View Poll Results: What will AA do about fares going forward, once it’s safe to travel?
Fares will be pretty much as before Coronavirus
36
19.35%
Fares will be significantly higher
59
31.72%
Fares will be significantly lower
33
17.74%
AA will follow the lead of Delta and United
51
27.42%
Other opinion, posted below
7
3.76%
Voters: 186. You may not vote on this poll
Speculation: What will happen to AA fares once it’s safe to travel ?
Apr 22, 2020, 6:43 am
#31
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MIA
Posts: 298
My guess is they’ll put as many butts in seats and planes in the air as they can, which translates to excess capacity and low fares.
Apr 22, 2020, 10:11 am
#33
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: SAN
Programs: AA CK, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 839
I don’t disagree with the premise, but at the same time AA will be paying a bunch of debt on empty planes not generating revenue. Seems like reducing capacity will only compound their problems.
My guess is they’ll put as many butts in seats and planes in the air as they can, which translates to excess capacity and low fares.
My guess is they’ll put as many butts in seats and planes in the air as they can, which translates to excess capacity and low fares.
May 8, 2020, 3:51 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 83
I think they will have some kind of complicated algorithm whereby fares will be lower as long as air travel is totally in the toilet. But once they reach certain modest thresholds in terms of load factor, they will start raising prices ($50 here, $100 there). I think they will be higher a year from now that they would have been this year sans COVID.
I also feel that when they bring back the international nonstops that they have massively cut, those prices will jump as compared to the same routes (temporarily) requiring a change of plane. People will not want to go back those days if they can avoid it, and AA will be able to charge more of a premium for that convenience next year. I had flights DFW-FCO and DFW-AMS for April and July 2020; both trips are postponed until next year and I am gonna be highly annoyed if I have to change planes. (Then again, I will be grateful if I actually get to make those trips and should not complain about too much.)
I see two possibilities as far as leisure travel: if people are as desperate to travel as some imagine, they may be less price-sensitive. On the other hand, if the economy stays in the toilet and prices are not attractive, they may all be doing road trips like we did in the 1970s, because you could not afford to fly a whole family anywhere.
I also feel that when they bring back the international nonstops that they have massively cut, those prices will jump as compared to the same routes (temporarily) requiring a change of plane. People will not want to go back those days if they can avoid it, and AA will be able to charge more of a premium for that convenience next year. I had flights DFW-FCO and DFW-AMS for April and July 2020; both trips are postponed until next year and I am gonna be highly annoyed if I have to change planes. (Then again, I will be grateful if I actually get to make those trips and should not complain about too much.)
I see two possibilities as far as leisure travel: if people are as desperate to travel as some imagine, they may be less price-sensitive. On the other hand, if the economy stays in the toilet and prices are not attractive, they may all be doing road trips like we did in the 1970s, because you could not afford to fly a whole family anywhere.
Last edited by monvoyage; May 8, 2020 at 3:58 pm