Business travelers may not be happy about having to check bags for one- and two-day trips under security rules enacted in August.
But they seem to be doing it, airport and travel officials say.
“Our numbers haven’t dropped,” said Steve Sedgwick, president of Foothill Ranch-based First Class International Travel, whose business is 90% corporate travel. “Business travelers don’t fly because they enjoy it, but because they have to make a living.”
Planes still are full, a month after the Transportation Security Administration banned liquids and gels in carry-on luggage.
Nationwide, checked baggage is up 20% since then, according to TSA.
“Passengers seem to have adjusted quite smoothly,” John Wayne Airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said.
Among the noticeable changes, she said, are longer restaurant lines and more trash at boarding gates as passengers gulp their last drinks before boarding.
The ban arguably hits business travelers the hardest. Most opt not to check bags on short trips to visit customers or company offices, cutting their time at the airport.
“We were quite nervous that it would be like after 9/11,” said Susan Lapham, director of operations for the Irvine office of TraveLeaders. “But (the last week of August) has been one of our busiest.”
In a National Business Travel Association survey of travel managers done after the new rules took effect, 74% said heightened security would have no bearing on their travel plans.
But that could change if more stringent rules banning computers, wireless phones or pens are implemented, said Michael Boyd, president of aviation consultancy The Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.
Boyd insists that airlines already are seeing a softening in business travel, especially among female travelers on one-day business trips.
“I guarantee it’s happening,” he said. “Business travelers don’t want to check bags for overnight trips.”
Boyd’s company works on behalf of airlines, aircraft makers, airports and others in the industry.
National passenger numbers for August aren’t due until November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Arlington, Va.-based Airline Reporting Co., an airline-owned company that compiles industry data, said there were two weeks in August when refunds were up and sales were slightly down. Most indicators have returned to near-normal patterns, according to Airline Reporting.
“If anything, (business travelers) may switch to driving or rail for closer destinations or reroute to avoid hot spots like London Heathrow,” said Eve White, an officer with the Los Angeles chapter of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Business Travel Association.
There’s some indication travelers are looking at other ways to fly.
Santa Ana-based West Coast Charters Inc. general manager Roy Irwin said the company’s planes were “maxed out” for the Labor Day weekend.
West Coast has fielded more inquiries about its private fleet of planes since the changes took place, Irwin said, though none of the inquiries have translated into new business yet.
Airlines, hotels and retailers also have reacted to the rules.
American Airlines and Frontier Airlines handed out bottled water to boarding passengers. Ritz-Carlton hotels added items in gift shops and rooms the day the rules went into effect.
Some stores are selling products that meet the new rules, such as tooth powder, towelettes, lipstick pencils and hair gel strips.
Luggage pickup and shipping services aren’t likely to be much comfort to business travelers.
“They might be fine for somebody going skiing, but not for a business trip,” consultant Boyd said.
Luggage services might work for longer business trips, but not short trips, he said.
Business travelers “aren’t going to ship luggage 24 hours ahead for (short) trips,” Boyd said.
Another challenge: Department of Transportation regulations prevent air cargo express delivery services from carrying aerosols such as hair spray or deodorant. They also ban batteries, liquor and nail polish.
One upside to the rules: airlines are seeing smoother boarding and deplaning with less carry-on luggage.
“Clients are saying it’s a breeze to get off the planes now,” Lapham of TraveLeaders said.
That has helped boost airline on time performance in the latter half of August by about 2%, according to airline performance tracker FlightStats.com.
John Wayne Airport posted an 82% on time performance for that period, the best among Southern California airports.
But some question the effectiveness of the rules. There’s talk in Washington of prohibiting phones or laptops on board, as British Airways did in the first days after thwarting the suspected terrorist plan.
“If laptops and cell phones are banned, it will decimate the industry,” Boyd said.
He contends the new screening rules hurt the economy and don’t enhance safety.
“Instead of addressing (the causes) of terror, we make it more difficult to fly,” he said.
First Class International’s Sedgwick said he thinks business travelers wouldn’t like a more stringent ban but would adjust.
“If laptops are banned, I think (business travelers) would just bring more magazines on board,” he said.
“It would make business travel less efficient, but they’d still have to go,” he said.
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Pay to Play
New federal restrictions have put the proposed Registered Traveler program back in the spotlight.
Endorsed by the Bush administration after a more ambitious program didn’t garner approval, the voluntary program would allow travelers to use special security lines at airports after passing background checks and paying $80 to $100 annually for the privilege.
A spokesperson for the National Business Travel Association said the group supports a program that promotes voluntary participation, expedited screening, redress procedures and privacy safeguards.
The program would be administered by companies under contract and would cost $80 to $100 each year for travelers to take part.
Aviation consultant Michael Boyd is critical.
“The 9/11 terrorists (probably) could have passed the background check (that’s proposed),” he said.
,Sandi Cain
