Maurice Kinal wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:

 MK> Hey Roy!

> I dunno,  when we decided a couple of times this summer to take off
> we didn't have any hesitation in doing so.  OTOH,  we didn't fly 
> either time,  and I *won't* these days.

MK> Therein might lie the answer.  Would you have considered flying if
MK> all that happened never happened?

Probably not,  though I'm firmer in that feeling lately than I was before. 
It's not the mechanics of it,  I don't mind flying really.  It's the crap
you've gotta put up with to get there.  I have a problem with *big*
organizations of any sort,  whether it's a government,  a corporation,  or
an airline for that matter.  About the most enjoyable flight I can remember
was on a Boeing 707,  and they don't even fly those any more.  Everything's
gotta be *bigger*.  Heck,  maybe after some of this other stuff gets out of
the way,  I'll get myself an ultralight.  :-)

> Yeah,  the airlines aren't doing all that well.

MK> Fuel prices so I've heard.

The latest in a long string of excuses.  And I'll bet that if flight crew
get laid off because an airline isn't doing real well,  those fat cats up
at the high corportate levels won't suffer at all!  Even Pan Am,  which
I've flown on,  went down the tubes but I'll bet that the executives got
nice severance packages out of the deal.

MK> Add to that the new security hassels and ...

Yeah.

MK> I hear many businesses are pooling their resources and sharing 
MK> company planes instead of using commercial flights.  I wonder how 
MK> much impact that has.

Probably quite a bit,  as business travel makes for a big chunk of their business.

>I don't know.  I have a lot of trouble putting myself into the mindset 
>of those folks,  and can't really speculate on what their motivations 
>might be.

MK> My best guess is that by bringing the fight to the Middle East, 
MK> especially Iraq, makes it much easier for the terrorists to travel.
MK> Far less security issues for them.

Hm.

---