Saver showing up with the app with no fares listed yet


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...62289bb2a7.jpg

Yes and No. It all comes down to implementation. Like with AA, if you are not elite and pay extra to avoid basic fares and are not booking months in advance, most if not all of the seats are already blocked from selection unless you pay even more to select an aisle or window. In this case, unless I were prepared to pay both for the seat fee and the higher fare, I would never book on AA--unless with all those extra costs AA still provides the best value for that flight. I would start looking around at either B6/WN/JetSuiteX who don't yet have saver fares or would look at DL/UA to see what their seat options are. The people that are keeping themselves captive to one carrier may want to overpay for the same product. Everybody else has even more incentive to check out the competition to see which carrier provides the best value on any given itinerary.

I am a bit biased, but also an #avgeek . I think at the end of the day this will help bring more guests to AS who may not choose to fly AS because Brand XYZ was $X amount cheaper. AS can now compete with Brand XYZ.

How does it impact current guests? I think it helps current guests. Those guests purchasing Saver Fares will board last (as will their carry-ons). Most FT'ers do not fall into this group. Even those who do probably have Status. Status will allow you to board early.

It also allows AS to possibly compete in markets they may have been shut out of before. It makes AS a stronger company and hopefully, that helps their loyalty members (you).

That assumes that AS is going to use this to drop fares to compete with, say, NK on routes that they both serve. While that may be the case, what's been seen more frequently with the other carriers is that the Y- fare sits where regular economy used to be.

From some perspectives that’s ok. Fuel and labor costs are going up and if you can find a way to still offer some of the same fares that benefits consumers.

They are not going to offer NK type fares. That would only be shooting themselves in the head to fix a minor headache. They are using this to INCREASE revenue. Why would they market a bunch of seats at an even lower price than they have now when they would have to substantially increase all the rest of the tickets to make up for that plus charge more to get the expected revenue increases? AS does not have the ULCC model where they can make up the low fare by charging for carry ons, checking in at the airport, etc.

So basically people in BE could pay $25 getting into PE rather than pay $20 getting into normal Y? Or do they pay $20 + $25 to get the PE seat? If they only need to pay $25 I could see there probably will be no future for elite upgrading into PE

You will have to buy up to be able to pay extra for premium seat so possibly $50 + 119 or $20+ 25 depends on route and what the cost spread ends up being

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I am curious if the access to PC from Saver is based on paying the fare difference to Y or is limited via reduced inventory? This is from the PC FAQ's on the AS site.

It will be interesting to see how this upcharge to PE will play out. I remember, from the earlier discussion, that when BE was first presented they also included a comment about variable pricing for PE with their ancillary pricing strategy . Since I no longer have AS status, I always pay for PE when I fly in Y. When this thread started I decided that if I came across a BE fare it would be a wash for me - since I buy PE anyway, I always check a bag (with my AS Visa), always aim to board the plane last, and have yet to make a SDC.

So now it looks I might have to check 2 scenarios when booking and seeing a BE fare - first, I will need to check the cost of BE + PE and then, the cost of Y + PE.

With the above comment on limited access - I wonder if this means when booking BE and paying extra for PE you are stuck with only getting middle seats in PE...

My guess is that they'll be able to buy up to Premium at check-in in some cases. Possibly depending on how much inventory is open?

It seem like a simple and equitable fix would be to make PE $20-$30 more expensive for Saver fares (e.g., Saver + $20 + PE upcharge).

FYI - This notice was in a blue box at the top of the monthly Mileage Plan email statement I got today:

"Saver fares include the basic amenities that Alaska Airlines guests enjoy, but restrictions apply, even for elites."

Linked to here: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/tr...r#mileage-plan