Originally Posted by
DenverBrian
Well, duh. Thank you Captain Obvious. I want steak tonight for $1. I'm not likely to find it at any restaurant in town.
There are airlines that provide a superior hard product at prices lower than their North American and European competitors. LAN has a substantially better hard product in both Y and J than many, if not most, airlines from NA and Europe and their fares are usually lower.
Even when their fares are higher many of the US expats that I know here choose LAN because we know that the long-haul experience will be better (more "glamorous"?). Risking another "duh" from my fellow Coloradoan, I'll mention that for short-haul flights it's not so important.
I do believe that the number of people who look at more than price when choosing a long-haul airline is growing, as long as the fares are not absolutely prohibitive.