MetricFlyer

why is ANA frequently the cheapest option on my TPAC routes? I just don't get it... they have much better foor/service than US carriers, including their *A partner, United.(duh!)

dont' get me wrong, I love to pay less money for a superior product, but I just don't get how ANA can afford to do this...

KI-NRT

For the vast majority of airlines, they charge more for flights that originate in the country where they operate relative to others.

The reason is really quite simple... for people living in Japan, they generally favor Japanese carriers. Vice versa the other way around.

The majority of people living in the U.S. would prefer flying United for familiarity's sake as well as frequent flier benefits.

armagebedar

That's funny -- ANA is frequently the most expensive option for me. It all depends on where you live. As KI-NRT said, airlines generally are more expensive on fares originating in their home market, and vice versa.

Also, NH has mostly unified their fare structure with UA on TPAC routes, so except for discount fare buckets you can generally use either carrier and the revenue is shared.

ORDnHKG

May I ask what TPAC routes on NH are the cheapest ? And compare to ?

daboogah

have to remember that on the domestic route, ANA flies (and charges) one of the highest rates in the world (ppm). To find the TPAC the cheapest, I would be curious where you are flying from since the prices "should" be similar to UA etc....

HawaiiO

I was very happy when i heard ANA was going to fly from Seattle.
Finally a decent star* carrier.

But, the prices that ANA charged going to Asia was just stupid high.
In some cases, it was over 30% more than competing carriers.
Ok, they had the new 787 then but still.
Also, the fares only earned 70% miles.

Out of SIN to the USA, i can also forget about ANA.
Their prices are simply way higher than others.

They have a good product yes, but ridiculously high pricing.

Domestic NRT to CTS, cheapest was $200+ on Jetstar.
ANA wanted $700+.
Really? A 1 hr+ flight.

If ANA simply charged 5 to 10% more, i would definitely take ANA.
I pay for my own flights so it is hard to justify paying 30% more for transpac.

armagebedar

You should have flown out of HND -- more flights and lower fares on NH. You can get as low as 21,000 JPY RT if you book in advance.

The domestic air market is not completely liberalized; add to that slot restrictions and high landing fees you have some really high fares in places.

kevincrumbs

Are you crediting to NH or another *A carrier? With UA MP, pretty much all fares earn 100% TPAC, even lower fares that don't earn a 100% when crediting to NH. Not sure about AC or US, though.

LAX

If anyone wants to credit to US, most discounted Y tix on NH metal earn only 50% EQM/RDM.

LAX

MetricFlyer

who in their right mind would do that? (when crediting to UA on the same cheap fares will get 100% EQM/RDM?)

Unless they really want US miles, or soon-to-be AA miles?

ORDnHKG

That is only for TPAC routes because UA and NH has JV on these routes, any other routes if you fly NH and credit to UA you would still only earn 50% or 70%.

Btw, since you started this thread a few days ago, you still didn't say what TPAC route on NH being the cheapest, care to eloborate your claim ?

greenery-travel

Although it has been a year since this thread, I can say that for flights from CGK to GSO / RDU / CLT, NH / UA has been consistently the cheapest option lately (~$1800 r/t). I hardly ever travel anymore, so my choice is entirely price-driven. For a few hours, KE + B6 had an option to fly on an A380 through JFK for $1750, but I did not act quickly enough to get that for my once-every-other-year flight back to the US.

So far, I am looking forward to NH though, especially since I have never been to Japan (and even after the trip, will never have been outside NRT in Japan). Hopefully the layover will allow me enough time to buy some green tea Kit-Kats in a duty-free shop. Also, near SFO, I will get to grab a double-double at In-N-Out in Millbrae before the UA flight to RDU.

Sarfa33

UA has completely taken over pricing duties for NH out of US point of sale.
In the past (pre-JVs), the US carriers would fight it out with sale fares and other pricing wars and JL and NH would basically not get involved and maintain a higher price.

Now, though, NH is included in all of the sale fares that UA files, so that's why you often now see NH pricing that is just as low as the US carriers.

(I'm most frequently looking at LAX-TYO, which is one of the routes with highest competition. YMMV out of routes with fewer carriers flying them.)

-S