Delta Says U.S. Must Be Ready for a Surge in Air Traffic

[afang]

Delta Says U.S. Must Be Ready for a Surge in Air Traffic
You think the air-transport system is crowded now? Just wait, says Leo F. Mullin, the chairman and chief executive of Delta Air Lines (news/quote).

"Last year we had about 680 million people who traveled by air" in the United States, Mr. Mullin said in a recent interview in Atlanta, where Delta is based.

"The F.A.A. has projected that number will be one billion people in the year 2010," he said. "And that one billion can be forecast with a great deal of accuracy because these people exist. They may be 15 years old now, but 10 years from now they're going to be 25 years old and entering their professional — and travel — lives. It's one of the easiest extrapolations you can make. A billion people are going to travel by 2010, and we are having grave trouble satisfying demand with 680 million passengers right now."

In the last year, Mr. Mullin, who will mark his fifth anniversary as Delta's boss next week, has emerged as the industry's point man in a nascent drive to change public discourse over the troubled air-transport system. Now that we've blamed and cursed the airlines for delays and deteriorating service, Mr. Mullin thinks it's time to accelerate the debate on what he insists is the real solution to our air-travel woes: a major expansion of airports in the United States.

Other views — opposing, amplifying or otherwise — are hereby solicited for a follow-up column on this subject. Meanwhile, Mr. Mullin has the floor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/08/bu...rtner=MOREOVER

P.S. Email is all you needed for access to NY times

[afang]

Delta Says U.S. Must Be Ready for a Surge in Air Traffic
You think the air-transport system is crowded now? Just wait, says Leo F. Mullin, the chairman and chief executive of Delta Air Lines (news/quote).

"Last year we had about 680 million people who traveled by air" in the United States, Mr. Mullin said in a recent interview in Atlanta, where Delta is based.

"The F.A.A. has projected that number will be one billion people in the year 2010," he said. "And that one billion can be forecast with a great deal of accuracy because these people exist. They may be 15 years old now, but 10 years from now they're going to be 25 years old and entering their professional — and travel — lives. It's one of the easiest extrapolations you can make. A billion people are going to travel by 2010, and we are having grave trouble satisfying demand with 680 million passengers right now."

In the last year, Mr. Mullin, who will mark his fifth anniversary as Delta's boss next week, has emerged as the industry's point man in a nascent drive to change public discourse over the troubled air-transport system. Now that we've blamed and cursed the airlines for delays and deteriorating service, Mr. Mullin thinks it's time to accelerate the debate on what he insists is the real solution to our air-travel woes: a major expansion of airports in the United States.

Other views — opposing, amplifying or otherwise — are hereby solicited for a follow-up column on this subject. Meanwhile, Mr. Mullin has the floor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/08/bu...rtner=MOREOVER

P.S. Email is all you needed for access to NY times