Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
So, if AS is charging $300 for a 90 minute flight a few weeks out that DL is selling for $123, either 1) their RM are idiots and they will have a lot of unsold inventory they will have to cut prices on or just fly empty (and lose the chance for paying customers), and DL has the correct market price on it, or 2) they actually can get people to pay $300 (and DL can't, for whatever reason).
So you're expecting guaranteed saver inventory any time you want when AS thinks flights are going to be full and they can make a lot of money? How much of it do you expect? 10 seats? 50?
Their RM team are not idiots. They do not have as sophisticated computer systems and do not have good historical data considering the merger and all of the route additions in the past year.
However RM aside, this thing where AS regularly charges 2-3x vs directly competitive flights, zeros out saver availability thru EOS, and charges 40% more than UA everyday for F awards is simply not compatible with their value proposition that they offer a great mileage program for business flyers.