Crowds Sparse on Planes and at Airports

Travelers who have mustered the courage to step onto an airplane this week have found plenty of elbow room.

Flights that are typically packed with harried passengers have been nearly empty. Others have been half full. One traveler reported that she flew alone--except for the flight crew--Thursday from Rochester, N.Y., to Washington, D.C.

An airline system that only a year ago was on overload is now eerily deserted. So much so that on at least one recent flight from Burbank to Sacramento, Southwest Airlines dropped its policy of loading in groups of 30. The passenger manifest topped out at just 26.

Reaction to the suddenly less-crowded skies has varied widely among passengers.

“Typically, it’s overflowing and you rush to get in so your seat is not on the wing,” said Steve Maviglio, Gov. Gray Davis’ press secretary, a regular on the Burbank-Sacramento shuttle. But on a recent flight, “you had your choice of any seat. The terminal was empty.”

The dramatic change is adding to the woes of the nation’s largest airlines, which announced thousands of layoffs this week. Carriers are facing mounting losses caused by a severe drop-off in bookings after last week’s terrorist attacks.

“Our loads are extremely low,” said Al Becker, an American Airlines spokesman. “At this juncture we don’t see traffic beginning to rebound. Our hope is that it will, over time; but clearly people are anxious about traveling.”

‘The Easiest Time I Have Ever Had’

Now that most people stranded after the attacks have returned home, many travelers are finding that it actually takes less time to get to the airport and check in for a flight than it did before Sept. 11.

“It’s kind of eerie that the airports are so dead,” Rob Scott, 32, of Austin, Texas, said at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. “Nothing has been a hassle. It’s so easy--the easiest time I have ever had.”

Scott, one of a few passengers traveling aboard an America West 737 from Phoenix on Thursday, said he stretched out on the remaining seats in his row and took a nap.

But although traveling is easier than many expected, few passengers have the heart to talk with one another, instead burying their heads in books or drinking alone at airport bars.

“It’s depressing. I think everyone’s depressed,” said Phil Tate, 42, of Boise, Idaho, who has been on a few flights through five airports in the last week.

Flight crews have tried to make the best of things, often talking individually to passengers to ask how they are feeling. Many have also encouraged travelers to pass the word that it’s safe to fly, with one pilot exhorting a passenger arriving at LAX: “Tell all your friends it wasn’t that bad.”

But the atmosphere has still been tense on many flights, as crews have pulled passengers aside, questioned them and searched their belongings. On a flight from Dallas through Las Vegas, the crew summoned a man with a Middle Eastern name to the front of the plane before takeoff and rifled through his bags. Most of the passengers didn’t remove their eyes from him for the remainder of the flight.

“He got up to go to the bathroom, and everyone watched his every move,” said Eric Hendrickson, a Nokia sales manager. “I was thinking, ‘What’s he doing in there? What’s he got with him?’ ”

Travelers have found regional airports in Burbank, Ontario and Orange County particularly easy to navigate in recent days. None of those three have parking limitations like those at Los Angeles International Airport--where private cars have been banned from the terminal area.

“I had flights booked at LAX, but they told me to come three hours early. Here it’s just an hour,” said Dale Miller, a Brentwood attorney who was flying to the Bay Area from Burbank.

Even as security agents thumbed through his daughter Nicole’s dictionary and squeezed her red velvet pillow to check for weapons, he said: “Burbank has been very convenient. The flights are leaving on time. You can park. And it’s all so small and easy to get around.”

At Ontario International Airport, the scene was much the same.

Bruce Aarts of Riverside welcomed the new safety measures that bar family members and friends from gate areas.

“Before, every time you tried to get on the plane, the gate would be jammed with 15 kids, wives, mothers-in-law, you name it, kissing a guy before he got on board,” said Aarts, who flies to Las Vegas routinely on business. “Now, only ticketed passengers are allowed in. No crowds. You just line up and walk onto the plane. It’s great.”

Service to Regional Airports Could Drop

But looming on the horizon could be reduced service at those same regional airports. Air industry experts said many such facilities could see drastic drops in the next few weeks, as airlines cut back on unprofitable flights. Many routes from smaller airports don’t make as much money as those from larger hubs.

Potential signs of times to come are already evident at some smaller airports--where employees hear their footsteps echoing down empty concourses.

Midmorning Thursday at Burbank Airport’s Terminal B, several United Airlines workers stared out from behind their counters at rows of empty gray seats. Many of their flights had been canceled. Some were worried that they would receive their termination papers soon.

“We’ll get something today or tomorrow,” said a customer service agent who asked that his name not be used. “They hand you a packet. Everybody cringes when they see those packets. They give it to you in the morning; you’re out in the afternoon. No golden parachutes. More like lead.”

One traveler arrived at a United ticket counter only to find a sign saying, “Gone for layoff briefing. Will return--hopefully.”

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Times staff writers Ardith Hilliard, Nita Lelyveld, Dan Morain and Phil Willon contributed to this story.