Originally Posted by channa
I don't think they've zeroed everything out per se. CO is notoriously tight with their inventory, and they may have clamped down further, but there is cheap fare bucket availability.
Example:
6/20 LGA-SNA
Continental Airlines 633
Boeing 737-800 6:00 am
New York, NY (LGA) 8:31 am
Houston, TX (IAH) A9 D9 Z7 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 O9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 S9 W9 T9 X4 L4 non-stop 90% 1416 3:31
Continental Airlines 559
BOEING 737-700 9:20 am
Houston, TX (IAH) 10:36 am
Santa Ana, CA (SNA) A9 D9 Z7 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 O9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 S9 W9 T9 X4 L4 non-stop 80% 1347 3:16
When I look up these flights the cheapest fare available is V class at $431.30 RT (w/5% discount) plus TAX. Now they might have inventory for L for example but there may not be any L fares. I think the key is "fares offered" not necessarily inventory buckets. No reason to buy a V class ticket on this route at this time.
I have seen a few of the cheaper fares show up Jan/Feb - but not beyond.
I might also add - that on the flights listed above for June 20th LGA-SNA, not one seat has been assigned in either F or Y on either segment. There are some blocked seats - but not assigned and I would bet - zero seats sold.