Originally Posted by
John Thacker
So your question is, "Why does ORD-LAN (and ORD-a bunch of other cities) have an EFare this week, but ORD-MBS does not?" It's always hard to predict EFares.
Note that flights from ORD to Peoria, IL, Appleton, WI, Cedar Rapids, IA and Traverse City, MI are just as cheap as ORD-LAN this weekend. Certainly no political explanation works for those.
Next weekend, though not this weekend, MBS-CMX (Hancock, MI), MBS-CVG, MBS-CMH, and other flights have EFares. Not MBS-ORD, though.
Since you rephrased my question let me ask you a rider question:
Why does UA fly to Hancock, MI but does not fly to Anchorage Alaska?
UA pretends to be a global airline - does flying to CMX and not flying to ANC make it a global airline? Is CMX more profitable than ANC?
Really?
Originally Posted by
FreFly
What about availability? UA may be willing to oversell for $950, for example. Of course, given that price for a 75 mile trip, I'll drive or take a limo.
UA does not over sell on MBS-ORD or R/T anything. It has consistently two flights daily that carry at best 5 revenue pax....
Originally Posted by
UpstateNY
For what it's worth, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton (when she was jr. senator from N.Y.) have been complaining about high fares from ROC, BUF, SYR, and other upstate cities for years, and I don't think it's made a darn bit of difference. Getting service from B9 and WN is the only thing that ever budged fares in this part of the country. They're still outrageous from airports with limited competition, like ELM, BGM, and ITH.
Yep. Even the political pull of Mrs. Clinton must have a limit as we have witnessed.
However. There is some political forces in Lansing the capital.
Did you know that LAN airport that is infested with ghosts most of the day (same as MBS), has an "International Arrivals" gate? Did you know that LAN has a U.S. Port of entry status with a U.S. Immigration and U.S. Customs office? Do you know how many international flights are serviced by that office? One per week. A vacation flight arriving from Cancun (Cancun in Mexico). Do you know that federal employees' salaries are paid from federal tax dollars for servicing this U.S. Port of Entry? Yep. Your stimulus dollars....
Very efficient use of federal tax dollars unless there is local political traction.
Originally Posted by
777Brian
Its simple supply and demand. If you really want to go to ORD that bad you might be willing to pay that. Also we don't know how full the MBS-ORD flight really is.
Its also a reflection of that fact that UA really doesn’t want to sell an MBS-ORD r/t. They want to sell a connecting flight. If they sell a cheap MBS-ORD segment that means one seat not available for MBS-ORD-LHR, or MBS-ORD-LAX.
Well. Yes and no. If UA will continue to sell R/T to ORD or to MDW for $950, 7 days weekly, for then some other airline will get wise and enter this market.
Let others on this board tell you how many times they had a chance to VDB as a marker of completely taken seats....
IMHO the entire market in the lower peninsula of Michigan is dominated by DL/NWA (that has a powerful domestic and international hub in DTW).
Lastly, I do my travel out of LAN for $94 per R/T. So UA gets from me the same revenue. But. Corporate travel is now partially diverted from MBS to FNT and the revenue is diverted to AA.
So much for the wit and wisdom of the UA pricers.