable.
“They may keep them on the books, but the number of seats will shrink quickly,” said Morten Beyer, an aviation consultant in McLean, Va. “I can guarantee you it’s ended” of the matching fares.
ValuJet President Lewis Jordan promised Tuesday that his airline would be back, but said he wasn’t sure when. “We hope in approximately 30 days … but that is beyond my control,” he said.
xxxx INVESTORS DUMP STOCK ValuJet Inc. shares lost more than a third of their value Tuesday after regulators grounded the airline. The Atlanta-based airline’s shares closed down $3.50, or 35 percent, at $6.50 after falling as low as $4.50, the lowest point since 1994.