<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mapsmith:
As essentially a leisure Traveler, I have consistently paid more to fly on AA for the MRTC and service than I would have on HP or WN. I will continue to do so as often as I can, since I do like the professionalism of the AA Flight Crews. (And earning Miles of course).</font>
Same with me. Miles and elite service (faster checkin, faster security, pre-assigned nice seats) mean enough to me to pay the extra over WN, which often is $50-100. But as a leisure traveller who flies about once a month, on average, it is not a huge burden.
But for folks who only fly a few times a year, well what is the benefit of spending more? I can live with 31" of pitch as well as 35" for four hours. Sure, the extra 4" is nice, but it is only four hours. And if that four inches saves me $200, that is hotel. Or meals. Or entertainment. I'd rather spend $200 more for a good night's sleep across four days than a little extra stretching room for four hours, and I am sure almost any occasional traveller feels the same - hence the LCCs huge gains.
And if I was flying for business weekly, and the fare difference was $200-300 or more, well that is five-figures to the bottom line. Even if I fly American, period, if I can fly on a $200 fare versus a $600 fare, that is $400 I save my company.
Unfortunately for both us and the airlines, when things were really good, the airlines were charging - and getting - hundreds of dollars more per ticket then they are now.