AS to Introduce "Saver Fares" (Basic Economy), End Fee Waivers and Add Fees
Apr 24, 2018, 4:33 pm
#106
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle WA, USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott LT Plat, AS Lounge
Posts: 3,478
Some negative publicity about this in the Bay Area: https://www.sfgate.com/chris-mcginni...s-12860783.php
"(Currently, Alaska's Premium Class seats are sold at a fixed surcharge based on flight length; with dynamic pricing, the cost would vary by supply and demand.)"
It indicates AS is introducing demand-based pricing for PC.
I'm puzzled. When I booked SEA-RNO RT nonstops on E175s recently the PC upgrade cost was $35 one direction and $25 the other. Our K class fare each direction was the same. How is the current surcharge calculated? As MVPGs booked in K we got PC free at time of booking so this is just a curiosity question.
I guess I thought PC upgrades were already somewhat demand-based. What am I missing?
Last edited by Westcoaster; Apr 24, 2018 at 6:38 pm Reason: It's E175, not E75. Fumble fingers.
Apr 24, 2018, 6:01 pm
#107
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: ANC
Programs: AS (75K+ miles flown) | Marriott Rewards | MLife Sapphire | Identity Silver | Hertz Gold Plus |
Posts: 209
The article says:
"(Currently, Alaska's Premium Class seats are sold at a fixed surcharge based on flight length; with dynamic pricing, the cost would vary by supply and demand.)"
It indicates AS is introducing demand-based pricing for PC.
I'm puzzled. When I booked SEA-RNO RT nonstops on E75s recently the PC upgrade cost was $35 one direction and $25 the other. Our K class fare each direction was the same. How is the current surcharge calculated? As MVPGs booked in K we got PC free at time of booking so this is just a curiosity question.
I guess I thought PC upgrades were already somewhat demand-based. What am I missing?
"(Currently, Alaska's Premium Class seats are sold at a fixed surcharge based on flight length; with dynamic pricing, the cost would vary by supply and demand.)"
It indicates AS is introducing demand-based pricing for PC.
I'm puzzled. When I booked SEA-RNO RT nonstops on E75s recently the PC upgrade cost was $35 one direction and $25 the other. Our K class fare each direction was the same. How is the current surcharge calculated? As MVPGs booked in K we got PC free at time of booking so this is just a curiosity question.
I guess I thought PC upgrades were already somewhat demand-based. What am I missing?
Apr 24, 2018, 10:16 pm
#108
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: YYF/YLW
Programs: AA, DL, AS, VA, WS Silver
Posts: 5,951
Yeah, me too. For my last two family trips, we booked with AS about four months out without even looking at other airlines entirely because of the 60 day change fee waiver. (Living north of the border, WN is not an option.) We were ok paying the price so booked it; other airlines may have been cheaper but we didn’t even look. So I do wonder if they’ll really make more money in change fees that far out than they lose in people booking with other airlines and/or just not booking at all until later.
Apr 25, 2018, 10:32 am
#109
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: BART Platinum, AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,158
I feel that those amex cardholders users who have been gaming the free refunds have at least partly contributed to this. The workaround to getting the travel credit reimbursement was that you could buy a refundable ticket for less $100, cancel it, and save the money to your AS MyWallet. Might sound harmless, but there's probably other transaction fees and overhead being incurred for AS for cancelling tickets.
Apr 25, 2018, 11:10 am
#111
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,856
That said, I don't think my cancelling the ticket is going to bother AS. They got my money in the wallet and I will apply it to a future flight. They have to pay for credit card processing on the original charge, but not again when I use the funds. So it really is like buying a gift card for future use, except that I temporarily held a reservation on a particular flight. And the fact that the credit has an expiration date might very well make me less sensitive to higher fares compared to competitors in the future ("sure, UA is ten bucks cheaper, but I have these 50 bucks in my AS wallet...")
Apr 25, 2018, 11:37 am
#112
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 998
Well, they do. I could show you a recent ticket purchase for $58.xx that was reimbursed. The original transaction includes the ticket information on the Amex website.
That said, I don't think my cancelling the ticket is going to bother AS. They got my money in the wallet and I will apply it to a future flight. They have to pay for credit card processing on the original charge, but not again when I use the funds. So it really is like buying a gift card for future use, except that I temporarily held a reservation on a particular flight. And the fact that the credit has an expiration date might very well make me less sensitive to higher fares compared to competitors in the future ("sure, UA is ten bucks cheaper, but I have these 50 bucks in my AS wallet...")
That said, I don't think my cancelling the ticket is going to bother AS. They got my money in the wallet and I will apply it to a future flight. They have to pay for credit card processing on the original charge, but not again when I use the funds. So it really is like buying a gift card for future use, except that I temporarily held a reservation on a particular flight. And the fact that the credit has an expiration date might very well make me less sensitive to higher fares compared to competitors in the future ("sure, UA is ten bucks cheaper, but I have these 50 bucks in my AS wallet...")
It's odd though because I feel like a lot of AS routes are pretty full and don't see a lot of last minute changes or empty seats, at least no more then other airlines... but then you've got to think that you only have so many areas to drive revenue growth and that's the target for investors and higher ups.
Apr 25, 2018, 11:48 am
#113
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,856
Ya, I kinda look at this the same. They've sold the "product" to you already. Just because you have credit and haven't redeemed the service doesn't mean the sale didn't happen. (Unless the charge is fully refunded to the card). The only big issue I can see are planes are going out with seats empty, or too many last minute changes were happening because seats were empty. Possible causing delays at the last minute, or again, empty seats going out is lost revenue.
Apr 25, 2018, 2:22 pm
#114
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Programs: AA ExPlat, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 909
There's also this rule:
https://www.flyertalk.com/help/rules.php#threadtitles
(emphasis added)
"Alaska changes" is about as non-specific as you can get. Alaska changes what? My flights? Their rules? They changed their name to SkyHigh Airlines?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngknx7Wag80
https://www.flyertalk.com/help/rules.php#threadtitles
(emphasis added)
"Alaska changes" is about as non-specific as you can get. Alaska changes what? My flights? Their rules? They changed their name to SkyHigh Airlines?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngknx7Wag80
Apr 25, 2018, 2:25 pm
#115
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,394
Apr 25, 2018, 3:48 pm
#116
Moderator: Alaska Mileage Plan
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,319
Apr 25, 2018, 3:54 pm
#118
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle WA, USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott LT Plat, AS Lounge
Posts: 3,478
Apr 25, 2018, 11:55 pm
#120
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, HH Gold, Hertz PC, Marriott Titanium LTG, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 42,953
I've already reached out with some at AS to express my concerns about these proposed changes. I plan to continue this communication. I urge others to reach out as well.