Bringing the Family Closer Together

While family holidays were long coveted, these days, with increasing travel prices, increased geographical distances between family members and ever-more demanding workloads, family holidays have instead become air swimmer a burden for many. Since the crisis that has rattled the airline industry beginning with September 11, 2001, tickets have maintained a steady increase while routes have actually been disappearing. Frequent flyer miles offer less flexibility than ever and the sheer convenience of traveling by air with check-bag fees, food and beverage charges and increased security is angry bird being threatened. Soaring gas prices are a further disincentive for traveling to see the family on holidays while traffic remains, as it has long been, a factor in such decisions as well. Furthermore, people are traveling far further distances from home for their jobs and education. It is a well-known trend that job-seekers are traveling previously unknown distances for better pay and better benefits. And it is a two-way street: while many American workers are seeking employment overseas in Asia and Europe, so immigrants continue to stream into the country similarly looking for jobs. Each of these people has been transplanted from their home such that holiday travel to visit family is far more difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Work productivity and its increased expectations are another reason family holidays are far more burdensome than they once were. The work week of the average American is steadily on the incline and vacation days are diminishing as jobless rates rise and greater output is expected from employees. This is not only an American phenomenon, but one that has affected various other countries, particularly in such places as Japan and Germany. As these standards of out-of-office time are affected air swimmers by global trends, so holidays are becoming a less viable option for travel for many. Furthermore, with the current economic crisis, many are either unemployed, which does not allow them the luxury of the elastic income necessary for such travel, or many have had to take on several jobs, which further limits the time available to see family that may live far away.