Originally Posted by
brarrr
I just don't get it. I'm sure I'll get roasted for this but... you AK people live in the middle of nowhere, and complain about the cost of flying to/from there? If SEA-ANC isn't going to subsidize ANC-OME, who is? No one. Because 99.9 percent of the use doesn't even know where OME is. The only people with any interest in frequency to OME would be mostly people who live/work in AK. If you don't want to pay such high fares, move elsewhere. It's not going to change. Ever. You live somewhere that is expensive to fly to. I'm not saying it's not a nice place, but if it were viable for another airline to make money flying just to ANC, well, you'd see it happening. But it doesn't happen because they need other operations in-state, and... you're back at square one of needing something to subsidize ANC-OME. So please please... recognize this as fact and move on. Sheeesh.
THAT would be (one of my many) peeve about the AS forum
I knew someone was going to bring that up eventually.
First of all, ANC is not the middle of nowhere. We're larger than a lot of
metropolitan statistical areas that you'd hardly call the middle of nowhere. Additionally, we're a
major transportation hub for both cargo and passengers heading to the rest of the state, so this airport serves
much more than just the 320,000 or so living within driving distance of it.
Second, you shouldn't argue that ANC-SEA should subsidize ANC-OME unless you want your SEA-SFO flights to subsidize my ANC-SEA flights. (Oops--there go your $89 fares.) Right now, my ANC-SEA flights are subsidizing both ANC-OME
and SEA-SFO...especially when you get those occasional $69 deals.
Third, I challenge your assertion that it's never going to change. This is a recent development. Until 2008, it was entirely possible to make regular trips out of state for reasonable prices. Even AS itself offered regular $200 rt jaunts to SEA. Yes, if this keeps up, I'll probably consider relocating closer to a major airport with some actual competition when I can, but for now, I don't think it's unreasonable to challenge what appears to be borderline unfair pricing practices.
I'll reiterate that I'm not blasting AS and saying I'd dump them if someone else came (though they're testing the limits of my loyalty right now). I still believe they're a good company and will continue to fly them
as long as they treat me right. I'm not the only person who feels this way. As longtime Alaska travel authority Scott McMurrent recently said in
an article, "I love Alaska Airlines, in case anyone wants to know. But part of the love means I feel compelled to cry out when I think “my” airline can do better on pricing, service–you know, the works. I figure that’s my duty as an informed consumer."
BTW, congrats on your 777th post!