I messed up on the Wednesday/Thursday bit; you are correct that there are still some cheap flights available on Thursday. But all the flights on that Sunday are pricing at $409 right now, which is full Y. There are no discounted/non-refundable seats available. Waiting until Monday will drop you down to $199++ each way, which is still more than CO has on your desired dates.
I get that it is discretionary travel. All the more reason to be price sensitive and go with the least expensive option, right? Or is there some additional value that you'd be willing to quantify in the form of a higher fare to fly B6 on that weekend?
I get the impression that B6 is nicer and has more legroom. I'm 6'2". I am willing to pay more to fly B6 and get a nonstop flight, but $600 is a bit pricey.
It is not that I am not able to pay $600 for a flight, many can do that, just plunder your 401K. The point is: does it makes sense?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dieuwer2
I get the impression that B6 is nicer and has more legroom. I'm 6'2". I am willing to pay more to fly B6 and get a nonstop flight, but $600 is a bit pricey.
It is not that I am not able to pay $600 for a flight, many can do that, just plunder your 401K. The point is: does it makes sense?
Other option would be flying UA's E+ which gets you similar (and often more) legroom than B6's offerings, particularly on the E190's.
That is, if they expand. I can't expect Virgin America to be making any money right now. In fact, they haven't expanded much at all this year. There has been some speculation about ORD. In fact, recently the only route they have added is a 1x daily LAS-JFK flight.
...its leg room, for one. As far as it relates to his question, being taller than average and liking the Jetblue product Virgin in its current form can compete on some of B6's amenities but comfort is not one of them. Their Y cabin is cramped. I'm also taller than average.
Beyond that, expanding costs money and by the fact that VX had to secure additional financing to fund the modest expansion it's already undertook begs the question of how long the money will keep flowing. If/when it stops they will be forced to try to make money for themselves. Hard to be a new, expanding airline in an economic climate where zero growth and negative growth are deemed to be prudent business decisions.
Also, don't confuse the fares we see now as any guarantee of future fares. VX is playing the bottom of the market to try and gain a following. Their product is superior in many ways to many airlines and that puts them in a unique position in the future, much like where Jetblue is now, to be a able to charge a premium for it. Their current fare levels seem to be completely unprofitable and so will not sustain the airline in the long run. As capacity comes down in some markets, VX's fares will rise just like every other airline's. IMO, enjoy the run of cheap(er) fares while it lasts.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nerd
People will pay more for the jetBlue experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetBlueNYFL
As has been proven with JetBlue's mostly maintained LF and increased RASM YOY.
How much higher is the B6 RASM than other carriers? That is the only way to demonstrate people paying a premium. Otherwise they're paying the same or less as anywhere else and fares have just gone up across the board.
I don't know one way or the other, but to say that static LF + increased RASM = people paying a premium just to fly B6 doesn't actually make sense unless all the other airlines have lower (or not as much higher) RASMs at the same time.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by magiciansampras
Shrug, that's your choice, I'm just saying the legroom is often better than B6. So if it is legroom you desire, B6 isn't the only game in town.
United Airlines Airbus A320
Economy Class: 31" pitch, 18" width (65% of aircraft)
Econmy Plus: 36" pitch, 18" width (26% of aircraft)
First Class: 38" pitch, 20.5" width (9% of aircraft)
JetBlue Airways Airbus A320
Lots Of Legroom:34" pitch, 17.8" width (76% of aircraft
Even More Legroom: 38" pitch, 17.8" width (24 % of aircraft)
Plus, of course, the IFE and free snacks
Source: SeatGuru
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jetBlueNYFL
United Airlines Airbus A320
Economy Class: 31" pitch, 18" width (65% of aircraft)
Econmy Plus: 36" pitch, 18" width (26% of aircraft)
First Class: 38" pitch, 20.5" width (9% of aircraft)
JetBlue Airways Airbus A320
Lots Of Legroom:34" pitch, 17.8" width (76% of aircraft
Even More Legroom: 38" pitch, 17.8" width (24 % of aircraft)
Plus, of course, the IFE and free snacks
Source: SeatGuru
Unfortunately JetBlue doesn't just fly the A320, right? Let's not be disingenuous.
).
