Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25233
IN FRONT:: To guage the state of the airline industry, don't bother looking at news reports or even empty seats. The real indicator lies somewhere in California's Mojave Desert, at an airline storage facility where you' ll find many of the airplanes pulled from service since September 11. Air Canada has parked 55 planes, US Airways a staggering lOl aircraft, and Lufthansa 43 jets. There they sit, hermetically sea led from dust and pollutants, waiting for an economy where passengers jostle for space on flights to Dallas, Denver, London and Tokyo. A $10 billion dollar handout from the U.S. Government notwithstanding, there's an excellent chance that some major air carriers may go the way of Pan Am, Braniff and (thank god!) the Trump Shuttle. Midway has already shuttered , and United, the world's largest airline, announced that this year cou ld be it's last. Swiss Air passengers who showed up at Heathrow last October were turned away because the venerable carrier hadn't paid its gas bill. Sabena has declared bankruptcy. Never before has the flying public had so little confidence in airline safety. That, coupled with a stammering economy, has put tremendous stress on a notoriously fickle industry. For those willing to fly there are some tremendous deals. It's an oppor- tunistic market for vulture travelers, one might say. But a ticket on a grounded plane won't do you any more good than a depressed dot-com stock. Here's how to fly for cheap and not get stuck. If you're looking for a low price fare, check out travel agents. They always offer somewhat competitive rates compared to buying direct from airlines, and now they are even more aggressive (read: desperate). Some Internet sites worth knowing about include Hotwire.com, which allows you to select your destination and then find out how much you'll pay, with no commitment. An excellent site if you're flexible on airl ines and flight times but don't want to bother with a bidding process. If it's a weekend get- away you're after, Site59.com offers a vari ety of them, mostly in the United States. Even if you don't use the hotel or rental car included, many of the flights are notable bargains. And you get to select your flight time and airline in advance. Though not a discounter, Orbitz.com provides useful side-by-side comparisons of fares from major airlines. Flightcoordinators.com is a reliable consolidator with good international fares. AA.com and United.com, along with most other major airli nes, post e-fares and week- end specials exclusively on the company website. So you grabbed a bargain fare on a major airline and your airline goes under. What are your rights as a ticketed pas- senger? How can you avoided getting stranded in an airport lounge eating $7 pre-wrapped turkey sandwiches? Well, you don't have many enticing options. If you are already at your destination and your airline goes belly up, in some cases, other major carriers will honor your ticket on a space avai lable basis, but - they're under no legal obligation to give you a ride, so it pays to be especially charming to the desk agent. If you have a paper ticket, you have an advantage over your e- ticket friends simply because other airlines may have difficulty accessing reservations on a defunct carrier's computer. Short of these options, there's always 1-800-Greyhound, or ... dishwashing. - Jordan Stolper