E Fares....What a Joke!!!
Mar 21, 2014, 9:50 am
#61
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Minneapolis
Programs: Delta Gold
Posts: 622
We're flying Condor nonstop from MSP to FRA this summer instead of Delta, saving $700 per ticket for a family of four. The ticket, like Delta's E fare doesn't let you select a seat but unlike the E fare, it's changeable. Advance seat assignments on Condor were $79 per ticket, and we're taking the risk of not making them. If I recall correctly there's a $48 fee to change a flight or the name on the ticket.
With the recent Delta SkyMiles changes I've become exceedingly price sensitive and much less likely to be loyal to Delta.
With the recent Delta SkyMiles changes I've become exceedingly price sensitive and much less likely to be loyal to Delta.
Mar 21, 2014, 10:53 am
#62
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta PlM, 1M
Posts: 6,363
We're flying Condor nonstop from MSP to FRA this summer instead of Delta, saving $700 per ticket for a family of four. The ticket, like Delta's E fare doesn't let you select a seat but unlike the E fare, it's changeable. Advance seat assignments on Condor were $79 per ticket, and we're taking the risk of not making them. If I recall correctly there's a $48 fee to change a flight or the name on the ticket.
With the recent Delta SkyMiles changes I've become exceedingly price sensitive and much less likely to be loyal to Delta.
With the recent Delta SkyMiles changes I've become exceedingly price sensitive and much less likely to be loyal to Delta.
On a random search I did see a $500 saving on average (which certainly is good). Did you include the flex fare fee of $160 in your calcs?
I would rather have spent the extra $160 per on getting 4 good seats than on insurance against changing the flight (unless you know for some reason a change is very likely). That would still come in under DL by a good bit.
Mar 21, 2014, 1:21 pm
#63
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Minneapolis
Programs: Delta Gold
Posts: 622
We didn't do the flex fare. The change fees were reasonable enough on the base fares ($79 per person per flight) that the flex fare fee didn't seem necessary. My girl's outbound ticket might need to change, but it's unlikely the others will. Additionally, Condor offers a substantial discount (~25%) for children under 12, unlike most carriers.
ETA: I mixed up the add-ons in my earlier post. I should have said $79 per flight for change fees, and $39 for the seat reservation.
ETA: I mixed up the add-ons in my earlier post. I should have said $79 per flight for change fees, and $39 for the seat reservation.
Mar 21, 2014, 3:43 pm
#65
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Yet people kvetch that a service for which there is a clear-cut market -- people buy it after all -- is somehow a bad thing.
Mar 22, 2014, 8:45 am
#66
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+1 - This is the bottom line. I can see a legitimate complaint if DL offered an E-only service in which no seat assignments are possible, no changes can be be made and cancellations return $0 in credit. But DL doesn't do that.
Yet people kvetch that a service for which there is a clear-cut market -- people buy it after all -- is somehow a bad thing.
Yet people kvetch that a service for which there is a clear-cut market -- people buy it after all -- is somehow a bad thing.
Nice use of Yiddish BTW.
Mar 22, 2014, 8:53 am
#67
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | CLT, formerly LHR & AMS (with just a bit of PSP)
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I personally, have few issues with the legalization and control of hard drugs.
BTW, my Yiddish is pretty decent.
Mar 22, 2014, 9:23 am
#68
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,151
I disagree. I think E-fares are a really good deal for some people who are really budget bound. If they can save $72 they don't care where they sit. $72 what some folks make in an entire work-day.
Mar 22, 2014, 9:48 am
#69
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Entertaining, but not relevant to this thread. Nobody suggests that e-fares are illegal. The debate is about whether they are a "joke". They aren't. Apparently the market is expanding as DL, a highly profitable carrier, is expanding their use.
Mar 22, 2014, 12:49 pm
#70
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: DL GM, AMEX Business Platinum, AMEX Delta Reserve, DL SkyClub Member, Choice PM
Posts: 2,218
My opinion is:
1. E-fares are a really good deal for some people who are usually paying out of their own pockets.
2. If an E-Fare is $100 a.i one way and the lowest coach fare is $120 ai one way ... many folks will pay $120.
3. However if an E-Fare is $100 ai one way and the next lowest coach fare is > $200 ai one way, many will consider buying the E-fare.
4. It also depends upon the sectors and the number of pax in one reservation.
1. E-fares are a really good deal for some people who are usually paying out of their own pockets.
2. If an E-Fare is $100 a.i one way and the lowest coach fare is $120 ai one way ... many folks will pay $120.
3. However if an E-Fare is $100 ai one way and the next lowest coach fare is > $200 ai one way, many will consider buying the E-fare.
4. It also depends upon the sectors and the number of pax in one reservation.
Mar 22, 2014, 7:35 pm
#71
Join Date: Feb 2014
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Mar 22, 2014, 8:56 pm
#72
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Bare-bones waiting rooms, 29" seat pitch, and a schedule that became rather just a series of suggestions as the day wore on.
But the fares were astoundingly cheap and, as it turned out, even too cheap for them to survive.
Mar 22, 2014, 11:53 pm
#73
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PE was a child of de-regulation. Flying on it was a bracing experience for those of us accustomed to the old regulated service.
Bare-bones waiting rooms, 29" seat pitch, and a schedule that became rather just a series of suggestions as the day wore on.
But the fares were astoundingly cheap and, as it turned out, even too cheap for them to survive.
Bare-bones waiting rooms, 29" seat pitch, and a schedule that became rather just a series of suggestions as the day wore on.
But the fares were astoundingly cheap and, as it turned out, even too cheap for them to survive.
There were cases like a college student who made reservations to fly home every weekend for a year; he actually flew twice, but didn't know when he would choose to, and reservations were free. So there were times I would have flown them but couldn't get a reservation.
Mar 23, 2014, 6:29 am
#74
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Though what really killed them was allowing reservations for free, pay when (if) you showed up. That meant lots of no-shows, and lost business from people who wanted to definitely fly.
There were cases like a college student who made reservations to fly home every weekend for a year; he actually flew twice, but didn't know when he would choose to, and reservations were free. So there were times I would have flown them but couldn't get a reservation.
There were cases like a college student who made reservations to fly home every weekend for a year; he actually flew twice, but didn't know when he would choose to, and reservations were free. So there were times I would have flown them but couldn't get a reservation.
The old DL Shuttle (and Eastern before it), guaranteed space without a reservation. As people showed up, they rolled out aircraft and flew multiple sections of the busy shuttles.
Mar 23, 2014, 8:06 am
#75
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I flew it regularly and the extra sections would be opened but, especially in the morning, would fill up as latecomers and early arrivals for the next flight were accommodated.
I am not sure when the practice was discontinued but I think that it was stopped even before EA collapsed and the Shuttles were run by PA and something called Trump.