YVR Cockroach

I'm looking at getting some double mileage runs under my belt. These would be the YYJ-YYZ or YLW-YYZ non-stop. Unfortunately, the lowest fares seem to be about $300 OW (based on roundtrip) despite the lowest fares being freely available. Price gouging? Any suggestions?

I'd like to go to YHZ but notice that there is no non-stop return.

Shareholder

It's high summer season in the back cabin, plus fuel surcharges have now been built into the lowest (and all other) fares. Weekend web specials, where and when they exist, are your only alternative now, and on these new routes are quite unlikely to be found with heavy summer loads and early promotions to fill the seats. Think such mileage runs are going to be tough until the fall and winter.

YVR Cockroach

it would seem Milton et al are set up make the direct flights as expensive as possible. I checked through AmEx/itn.net and it isn't that the lowest fares are not available but that the lowest fares on the bonus-eligible non-stops are very high. More examples of gouging? I am taking my business south of the 49th if this continues.

Shareholder

Remember that all these new routes are non-stops, replacing or supplementing direct or connecting flights. It is an axiom of air travel that a non-stop flight on a non-trunk route will be more expensive than a direct or connecting flight bacause of the convenience it provides. And if the airline is giving you double miles, you might just have to pay a bit more for that privilege. Why should that be so surprising?

YVR Cockroach

I won't deny it is AC's right to charge more for non-stops but I have also seen AA charge the lowest discount fare for the new SEA-BOS/SEA-JFK non-stop services that they are also offering double miles for (I went on US instead to maximise miles).

It's been a long time since microeconomics but I am sure that one can make a point about AC practising monopolistic pricing. AC's decision to use A-340s on its busiest routes (e.g., YYZ-HKG - see sw2207's report?) will bear this out in the long-term, I would wager.

Shareholder

The two routes you mentioned were high volume and highly competitive -- which will almost always be the case in the U.S. -- and certainly cannot be compared with the non-stop routes AC and CP have just introduced. As I qualified in my original posting, such trunk corridors are generally the only time you'll find non-stops competitively priced down there.

AC is offering double miles on these flights to encourage people to try them and to build up load factors. In some ways, most of these routes may actually have a disincentive for flying them, because Q mileage/points will be less than using a hub (where the remaining short leg can be worth another 250 or 500 or 625, depending upon fare or upgrade used).

For example, if I fly non-stop YEG-YUL on CP/AC's new service, I get 1850 miles/points return in discount, 3700 miles/points return in full-fare Y or CP upgraded R, and 4625 return in J or AC upgraded J. All Q-miles/points. Going through YYZ the basic points are: 1675 discount Y + 500 for the YYZ-YUL return; 3350 full fare Y or CP upgraded R plus 1000 for YYZ-YUL-YYZ; and 4187 in J or AC upgraded J plus 1250 for YYZ-YUL-YYZ.

So you might actually prefer to stick to less expensive connecting flights to get more valuable Q miles than just going for double mileage bonus on these routes.