Advantages and Disadvantages of Air Travel

The popularity of air travel has been increasing in the past few decades.  This increase in popularity has been due to the convenience and safety one could enjoy by traveling by air.  The following are some of the positive and negative factors involving air travel.

Disadvantage: Airplanes Cause Pollution.

The major shortcoming of air travel is the pollution caused by it. Greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere by the aero planes and these gases are responsible for global warming. A lot of people are keen to minimize the effect of global warming on the planet and they find this a major setback. In order to overcome this problem many airlines nowadays make efforts to become more environmental friendly. Many airlines take action for retrofitting winglet that is usually intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft thereby reducing greenhouse gas emission. Airlines also spend millions of dollars upgrading their fleets to newer and more efficient aircraft. 

Disadvantage: High Cost

One major disadvantage in traveling by air is its cost. In many instances it is inexpensive to travel by car to certain destinations instead of going by air. One way of solving the high cost air travel problem is to take advantage of discount
airline travel.  You can decide to fly in case you get a very good deal on your airfare.

Disadvantage: Fear of Flying

Many people refrain from flying.  If anyone has travelled in a flight which has hit an air pocket you will see that they have gone through a lot of rough weather due to turbulence and this can be rather terrifying. 

Advantage: Speed of Travel

traveling by air is much faster as compared to other means of transportation as long as these places are connected by air. While it can take days to drive across the United States, a person can fly the same distance in a number of hours.  The savings obtained in this mode of air travel gives you an opportunity to enjoy your vacation for a longer period.

Advantage: Easy to Travel Long Distances

It is possible to cover long distances by flight in a reasonably short time whereas it is difficult to cover far off destinations by other modes of transportation. traveling to any destination in the world is possible if you travel by air. Flying to far off destinations takes longer duration; however they are still shorter than the time taken if you had to rely on alternative modes of transportation.

Advantage:  Safety

It has been found in general that air travel is the safest form of travel as compared to other travel modes. We normally hear more about car accidents taking place as compared to air accidents. On the other hand you find that the occurrence of train accidents is also quite common. Air travel related disasters do happen but they occur much less frequently.  Decision making on the mode of travel has been very easy for many people who consider safety as the main factor for opting to fly.

Choosing air travel is a personal decision, based on the factors discussed above along with a multitude factors not discussed here.  For most travelers safety, speed of travel and cost are the over riding factors.  As long as cost remains affordable air travel will continue to grow in popularity.

The number of people taking to the skies from the UK is continuing to decline. All of the UK’s most popular and busy airports have reported further declines in passenger figures for the first 8 months of this year.

Some of the most popular flight destinations from the UK are the most acutely affected with a 16% fall in passengers travelling to Spain and 10% fewer travelling to the United States from London. Some airports are more acutely affected by the downturn in business than others with Gatwick reporting a drop in passenger figures of around 2 million and Prestwick airport reporting as much as a 25% reduction in business.

There has been a fall of aroung 15% in business travellers during the first quarter of 2009 according to the Guild of Travel Management Companies. Surveys are indicating that this is the fourth consecutive quarter in which demand for air transport from the UK has decreased.

The continued decrease in demand for air transport is generally thought to be due to the recession along with the falling value of sterling against other currencies.Many British holidaymakers have opted to stay at home this year instead of flying to traditional vacation destinations in Spain or America.

There are some airlines making cutbacks due to this persistent decline in demand. BMIBaby, a popular budget airline, have announced that they will be shrinking by around one third during 2010 and expect to make cuts on routes from Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester. British Airways have announced that they have been forced to reduce the number of cabin crew on flights from Heathrow due to the unprecedented losses they had suffered during the peak summer months.

It has been reported that we are through the worst of the recession and that there is now evidence of the green shoots of recovery. Unfortunately for the air transport industry it looks like there is some way to go before passenger figures return to the pre-recession highs.

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Air Travel-Pros and Cons

Over the past few decades air travel has been becoming popular among people. This increase in popularity has been due to the convenience and safety one could enjoy by traveling by air.  The following are some of the positive and negative factors involving air travel.

Disadvantage: Airplanes Cause Pollution.

The major shortcoming of air travel is the pollution caused by it. Airplanes are responsible for sending greenhouse gases into our atmosphere and these gases contribute for things like global warming.  Global warming increases the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and people who want to avoid such a rise in temperature are alarmed by this effect.  Nowadays many airlines are taking necessary actions to reduce the global warming effect by becoming more conscious about the environment. This can include them retrofitting their airplanes with a device called a winglet which improves fuel efficiency.  Airlines also spend millions of dollars upgrading their fleets to newer and more efficient aircraft. 

