Responding largely to high fuel costs, the USA's six big network airlines continue to trim their U.S. schedules despite strong travel demand. The six carriers -- American, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest and US Airways -- have scheduled 4.4% fewer seats for January than a year earlier, according to a USA TODAY analysis of flight schedules that includes their regional feeder airlines. To trim capacity, airlines can eliminate routes, fly them less frequently or switch to smaller planes. Whatever the course, travelers face reduced options and fuller flights. The airlines, which handle about two-thirds of domestic flying, are reacting to this autumn's run-up in fuel prices, which can make some flights unprofitable, says William Swelbar, who heads MIT's International Center for Air Transportation. "With $90 oil, (airlines) have to really look in the mirror -- to see whether the economics still make sense," he says.
A number of Web sites have sprung up to help pair travelers searching for a place to crash and hosts with a spare couch. Sites like hospitalityclub.org, couchsurfing.com, globalfreeloaders.com and place2stay.net are often free, serving only as middlemen and offering tips on how to find successful matches.
The sites aren't moneymakers. They're largely the creations of 20-somethings bitten with wanderlust and the hope to help bridge together people from different cultures. They often depend on volunteer administrators to help manage the Web operations.
Among the biggest is hospitalityclub.org, a site founded in 2000 by Veit Kuehne, who was then a 22-year-old business student. Kuehne wanted to use the Internet's reach to help foster the ideas of a group called Servas, an international peace organization that encourages cultural exchanges through travel.
The site grew to 1,300 members by 2002, 100,000 members by January 2006 and 200,000 by September.
From his home in Dusseldorf, Germany, Kuehne said hospitalityclub.org funds itself through online advertisements, which pitch student-exchange programs, Thailand volunteer opportunities or cheap tickets to west Africa.
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