Changing Mandates Affect Aggregate Planning For Cruise Lines

Changing Mandates Affect Aggregate Planning For Cruise Lines

July 5, 2021
Lisa M. Spencer

Cruise companies have awaited and processed ever-changing reopening mandates from the CDC for months. Some, like Norwegian and Carnival, plan to move cruises away from U.S. departure ports to other countries whose requirements are already in place and are less restrictive.

The first cruise ship to depart from the US in fifteen months, Celebrity Edge, left port in late June, and returned after a five day cruise. More cruise ships are set to depart over the summer. Royal Caribbean has announced that all of its summer cruises are fully booked.

Video Spotlight: 

This post is based on the US News & World Report article, When Will Cruises Resume?, by Nicola Wood, July 1, 2021; the Condé Nast Traveler article, Cruising is Returning This Year, Here’s What to Know, Continue reading →

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Demand Outpaces Supply for Rental Cars

Demand Outpaces Supply for Rental Cars

May 26, 2021
Lisa M. Spencer

Rental car prices have skyrocketed, surprising some travelers who are also finding vehicles hard to come by.

In some high demand locations, rental car costs exceed $300 per day.  Some of the worst regions of the country, such as southern California or Florida, saw March rates exceed $500 per day.

Even if customers are willing to pay these rates, they may find it impossible to get a vehicle, due to pandemic-related shortages.

Video Spotlight: 

This post is based on the Autoweek article, Here’s Why the Rental Car Shortage Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon, by Jay Ramey, April 6, 2021; the KOAT article,  Need a rental car? They might not be so easy to find, by Shellye Leggett, May 26, 2021; and the YouTube video in the Spotlight. Image source: Blue Jean Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Discussion Questions:

1. What key factors account for the lack of rental car capacity?

Guidance: Early in the pandemic when the nationwide lockdown was in place and traveling ground to a virtual halt, most rental car companies sold off at least Continue reading →

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Airlines Analyze Summer Capacity

Airlines Analyze Summer Capacity

March 7, 2021
Lisa M. Spencer

European airlines must soon make critical decisions about summer flight schedules, but with the pandemic still raging and a slower-than-expected vaccine rollout schedules are being made and scrapped at a dizzying pace.

Consumers, unsure of what the future holds, now favor last-minute bookings, making it difficult for airlines to forecast or identify patterns to help them plan summer schedules.

Video Spotlight: 

This post is based on the WTVB article, Airlines flying blind into summer capacity sweepstake, by Laurence Frost and Sarah Young, February 2, 2021, and the YouTube videos in the Spotlight. Image source: Fly View Productions/E+/Getty Images

Discussion Questions:

1.  How serious a mismatch was there last summer between forecasted and actual demand, and how did this affect final scheduling?

Guidance: Airlines planned summer flight availability in early spring of 2020.  As the first lockdowns started, plans drastically changed.  Of the 755 million seats originally scheduled for flights in Western Europe last summer, some 72 percent were cut.

2.  Continue reading →

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