Originally Posted by
sbm12
The Y/B/M fares are quite likely not being purchased by the folks who are cannot purchase F due to policy but are free to spend as much money as they want otherwise. I doubt that such a policy exists in many companies. I think that it is folks who have policies permitting/requiring refundable tickets, folks who don't have 3-night minimums, fokls buying without much advance purchase or one of the other things that make those fares pop up.
I think this whole discussion ignores the effect of the Corporate deals which generate a significant chunk of revenue for all the legacy carriers. My limited experience of those suggest some are structured to offer flexible fares at not much more than I would pay for a deep discount ticket.
I don't know the numbers but I still wonder if the key to success isn't figuring out how to provide enough more to firm up revenues from these travellers, plus a big chunk of the small business / consultant market. I guess it depends how much more you have to provide, but how far to you have to lift costs through space, catering etc. to achieve a 10 or 20% increase in average revenue through bundling features with more flexible tickets? Or to allow you to shave your Corporate discount a few points?