Demand for rental cars, Amtrak skyrockets after flight cancellation fiasco
SACRAMENTO -- While thousands attempt to reschedule and wait out canceled Southwest flights, business is booming for other businesses within the travel industry.
The demand for rental cars nationwide has skyrocketed after Southwest canceled thousands of flights in the last 48 hours. On Tuesday, the company canceled more than 2,660, or 65%, of all scheduled flights as of 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
These flights made up more than half of nearly 5,000 flights canceled Tuesday nationwide, across all companies. Southwest, however, had the most disruptions to the schedule with nearly 900 delayed flights.
With air travel grounded for many, stranded travelers turned to rental cars to get back on track. The demand at the Sacramento International Airport for rental cars on Monday led to a two-hour wait to rent. By Tuesday, lines were average and the availability was "hit or miss," according to a rental car company employee.
For many it was, "the only option," said Caitlin Balthrop, "Renting the car, loading both girls up, and doing the seven-hour drive."
One traveler told CBS13 their rental, for a family of four, was the last one-way vehicle rented on Tuesday. Another traveler told CBS13 they received the last vehicle for one of the companies in the shared rental car office near the airport.
On Tuesday, Amtrak trips from Sacramento to San Diego and Los Angeles were sold out. Other California trips, including to San Francisco and Fresno (also cities with airports) were partially sold out and only had some remaining tickets available.