<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Mountain Trader:
I don't see how we can avoid a significant increase in leisure fares. The business climate just doesn't have room for travel costs that aren't really necessary, and after 9/11, many found that "necessary" stopped far short of what was thought before. Also, business travellers found that flying wasn't fun anymore-it wasn't easy and it was somewhat scary. </font>
But the problem is that leisure travel is even less "necessary" than virtually all business travel, and probably even more price sensitive. And "not being fun" is just as likely to impact the leisure traveler. Sure the major airlines can, and may, raise leisure fares, but only at the certainty of a major loss of passengers. And it is those leisure passengers, even at reduced fares, that add enough incremental income to make even the high business fares possible.
US, UAL, AA and the others simply have to bring costs down to perhaps 10 or 20 percent above WN and JetBlue. That may mean revisions in schedules, service and FF plans that would make all of us long for the changes that US just junked.
Bruce