Originally Posted by
viaIAH
Not calling out this post in particular but I see this said often...non-GS elites are not profitable. Seems to me the airlines should stop selling seats that aren't profitable. If it costs them $1000 to break even on a trip from A-->B then the minimum price for that seat should be $1001 not $299. I'm not forcing the airline to sell it to me cheaper. If I have to pay $1001 I'll pay it or stay home. If they can't fill the seats at $1001 then fly smaller planes or make fewer trips.
I know that was an oversimplification but its pretty basic that you can't make a profit by selling a product for less than it costs to bring it to the market.
If the revenue is more than marginal (or incremental) cost, the airline will want to sell the seat, even if the price seems low.
Fixed costs are high for an airline. Marginal costs are not. Hence, there are plenty of seats that go for a low price.