As 2009 slowly comes to an end, it is pretty safe to say that this has been one heck of a year. We entered 2009 on the brink of global financial Armageddon, and we are leaving it feeling a little better. I’ll leave the economic predictions to the various cable news channels, and take you down the 2009 memory lane for a look at what happened in the travel world this year.

Airlines Come, Airlines Go and Airlines Merge

The airline industry is always in some level of turmoil, but 2009 was a really bad one for them. Surprisingly, none of the major airlines filed for bankruptcy in 2009, but several smaller carriers did close up shop. 2008 was actually worse for the airlines, as that was the year six of them went out of business, including major carriers like Aloha and ATA. In 2009, the biggest change happened when Delta Airlines took over Northwest, ending one of the most recognizable names in aviation, and turning an 83 year old airline into just another piece of aviation history. Towards the end of 2009, two other major airlines announced their intention to merge – British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia announced that they would combine themselves into one of the largest airlines in the world. Pressured by low cost carriers like Ryanair, these once powerful air carriers have been reduced to a fraction of their size (and importance).

The “Year of the Fee”

It’s pretty funny how one minor change can set off a massive industry scramble to make as much money as possible. When one airline started experimenting with checked bag fees, almost every other airline followed. Then, when airlines realized that their passengers would just pay what it takes to get from A to B, they started inventing new charges. Airlines got very creative, and in addition to their baggage fees, some added additional credit card fees, airport check-in fees and even a new fee for flying on a major national holiday.

A “Year of Supers”

In 2009, we saw Europe’s most expensive hotel open its doors – the $1.4 billion “Mardan Palace” features just 560 rooms. Guests can enjoy remote controlled toilets, gold plated mirrors and a “pillow menu.” Las Vegas has always enjoyed being a city of superlatives, and the new Las Vegas CityCenter is no exception. This immense new development is taking place on one of the largest constructions sites in the world, and will yield 7,200 new hotel rooms. It is the most expensive privately financed construction site in the United States (costing $11 billion) and will even be home to the first grocery store on the Las Vegas Strip.
The largest airplane in the world continues to roll off the assembly lines of Airbus, and Air France took delivery of their first A380 in October. By the end of 2009, 40 of these giant planes will be in service with four airlines.

Car Rental Companies Suffer the Most

Not surprisingly, car rental firms are another industry segment that suffered a lot in 2009. One of the first victims was Advantage rent-a-car. When the company closed up shop, Hertz popped up as the highest bidder to acquire what was left of them. In Europe, car rental firms even stopped investing in new vehicles, and in many major cities, firms ran out of rental vehicles.