Originally Posted by
San Gottardo
You are saying that AF tries to balance several passenger groups' interests, and I agree. But how does not offering attractive oneway fares - which adresses the interests of the price-sensitive customer segment, i.e. the one that Mini targets - compromise the attractiveness to the more "premium" customer segments? Will AF lose any pax at higher prices who will say "I shall move away my business from Air France because they offer attractive oneway fares to that other segment that I do not belong to "? I don't think so.
No, but as I have seen in different cases, they might move away from their corporate fares or Abonné fares, as the need for flexibility addressed by these more expensive fares could also be addressed, as seen by accountants or some decision makers, by purchasing a MiNi fare, throwing it away in case of changes and purchasing another MiNi fare.
Thus, back to what I still find a mystery: if Mini wants to address the price-sensitive segment, then why doesn't it compete properly, i.e .on price? If Mini does not want to address the price-sensitive segment, which customers does it seek to attract? If no specific customer segment is targeted because it is felt there is no competition anyway, then why bother introducing the Mini fares in the first place?
And that is where I feel that some posts - including yours - are dodging the question and presenting arguments that I find contradicting. They start out by saying Mini is great because it will take market share in the segment of price-sensitive customers, then we find that in the price-sensitive segment they cannot compete on price
I personally believe there are different segments in the price-sensitive market. Ryanair customers apparently do not have the same sensitivity to price as Easyjet customers. And even the same individual usually does not have the same price sensitivity when travelling for leisure or travelling on corporate business. For some Ryanair customers, Easyjet fares are considered too expensive, while for some Easyjet customers, slightly lower fares will not make up for the lack of customer care in case of irrops. So, I would guess that the MiNi fares are targeted at the part of the price-sensitive market that AF believes 1) it has lost over the past years to competitors with lower fares 2) it can win back, because the fare differential is back below their sensitivity threshold.