Originally Posted by
Often1
Amtrak has no reason to institute SDC because it does not charge for ticket changes (just the fare difference). Why it would ever in a million years buy into the foolishness of incentivizing people to buy the cheapest fare of the day and then SDC to a more expensive train is beyond me.
AS waives change fees for MVP Golds
and allows SDCs. UA also allows SDC (even more flexible than AS's). It doesn't eat into yield management, because when you book the cheaper flight and count on being able to change it, you often can't change it because the flight you want to SDC to is full. So, those who actually do need to be somewhere at a certain time end up booking the flight they want.
Any revenue lost by people trying to game the system by booking a lower fare would be offset by additional revenue generated by being able to sell an extra seat on a later train. The empty seat on a train leaving in 15 minutes is a perishable commodity, so if no one takes it, any potential revenue is lost. Allowing someone to SDC to that seat loses Amtrak no revenue and opens up a seat on the later train leaving in two hours for someone to buy at full pop.