United Air Parent UAL Posts Wider Loss on Fuel Costs.

United became the fourth major carrier to announce this month that it was deepening its plans to cut capacity. Each $1 increase in a barrel of oil raises annual costs by $60 million at United, the world’s second-biggest airline.

This is a serious problem, since fuel prices are nowhere near the top, and these difficulties will continue for a long time.

Now get this: we are sleepwalking into a transportation crisis. As I already said, the airline industry is dying. The price of petroleum-based aviation fuel is killing it. And forget the fantasies about running it on bio-diesel or used french-fry oil. Driving cars will not be an adequate substitute, either. It’s imperative that this country gets serious about restoring the passenger rail system. We can’t not talk about it for another year.

- James Kunstler from his website

Once again, Mr. Kunstler is dead on correct. The airlines are dying, strangling on the reality of post-cheap-oil. Unfortunately, we live in a very large country and are addicted to travel. If you’re in your late 40s (as I am), you may just barely remember a time when air travel was something special, when passengers dressed up and the atmosphere at the airport was a relaxed, comfortable and almost festive one. Flying somewhere was a special event.

Not so anymore, the only place you’ll find shabbier-dressed people in public are at church, if you happen to be (as again, I am) Catholic (but that’s the subject of another post). It’s rush, rush, stand in line for security, rush to put your shoes back on and re-bag your laptop, rush to the gate then stand and wait to board and finally sit and wait to takeoff. It’s seldom a pleasant experience. Why? Because we’re addicted to travel, or more accurately, we’re addicted to cheap and (what we think is) fast transportation.

As Kunstler says in his most recent “Clusterf***k Nation,” date April 21, 2008* (see below), we’re in serious trouble because none of the political candidates are addressing the need for passenger rail service.

I guess my answer to that, is Kunstler’s right everytime he notes that Americans are asleep, and stumbling toward transportation, economic and societal crisis. Our way of life is getting ready to change in a big way, and the end of the cheap petroleum era is the reason.

One way we could protect ourselves, is establishing a crash passenger rail development program, and yes. Normally, I paren a quip after the word “crash,” but in this case, the pun is intended. A crash is coming. A serious, and well-conceived passenger rail development program could dramatically soften the blow to our economy and American life.

* – Unfortunately, Kunstler’s webmaster didn’t design in the ability for Jim to permalink his content, so from here, after next Monday, you’ll have to search a bit to find the article “Blind Spot”, but it’s worth the effort. – ed.