Due to the subprime crisis and soaring fuel prices, the outlook for the U.S. economy remains uncertain. Japanese corporations based in the U.S. are obliged to reduce their business or undergo restructuring because of the sluggish economy. Unfortunately, the world economy does not necessarily revolve around the U.S. and the focus seems to be shifting toward so-called emerging countries such as China, Russia, India and Brazil. 

An additional blow to the suffering U.S. economy is the problem of transport. To move around the U.S., with its large land area, commercial jets are indispensable. Still, delays and cancellations of flights are increasing every year, constantly causing problems for sales representatives.  

Even slight delays can prevent people from attending meetings. Appointments with clients have to be rescheduled and sometimes even routes have to be changed. Once there is a delay, check-in gates are flooded with long queues of passengers. It is not uncommon to see passengers getting into shouting matches with airline staff over alternative flights.

The other day, I made a reservation on a flight bound for Louisville, Kentucky. I received a boarding pass through self check-in. As of an hour before the flight, the departure was on time. Great. But when I got to the gate a half an hour before the flight, it had been cancelled!

The next flight was a connecting one, and not only that, it was five hours from then!
"You've got to be kidding!" I thought.
A beginner might back down at this point, but I couldn't do that as a travel agent.

"I have an appointment at 11:00. There's nothing else? What about other companies? Well, if there's no flight for Louisville, what about other nearby airports? Yes, how is Indianapolis?"
If I changed my route, I could get to a nearby city.

At the counter, everything was a negotiation. Even if I could make a route change, I would have to change where I made my rental car pickup, as well as my appointment time with the customer. A mobile phone is convenient at these times. Going through everything this way, I am somehow able to get through each single day.

Even when people board on time, they are frequently made to wait extensively inside the plane for things like thunderstorms or runway congestion. I asked a Japanese person living in the U.S. who had such an experience, "Didn't somebody get panicked, to be shut in the plane for two hours that way?"
"No one panicked, but the person next to me began to anxiously tear up their in-flight magazine. It was a little scary when they got through their second copy!"

Hating this sort of flight delay, there are many people who use the special express Acela train, or who even charter private jets, when traveling from New York to Boston or Washington D.C. on business trips. In fact, some companies are apparently even beginning to make rules saying that one must use a car instead of an airplane for trips that require an approximate eight hour drive or less.

This sort of thing seems to indicate that the American economy will continue its stagnation for the near future.