Disadvantage: High Cost

Another con that keeps people from traveling by air is cost.  It is frequently much less expensive to fuel up the car and drive to where you need to go instead of flying.  By flying on discount
airline it is possible to overcome this disadvantage of high cost. You can decide to fly in case you get a very good deal on your airfare.

Disadvantage: Fear of Flying

Many people refrain from flying.  This is mainly because of the fact that they were on a flight that has experienced extreme turbulence or some type of other event and this has been rather terrifying. 

Advantage: Speed of Travel

One of the major advantages in air travel is that it is able to take you to any of the places where airports are available at a much faster rate than any other forms of transportation.  The duration of travel by road between two different places in the United States may be a few days as compared to travel by flight which will take only a few hours. This gives you extra days for enjoying your vacations because you save a number of days by traveling by air.

Advantage: Easy to Travel Long Distances

In case you have to travel to far off destinations you will find that it is difficult to travel by any other mode other than air travel.  We can pretty much travel to any destination around the globe by air.  Some of these flights might prove to be quite long but they are still much shorter than if you had to rely on alternative means of transportation.

Advantage:  Safety

With regards to other forms of travel, air travel is considered to be one of the safest.  Each year thousands of deadly car crashes happen.  On the other hand you find that the occurrence of train accidents is also quite common. Air travel related disasters do happen but they occur much less frequently.  For many people this makes it an easy decision to choose air travel over any other form of transportation.

Choosing air travel is a personal decision, based on the factors discussed above along with a multitude factors not discussed here.  For most travelers safety, speed of travel and cost are the over riding factors.  As long as cost remains affordable air travel will continue to grow in popularity.

Apart from South Africa Airways (SAA) there are three other airlines that offer flights in and around the country. So if you want cheap flights to Cape Town you can choose from any of the available options. There are also other things that you need to know that will help you get discounted air fares from airlines. Read through the paragraphs that foloow and get to learn how.

Besides South African Airways, you also have‘1 Time, Mango and Kulula airlines that also offer flights to Cape Town. What this basically means is that there is more competition among the airlines for passengers and this brings the prices down. The prices of the flights are not constant however. There will change depending on the days of the week and the time of the year. The fares that are lower are for those flights that operate mid week as compared to over weekends.

The fares are also higher during holiday seasons. So if it is possible you can schedule or book your flights bearing all this in mind. This perios is normallt called the peak period and always has higher air fares. Making a booking in advance will also get you are discounted air fare. Usually what qualifies to be called an advance booking is a booking that is made at least two weeks prior to the intended date of departure. This will vary between the different airlines and you will have to confirm with each one.

The way that you make your reservation will also affect the price. You know that you can book your ticket personally at the airline’s ticket office, or make a telephone booking or book it online. Of the three methods booking the ticket online is much cheaper. Every booking or reservation that is made online will qualify for a discount. The airline does not use up anything in terms of personel, printing and stationery so they can afford to offer you a lower amount.

So you see that a cheap flight to Cape Town isn’t necessarily the cheapest quote that you get. By taking all these things into consideration you can save considerably on air fares; check out one of these sites for current air fares and other information:

1. Flights From Cape Town To George
2. Cheap Flights South Africa Compare
3. Flights From Johannesburg To Cape Town

There are a number of ways to compare flights to South Africa. You can do it using internet based research or more conventional statistical methods. In fact I have written a number of reviews about South Africa flights comparisons but today I want to tell you about one of my favorite methods.

That is, using a free flight finder tool

This tool will display a list of all possible flights with a single search. It is not necessary to go through all the airline sites checking timetables and prices, it has all been compiled and located in one place . The nice thing about the flight finder tool is it even allows you to make bookings once you find the flight you want.

So the first thing you do when comparing flights to South Africa using a flight finder tool is to enter the name of the airport you will be flying from. Some of the best tools will even provide you with a list of all airports from your country of departure. You can then quickly choose from the list.

The next detail that you enter is your destination which is South Africa in your case. You will have to choose one of the 3 international airports in the country i.e Cape Town, Durban and OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg. Most people prefer to fly to Johannesburg. Actually even the flights whose eventual destination is Cape Twon or Durban go via Johannesburg.

From there you can then choose your date of departure and the return date. There is usually a calendar you can use on the site to check the dates. You will also be asked to fill in the number of people you will be traveling with and the age group that they fall in.

From there you simply hit the search button and the tool will search through its database for all available flights. With seconds you will be presented with a list of flights to South Africa from any place you have chosen and to any of the 3 International airports in South Africa.

You will find information concerning departure and arrival times, times for stop overs, the air fares and so on all you have to do is visit any one of these: Cheap Flights South Africa Fly Manchaster To Cape Town Flights From Durban South Africa