Originally Posted by
R.O.
Err, noooo.
Skyteam airlines like AF, KL, and DL are all gonna impose YQ/YR between ORD and TXL. So do Oneworld airlines like AA or BA. And you'll occasionally see USD/EUR/GBP 1 base fares from those two alliances as well.
In fact, on the OP's exact route and for the OP's exact dates, I find base fares of USD 0.50 per direction on AA/BA. EDIT: DL currently offers $0.50 base fares on that route as well.
You know what, I've just spotted the extent of my ignorance!
After the AC flight that I couldn't get TATL on Nectar Points because it was £1, the second cheapest, which was the one I booked, was on UA, which I booked as a whole chunk of the fare could be paid for with Nectar points. So definitely not a Star Alliance "thing", then!
It's not alliance-specific at all, but it is an interesting piece of pricing rhetoric. I assume there's a substantial benefit in absorbing the best part of the fare into fees rather than just pricing the base fare at whatever level they want the fare to be?