Even with loyalty programs, airlines were still struggling to keep customers on board. The recession of 2008 dampened demand for air travel. In a bad economy, individuals were able to substitute air travel with other choices car, bus or train, or by using lower-cost regional airlines, such as Southwest. Customers were far less loyal today than former years. Travel sites such as Orbitz and Travelocity could be instructed to search by lower fares, fewer connecting flights, and so forth. Air and credit card rewards programs were less generous than in years past, so there was less incentive for passengers to remain loyal to any one airline.