STRAPPED AIRLINES STORE MORE PLANES.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer MOJAVE - Reflecting the struggles of commercial airlines in a sluggish economy Sluggish Economy A state in the economy in which the growth is slow, flat or declining. The term can refer to the economy as a whole or a component of the economy, such as weak housing starts.Notes: When the economy is in a sluggish state, it is generally harmful for a business since consumers and other businesses are less likely to purchase its products. and in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of jetliners coming into Mojave Airport for storage is on the rise. Opting to store the aircraft at relatively modest fees rather than go through the expense of maintaining them, airlines are bringing their planes to be stored in the dry climate of the High Desert. More than 150 jetliners are now parked at the airport and more are expected. ``We were getting five to 15 airplanes a day last week,'' said Tim Jaworski, the airport's finance director. ``The indications are that it's not going to slow up.'' Based on information provided by companies that seal up the jetliners for storage, the airport could get as many as 300 airplanes, Jaworski said. Some of the jetliners are coming in as a result of airlines making their operations more efficient, but many are being parked as the direct result of the decline in passenger loads in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, Jaworski said. The airlines using Mojave include American, U.S. Air, Continental and Delta. The airport rents parking space for the jets at rates of $150 a month for narrow-body aircraft and $250 a month for wide-body aircraft. The number of jetliners parked at the airport is a barometer of the health of the airline industry airline industry, the business of transporting paying passengers and freight by air along regularly scheduled routes, typically by airplanes but also by helicopter. Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin set up the first commercial airline in 1912, using a form of the dirigible to transport more than 34,000 passengers before World War I.. During the early 1990s, recession hit the airlines hard, sending such companies as Pan Am, Eastern and Midway into bankruptcy. At one point, more than 180 jetliners were parked at the airport. As the economy and the airline industry recovered, the jets were returned to service, leaving about 20 aircraft parked at the airport during the late 1990s. The airline industry has laid off more than 100,000 employees and trimmed routes since the Sept. 11 attacks. A General Accounting Office report issued earlier this month estimates losses to the airline industry of between $6.5 billion and $10.5 billion. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Planes from various airlines are shown in storage at Mojave Airport. More than 150 jetliners are now parked there. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion