Travel on Sept. 11 will not be business as usual

Brad Foss

Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

Joshua Siegel barely hesitated before booking a flight on the anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks; about the only thing that crossed this frequent flier's mind was to travel early in the day.

"I think it's going to be a little crazy," said Siegel, a Washington-based political activist who booked a 6:45 a.m. flight to Providence, R.I., to minimize delays related to extra-tight security, commemorative activities and reporters staking out the nation's airports.

Sure, Siegel had a momentary flashback to the events of Sept. 11 after selecting his departure date. But he never considered rescheduling out of fear.

Stephanie Cebulski of Berkeley, Calif., on the other hand, postponed a trip to Boston for that very reason.

"I know it's not logical. If any day you'd be safe it would be 9-11," said Cebulski, who recently became a mother and is not entirely comfortable on planes to begin with. "It just felt too weird, too odd to be in a plane that day thinking about what happened."

Just how many would-be travelers plan to stay home on Wednesday is hard to tell. Airlines are not disclosing precise data on advance bookings, saying only that passenger traffic will be down several percentage points. A few major carriers said they would scale back service as if it were the Friday after Thanksgiving or the night of Christmas Eve -- when demand usually drops by a few percentage points but can shrink by as much as 10 percent, airline representatives said.

Those reconsidering their flying plays would tend to be leisure travelers. Many corporate travelers say they basically have no choice in the matter.

Still, Sept. 11 will hardly be business-as-usual for the nation's travel industry.

A few carriers have encouraged pilots to commemorate the anniversary by making brief preflight announcements to passengers. At American and United, whose planes were hijacked in the attacks, employees will wear commemorative ribbons and both carriers will sponsor special events around the country, including moments of silence, dedications and memorial plantings.

Spirit Airlines will fly 13,400 passengers for free as part of a promotion and executives of the Miramar, Fla.-based carrier will greet passengers at the airport.

Demand for intercity and charter bus service remains down about 5 percent from a year ago but no significant changes in passenger traffic are expected on Wednesday, said Gale Ellsworth, chief executive of Trailways Transportation System of Fairfax, Va.

The American Bus Association said several companies are donating more than 40 charter vehicles to carry passengers to a memorial service in Shanksville, Pa., a rural area about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh where one of the hijacked planes was crashed.

Metropolitan transit officials said they expect normal levels of commuter traffic around the country. City buses in Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., and Spokane, Wash., will operate throughout the day with their headlights on as a tribute, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

In Boston, commuter trains and streetcars will mark the occasion by temporarily halting service.

Amtrak will offer regular service and conductors nationwide will ask passengers to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern time -- one year to the minute from that bright sunny day when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed in the north tower of the World Trade Center.

No matter where travelers go, they are likely to be reminded of the anniversary.

Semi-retired vacationers Janet and Roy Smith of England recently stumbled into a sculpture commemorating the tragedy inside New York's Pennsylvania Station. The sculpture includes fragments from the World Trade Center, office debris found near Ground Zero and photographs taken on Sept. 11.

"It brings you back to earth," said Roy Smith. "It shouldn't fade from people's minds."

There is no way it will, said Phillip Karber, chairman of Terminal 4 at Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Karber intends to spend a quiet moment alone at the airport Wednesday morning, gazing out a window with a view of the reshaped Manhattan skyline. A year ago, from that same spot, Karber watched through a telescope as the trade center's north tower collapsed.

"I'll have a cup of coffee, look out there and think about it," he said. "I almost hope it's overcast."

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