Originally Posted by
Unimatrix One
And here's another question for you: how many of the passengers who paid hundreds extra for the CO codeshare realize that they could have saved so much by booking the HA leg separately? If they found out, do you think they would still be satisfied with the value received for the money paid? Or do you think the majority of them would be p*ssed? Most people choosing between a Safeway house brand and a brand-name item know what they are paying for, and they can easily see the difference in price and labeling. The CO scam on Maui flights is far less transparent to ordinary travelers.
It's not an issue about satisfaction with value. CO only displays their own filghts and prices at their website. Anyone who shops for a flight using only one carrier's website is only looking at a portion of what's available out there. Frankly, they deserve what they get. If they want to take CO so badly that they only look at co.com, what more can you do? CO is free to set whatever pricing they choose to. They're also free to sell you other carriers flights, should they wish to do so. They choose to only sell you CO-coded flights on their website (and not even all CO-coded flights at that).
Is it easy for the customer? Sure it is. Just pop up Orbitz or Expedia and comparison shop. If someone can get you to OGG for less than $1,400, well then you know what to do.