University students wanting to fly home over winter break may be out of luck if they have not already purchased tickets, with airlines having decreased flights since the Sept. 11 attacks.
“In the matter of folks traveling by air, keep in mind that the holidays were booked even before Sept. 11, and now you have 20 percent less flights,” said Gail Norris, owner of Eugene travel agency Adventure in Travel.
Norris said even though many airlines have recently been offering low fares to increase business, the promotion doesn’t mean there will be any more seats available to sell.
“Even though we see great prices from the airlines, it won’t be happening at Christmas,” she said. “We’re hard-pressed to find (other) options for people.”
Council Travel, an agency that markets primarily to students, said it won’t be able to offer any kind of inside advantage to those seeking elusive airplane tickets.
“We expect planes to be full for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Jeremy Summers, western regional manager for Council Travel. “It’s going to be harder for students if they haven’t bought already because of the availability of seats and due to their plans being less flexible with school and family.”
Most international students — there are approximately 2,000 at the University — don’t have the option of taking the bus or driving instead of flying home for the break. Some have chosen to stay in Eugene over the holiday period.
“I have heard some discussion among students over whether to go or not,” said Gabriela Serrano, public relations director for the International Student Association.
She said that instead of going home, many foreign students are using winter break to sightsee by car. But Serrano, who is from El Salvador, said she felt comfortable buying a plane ticket home because of the increased security measures.
“I think it’s been a little bit scary, but at the same time I feel it’s probably more safe now than it has been because of all the security (the airlines) have added,” she said.
Even though the airlines began requiring additional security measures, including not allowing parking at curbside and requiring photo ID at check-in, other travel industries have varied their responses to increasing security measures since the Sept. 11 attacks.
While neither Amtrak nor Greyhound examine passenger baggage, the train service has increased security by placing more police officers at stations and on trains, said Sarah Swain, public information director for Amtrak.
“Riders also need to know that to purchase a ticket and to board the train they must have a valid photo ID,” she said. “The company is also having aerial monitoring done of its train tracks.”
Swain said University IDs are a valid form of ID for buying tickets on Amtrak, but if students ride the trains into Canada, they must carry additional identification.
Greyhound is testing some security measures at 30 of its stations, although none are on the West Coast.
“The tests include checking people’s photo IDs and wanding — which are handheld electronic scans of people” to search for weapons, Greyhound spokeswoman Jamelle Braunsfield said.
Instead of requiring reservations, Kristin Parsley, Greyhound’s external communications director, said the company increases bus service as needed, depending on the number of riders.
“We’re different than Amtrak and the airlines,” she said. “We can manage business in real-time, not on projections. We simply add buses to accommodate additional travelers.”
Amtrak will also add some cars to their trains for holiday travel, specifically over Thanksgiving.
“That is our biggest holiday, ridership-wise, and the plan does show more cars being added in the Pacific Northwest corridor,” said Swain. Whatever option University students choose to use for going somewhere during break, travel agents advise to allow more time for getting there — especially by air.
“For road warriors — business people — who travel all the time, the changes since (Sept. 11) are nothing new,” Norris said. “But people who only travel at the holidays need to recognize all the changes that have taken place and allow for that.”
Norris said she recommends travelers take something extra with them on board.
“I tell them ‘Pack their patience, the holidays are stressful,’” she said.