America West FlightFund (Pre-2005 US Airways merger) - Some Fares are too low

I will be flying PHX to ORD early in February and the RT fare was about $186. IATAsoftware.com showed that AA and UAL had the same fare. This is madness. I like low fares but not so low that the airlines go bust. The AWA flights that I have been on the last few months are almost always full. What is the old saying, "I am losing money on each sale but I make it up in volume."

What if AWA were to enter into a code sharing arrangement with UAL and the two reduced the combined number of flights. They both could benefit from connectiing flights from their hubs. This might even permit raising the PHX-ORD RT fare for those who do not having conecting flights.

Just as some fares are too low, others are too high. PHX-FAT costs almost as much as fllying to Europe.

Money can be made by picking spots. As far as I can tell, there are no direct flights from PHX to MLI (the Quad Cities) but my newspaper friends there tell me that PHX is one of the most popular destinations for people in the Quad Cities, particularly in the winter.

The airline industry needs more imagination and creativity instead of being herd animals. Many of us in the valley fly AWA because it has non-stops from PHX to more destinations. What if you had a special program where frequent flyers could pay X dollars and be asssured a seat in a new business class section when they booked a flight at the then going rate. Airplanes would be configured so there would be a special section where the seating could be changed to accomodate people who paid for the special service. If there were not many on a flight, the configuration would be changed to the regular coach seating. This may not work but there have to be ideas better than what we have now.

Yes, seats in the CHI-PHX market ARE too cheap now. In fact, I would say it's the most underpriced market from PHX right now. It's been that way for almost a year. AWA never sets fares that low, but it will match those who do. Not sure who started it. Maybe ATA?

From a pax perspective, enjoy it while you can!

What if AWA were to enter into a code sharing arrangement with UAL and the two reduced the combined number of flights. They both could benefit from connectiing flights from their hubs. This might even permit raising the PHX-ORD RT fare for those who do not having conecting flights.


That would be price fixing, which is per se illegal in the USA. It makes no difference whether competition and consumer interests may be enhanced by the arrangement.

I really don't see why $186 is "too low" for PHX-ORD. If a LAX-BOS transcon can be bought for $250-300 then why is a flight, 1000 miles shorter, too low at $186?

That would be price fixing, which is per se illegal in the USA. It makes no difference whether competition and consumer interests may be enhanced by the arrangement.

If that is illegal under the antitrust laws, then there are a lot of guilty parties. UAL has code sharing arrangements with US Air and Southwest just entered into a code sharing agrement with ATA. There are code sharing agreements throughout the airline industry.

Some fares do seem too low. Today, I booked a flight from DFW to SFO for $128 RT.

Trust me, any savings you get now will be taken back 3 fold when some of the weaker players are taken out of the game. Sure I flew a $98 NW RT to Atlanta this weekend (2266 miles each way), $128 with all taxes. Are they losing money? Possibly, but any seats filled are better than flying an empty plane.

Can you give me the details of this ticket you purchased. time, date, airlines ypu purchased this ticket?. and email me at blueocean5000@hotmail.com I am trying to go see my BF from who lives in SFO and i live in DFW.

Some fares do seem too low. Today, I booked a flight from DFW to SFO for $128 RT.

:) :) Can you give me the details of this ticket you purchased. time, date, airlines ypu purchased this ticket?. and email me at blueocean5000@hotmail.com I am trying to go see my BF from who lives in SFO and i live in DFW.

Can you give me the details of this ticket you purchased. time, date, airlines ypu purchased this ticket?. and email me at blueocean5000@hotmail.com I am trying to go see my BF from who lives in SFO and i live in DFW.

Well since you're responding 10 months after the my post, I don't think you'll find it anymore. Airline seats are very fluid in their pricing. I'd recommend setting up a Travelocity account, and have it send you fare alerts if the price falls below a certain amount.

There have been a lot of PHX-ATL, PHX-DCA, LAS-DCA in the $88-$108 range the last year.

These fares when they hit are usually because some of the majors are fighting between each other. The sale may last a day or may last a week or two.

I just checked PHX-ATL, and they're showing $109 plus tax on NW. All dates *appear* to be open on Travelocity. (Until you click on them, of course).

Good lord people, not every seat on the plane is sold for this price.

The seats that are sold for 10x this price to people flying at the last minute or flying paid F more than offset some of these bargain basement fares.

Moreover, these fares are revenue-positive for the airline. They are not losing money, just not making as much as they would like to.

Competition dictates they have to sell a few cheap fares on each flight. So what? Not every traveler has these fares as their price point and many will pay more. It's nothing to worry about.