UAPremierExec

If you want to laugh more, I bought a "Fly it like you stole it" T shirt from Amazon with a Q400 on it. I almost wore it on today's 3 flights on Alaska.....

jinglish

In my experience with DL, it's highly dependent on route. It's only $15 per direction on SEA-LAX, but it's $30 for both SEA-SAN and SEA-BOS.

tmiw

If there was only more competition in the airline industry, we'd see lower upcharges on way more routes. (At least for SEA-SAN, it's basically only AS and DL flying that route plus a single early morning WN departure.)

Often1

Or more bankruptcies.

Do you think that any of the now defunct carriers sold because it seemed fun?

Flying for Fun

Yes, we certainly follow that @neil. It is a marketing strategy to increase prices, or offer less for the same price, which is favourable to some, maybe not most. It is like those 50% off mattress sales where the starting point is the MSRP which nobody pays, or your favourite coffee brand that seems to stay the same price forever but slowly gets smaller and smaller in increments so small you don't notice. Remember those chocolate bars as a kid? Today they call them King Bars.

The original fare, soon to be called a basic economy fare, still works for many who don't utilize all the benefits it came with. For many, that is fine, for the rest, accept it as a price increase. I have no concerns for me personally. I never purchase the cheapest fare. I purchase the fare that gives me the best value. There in lies the difference.

James

Flying for Fun

More competition and lower prices, if sustained, results in the loss of benefits. Airlines aren't there to give away services. What is the breaking point? Would you like to see a revenue component on Mileage Plan? Be careful what you ask for.

James

CDKing

Its already revenue based for those that combine partners due to cheapest fares earning small percent (or even no percent). It may not be a specified dollar amount but it's the same thing. Even worse on AS, many of the partners its both reduced EQM & RDM while other programs only reduce the RDM. Basic will likely be the next test of reduced earnings on AS bookings. Once that goes smooth, expect all fare buckets to get cut.

tmiw

Different issue. The point is more that there's more pricing pressure the more companies on a given route, for better or worse.

Never said they were.

Flying for Fun

Time will tell. It is not revenue based on the requirement to spend x dollars with AS to attain status. That would reduce a lot of Elite Members who renew on $119.00 transcons. Maybe they will be $159.00 for 100% EQM. Yes, a $ amount increase but far from, say, a $9K+ requirement for 75K.

I also agree partner earnings on economy tickets are poor on some but good on others and often the upfare for a 100% eligible EQM fare is small. I am in Tokyo today after finishing a 30,404 mile RTW mileage run, 96% earned 100% EQM. Only one N fare on KE earned 50% on a ICN-HKG segment.

I am flying NRT-MEL-SYD on QF tonight 100% EQM and SYD-NAN-LAX on FJ Sunday, again 100% EQM LAX-SEA-YLW on Monday on complimentary upgrades. SYD-NAN-LAX return was $693.00 for a fare earning 100% EQM. As long as I have the flexibility to optimize my EQM when Flying for Fun and there is no EQD component to MP I will continue to do so. Right now, I can choose to support or not support a partner (looking at you SQ) and do so accordingly.

BA has offered an excellent F sale from LAX-JNB/CPT for January travel (southern hemisphere summertime) in the $6.5K range. With no status you could earn MVPG for almost 2 years and earn 88K RDM, significantly more if you already have status.

Remember, the cheapest fare is not necessarily the best value.

James

MJMLBBtoCPH

This is my main concern as an AS elite. As someone who pays for all of my tickets to commute to my work, I need this flexibility. If the BE fare does not allow elites a free change, and the price increase for a normal economy is more expensive than Southwest, why would I stay with Alaska? This would apply to lots of small business travelers who currently choose Alaska over Southwest. This is the main elite benefit that I hope Alaska does not tinker with on BE fares.

If I don't get the free chocolate and alcohol on a BE fare, I can live with that. If I have to sit in the middle seat as an elite, I'm not sure if I can live with it. Perhaps I can live sometimes. But, don't take away my free change benefit as an AS Gold. Otherwise, why am I flying you Alaska instead of Southwest? And, I get free drink tickets from Southwest too. And no middle seat on Southwest as an A-Lister. I guess Alaska has to decide who their competitors are. Is it JetBlue and Southwest or the Big 3? Maybe Alaska has determined that they don't have many small business travelers so they don't care if they lose them.

eponymous_coward

If MP is no longer a differentiator for AS compared to SkyPesos, Mileage Plus, AAdvantage, Avios, Rapid Rewards, etc., then that's just that much less reason to care which paint is on the tail of my pressurized metal tube.

That one set of flights would represent a significant increase in what I spend on ALL airfare per year, and would be about what I spend on AS over multiple years. I wouldn't find much value in doubling what I spend every year just to retain AS status, though I am sure AS would find value in it.

Flying for Fun

You may not find value in that for yourself personally but you are not everyone. Since it would give you Gold Status for a few weeks short of TWO years, it wouldn't be doubling what you spend each year, would it? As an MVPG75K the flight would generate 127K redeemable miles, enough for a round trip CX J back to CPT. I have friends there and visit at least once a year. Pay January in year X, fly on award in year X+1. Pay in year X+2... Two round trips NA to South Africa once in F, once in J for $3250 each with Status for two years seems like a good value to me.

I guess alternatively you could do 8 round trips between LAX & BOS and 88 hours flying in a metal tube for about $2800 for MVPG for ONE year and enough RDM for an award ONE-WAY NA-South Africa. Do you value that similarly?

I can respect that it doesn't hold value for you but as a consequence of that, suggesting it has NO value to anyone other than AS is, "what is the word you like to use?, oh yes!" risible.

The nature of these threads should be sharing facts, experiences & encouraging debate. If there is an error, ommision or a discrepancy in my analysis, please by all means point it out. I'll be the first to acknowledge I made a mistake.
James

jinglish

You're not wrong; if you have the cash lying around, there are worse ways you could spend it on airfare. But even despite the skewed demographics of FlyerTalk, the "just drop $6500 on airfare like it's no big deal!" bit is a little eyebrow-raising.

Flying for Fun

I can agree with that. However over the course of two years many within the "skewed" demographic of FlyerTalk "drop" more than that and probably don't even realize it. It is the one fare "shocker" they can't grasp despite the benefits it provides. It is akin to buying one or two Starbucks coffee a day over the course of a work week. Five dollars here, five dollars there doesn't seem like much but by the end of the year you have "poured" $1800+ into the corporation. and maybe benefited with some complimentary wifi. You are the Star for spending your Bucks!

Maximizing EQM/RDM while minimizing the outlay is a hobby for me. Optimizing AS flights with GGUs and companion certificates further enhances that. As I am always Flying for Fun and can make a vacation out of flying alone I will continue to do that where I earn a mile for a mile.

I just returned on Monday from completing a revenue mileage run from ICN-NRT all on AS partners by crossing 4 continents and both oceans. I flew 8 segments, 3Y, 5J, 30,404 miles earning 34K EQM and 92K RDM with CC spend all for $2175.

At some point, if time is constrained or I don't find as much Fun in Flying, the aforementioned itinerary would be a viable alternative to hold status. $6500 is about 20% of my annual leisure travel spend.

James

dayone

Moderator Note: Let's stay on topic, which is Basic Economy fares and details.

dayone, AS Moderator.