Airline shares fell Monday on fears that new security restrictions swiftly implemented following a botched attempt to blow up an airliner could curtail business travel on lucrative international routes.
There already are signs that travel is becoming more burdensome. Passengers are facing longer lines at checkpoints and less freedom to move around airplanes during flights.
Business travelers, who are key customers for the airlines, may think twice before flying if stepped-up security means spending hours at the airport. That’s troubling to the airlines, because business travelers tend to fly frequently and pay higher fares.
Some business travelers could jump from the major airlines to smaller business jets to avoid wasting hours in the terminal every time they fly, said airline consultant Robert Mann.
The new security measures are “just going to add to the overall onerous way we have to conduct travel,” said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition. “No doubt it will dampen demand.”
Alarmed by the prospect of losing their best customers, airlines are asking federal officials to make any new procedures palatable to passengers.
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. lost 4.1 percent, to $11.29. American Airlines’ parent AMR Corp.’s stock fell 4.8 percent, to $7.75, while United parent UAL Corp. fell 3.4 percent, to $12.64.
Other airline shares also dropped: Continental Airlines Inc. lost 3.1 percent, to $17.92, and US Airways Group Inc. dropped 6.7 percent, to $5.02. JetBlue Airways Corp. shares lost 2 percent, to $5.53.