lovecabo

When my base was LAX, I had a lot of options which mostly required connections. When I moved to ATL, I got used to flying direct everywhere. It allows me to get to almost anywhere in the midwest/east in time for a meeting and then back home the same day. It also means that, especially in the winter, I don't have to take a chance that my connecting airport will be socked in or delayed. That is also the case in the summer when thunderstorms are prevalent at ORD or other places. It's not just my time, but my planning that takes a hit if I'm delayed or stuck somewhere. Being in a hub gives me maximum advantage.

dd1612

What is HUB captivity?

Hub Captivity is:
a. When I can leave MSP at 6am or 7am do my work for 2 days and return late night the next night on direct/ non-stops flights.

b. When I can leave MSP at 7pm to 9pm and get to either coast, work for as many days as required, then take the last flight out from that city at 4pm-6pm if west coast, or 6pm to 8pm if east coast and return late night back home.

How much am I willing to pay for direct/non-stop flights? $100-200 each way.
Savings include savings on a night in a hotel + meals + time saved (spent with family)

MSPeconomist

I take nonstops too almost almost when they're available. However, when I'm willing to consider a connection to get a better arrival or departure time for me, it seems that the connections I'm offered either depart before the crack of dawn or arrive close to midnight. No thanks. However, I cannot understand when there aren't some reasonable one-stop connections offered for the middle of the day.

RaflW

When NWA was based here in MSP, they did defend some routes very militaristically. The crazy thing was, the customer would win - for a while, during the battle.

If a new entrant opened a city pair, especially if it was an LCC, NWA would aggressively expand capacity and try and force the new entrant to quit the route. Suddenly there would be 4x A320s flying a former 3x CD9-30 route, with low, low prices.

If the LCC quit, then *pop* the route was 3x CD9s again and up went the fares.

Frogbone

What if your company requires you to book airfare that cannot be more than $150 above the lowest alternative fare. What if your company doesn't give a damn about your time with your family and or hotel cost?
What if your schedule is always short notice (due to customer demand) and you don't have the luxury of booking flights early when they are cheap?

Well, guess what? You either have to violate corp. travel policy to fly Delta (in my case) or take connecting flights with competitors.

Delta even demands exuberant pricing on connecting flights out of MSP while AA/ US or UA cost a fraction.

I can see how this does not affect many travelers here but for me Delta clearly gauges me on short notice flights. I can even see their strategy to ask for high premium morning vs afternoons flights with the intent for me to either pay that or push me towards a nonstop flight.
Capacity shouldn't factor in as Delta has more flights than the competition and if seats were limited it would show across the board incl UA and AA.

Delta's RM is doing exactly what they are hired to do, maximize revenue for the company. They achieve most of their revenue from flights out of their hubs due to quantity and they leverage their hub presence to the fullest.

That's why you see these huge price differences between markets. Otherwise they would easily be able to charge per seat per mile flown accounting for their average operating cost per mile which nobody would do.

Frogbone

If I knew on Tuesday where I had to go next Monday I would certainly do that. However, I won't know until Friday where I have to go on Monday. That's just just how it is in my industry.

1200GS

Yup - I also look at frequency of flights. I'm often in/out same day for meetings - and DL has MANY more flights than US or AS.

Alaska has started posting some ridiculous fares out of SLC recently, but only 1 flight in and 1 flight out per day. Not convenient.

RatherBeOnATrain

Better planes is another factor -- many of my routes out of ATL are a choice of a direct MD-88/90 flight on Delta or connecting on the other guys' CRJs.

jacobac00

It doesn't really matter exMSP on DL. I have the luxury of knowing about half of my travel for next year, right now. So I searched some of the trips and the likely dates I'll be going. DL charges a higher cost on days ending in "y". The example provided is a near guarantee on some routes. The number of routes where DL is above $1000, where all others are sub $500 is comical. Even three months out in the middle of February.

Frogbone

^^^^^^^^ THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!

born sleepy

Living in the Mother of All Fortress Hubs™, when I decided to ditch UA (for a number of reasons, chiefly their RJ fetish out of competitor hubs) I decided to defect to AA vs DL simply because I'd be competing for upgrades in a market with a surfeit of DL Diamonds/Platinums.

It all depends on what you're willing to sacrifice. Me, making connections isn't a big deal and I'll take the high upgrade frequency I get on US/AA in return.

StayingHomeIsBetter

Hub captivity explained:


Stockholm syndrome

italdesign

WN appears to be an exception. I find that the nonstop option is almost always the cheapest, while connections are pricier. Works for me!

italdesign

Actually, I thought "most people" look for the cheapest fare, hence why the ULCCs are so successful.

curl

Being able to fly practically anywhere in North America non-stop! Having to connect to all but a handful of cities would be so painful. A huge time suck, more chance for travel delays with connections, lost baggage (this has only ever happened to us on connections) opportunity...