Originally Posted by
minnyfly
Let's take another look at MSP-ORD to see what's actually happening, not frabricated conjecture. DL is not price matching Spirit. Really no-one is exactly, but UA and AA (with a standard fare) are commonly matching each other and are usually within $5 of NK. DL's E fare is generally a step higher and the most expensive. It's been that way every time I see a DL E fare. I've never seen them blanket price-match the ULCCs. I've seen them price match SY, but SY isn't a ULCC model, it's a standard economy model.
First day UA offers a BE, Spirit is $53, UA/AA are $58, DL is $64. Given NK is 28" pitch in Y, and DL is 31", and Delta (a) gives miles, (b) gives status credit, (c) has a massive market share in MSP, I think they are wise not to match $ for $.
My point remains, United is running BE on high fare bucket flights, Delta is not. Different model and approach. e.g., this Friday, if you want the $185 o/w flight, it is regular economy.