The subject of Social Class and
Travel is not discussed, especially in the news about travel, but there are
"think tanks" all over the world who have been in the past years, and
now, are currently pondering the conundrum of our current economic environment
in the year 2022 on social class and travel patterns.
For the decades previous to the
COVID-19 global lockdowns, the "middle class" has predominantly
fueled the travel industry which consists of hotels/airlines/tour operators,
and now once more in the summer of the year 2022, the travel industry's profits
are higher than ever—although the cost for all travel products have inflated,
it is the airlines who are lacking the personnel and trained pilots to provide enough
flights to fill the need, but in our economic environment, the "middle
class" cannot sustain the rising costs and will need to cut back,
soon.
According to the August, 2022 Phys
Org "think tank" there is
a saturation point fast approaching, they say in the introduction to their
scholarly article, "Interstate
travel isn't easy these days. Gas prices are up. Airline tickets are up. Travel
delays and flight cancelations are frequent.
Still, many people seem to be traveling this summer. But with the inflation
boom, how long will travel continue to be sustainable for the middle
class?..."
And further in the Phys Org scholarly article there is a
direct quote from a key
individual from the famed Wharton
School of Finance, Gad
Allon, the Jeffrey A. Keswin Professor in the Operations, Information, and
Decision Department at the Wharton School,
"…A lot of what we see now is what some people call 'revenge
travel,'" he says, a backlog of pent-up demand created by the pandemic.
Even as prices are going up, demand remains high. The large number of summer
travelers is compounded by an overall shortage of pilots, a lack of staff to
check in luggage, and long security lines to get to the gates…"
What is the 2022 "prognosis" for the "patient"
middle class and those below the middle class?
Sadly, the prediction for 2023 and beyond is for more "travel
inequality," the rich will continue to travel regardless of the price, but
not the masses, the middle class and lower classes, those who are not
"hedge fund" managers or
"Trust rich" wealthy will have to accept that the
"cheap" travel days are gone.
