mblajolla

Anyone know what happened to the coast to coast discount fares? I was finding well priced I fares 11 months out until a few months ago. Then I disappeared completely. Then the U fares jumped and then disappeared as well. Now the O fares jump up dramatically between Feb 08 and March 08. These are on completely empty flights. Might it be the result of summer pricing? I have not seen anything like this in 3 years.

otralot

My new theory is that with planes going out so full airlines no longer se any benefit to selling discount fares way in advance if the chance exists to seller higher fares closer to departure. Also, Feb and March are sschool vacation time so there could be an incentive to hold seats for that busy period as well.

Billiken

Also (affecting pricing in some markets):

WN's schedule is currently open to just November 2, 2007.

weinberg81

As my mother keeps telling me (which I find hystarical)..."its the gas prices!".

Personally I agree that they airlines are trying to suck the last expensive drop out of every flight.

pbarnette

There is a lot of speculation here that CO has shifted to a model where they don't discount as much, but also don't raise fares as much at the last minute. I also think that CO's limited transcon service, and the resulting fewer seats, means they don't have to discount as much as someone like AA might.

Personally, given the tales of completely full flights and limited upgrades, I would just avoid CO on a transcon and go with JetBlue and take the extra 5" of legroom and live TV. Though, to be fair, I haven't taken a CO transcon in a long time, as I was in BOS before CPH, and wasn't crazy enough to bother connecting in EWR when I could go nonstop with someone else.

Mothura

Ive looked at other common routes that are normally reasonable
( ie PBI or Fll to Ewr)
and those prices are up drastically also.

Is Co in $$$ trouble or have the beancounters decided to ruin this airline.
This does not help your loyal customer base Co !

Also I have found wierd problems with over pricing on the website
I hope this is a just website (IT) problem.

If not then I will switch to other airlines

RooseveltL

Supply & Demand.

With gas prices as high as they are - more people are willing to fly as the SUV long distance trip is now more expensive vs. paying airfare for 3 passengers. If airplanes are forced to leave passengers behind and low cost competitors like JetBlue no longer offer low fares. Why would you if you have top rank in customer service?

TVCMH

I hope you're being sarcastic here. Airlines that are run like airlines die. Airlines that are run like businesses survive. What good is a loyal customer if they're not willing to pay $400 to fly to Florida? As another poster mentioned, as long as flights are going out full there's no motivation to lower prices.

craz

I agree. Macys would rather have nothing left over as a season is ending that they will put out at 50% off. Theyd rather sell everything at full mark-up as would the manufacturers. Thats why SYMs hasnt had any real good stuff in anumber of yrs as the Manufacturers cut back on their production runs and less left over unsold goods that has to be dumped. If a Dept store has to put the new stuff out at a drastic % off to start off with they wont be around for long. Even KMart or WalMart cant do it with their cheaper end goods

So as long as flights are flying full and people are paying the piper what is asked of him to, Low Fares wont be seen.

neondiva

The LAS-BWI fare is still available, at $188 (+ misc), as an L fare. I thought they had that fare out of SFO, also, but I'm not seeing it now.

Also, there's something about when to check fares, like just before 8 p.m., or just after 6 p.m.? Maybe someone else recalls the details and/or where it might be posted. Has to do with when new fares are first put out.

But I'm getting really frustrated with CO and seriously considering switching to NWA. As the sentiment of one frequent poster's sig line bemoans, "It ain't as much fun as it used to be."

Mothura

Me sarcastic? .....Maybe. Sometimes it can be an effective tool.

I do agree that fuller flights in the summer do tend to cause prices to stay high and reduce the modivation to discount. This season that trend is indeed in play. It seems that all the airlines have adopted that model this year.

I do keep track of several routes Erw to florida(PBI or FLL in this example ) is just one I look at as a reference.
Seems there are actually less flights on these routes this summer but that is understandable since equipment is being used on other routes. Again this can lead to higher prices and fuller planes.
( AHhh Summer in Florida rain, tropical winds and no humidity Hmmmm) Sorry I could not help that one.

My true purpose here is to point out that if I am booking flights months in advance a bit of a discount would help. I have not seen that time discount in the reservation system reciently.

Weatherboy

It's all about supply and demand --why bother to discount your product when you're customers are willing to pay a premium for it?

If CO can pack a plane full of people willing to pay $3k for a coach trans-continental flight, you better bet they will

With the economy booming, those that can't afford to fly are taking busses, trains, or Southwest.

TXNancy

The prices are definitely higher. Out of IAH, CO can be 25 or 35% higher that other airlines except where Southwest flies. They stay very to close to WN prices.

On some routes, prices on CO.com can drop for no apprant reasons. On a recent purchase of 3 RT tickets, I check prices every day. For about 24 hours, the price dropped 25%. I grabbed 2 tickets. To buy the third ticket I had to check prices daily again for about another week. Again, about 25% reduction in price for about 24 hours. This is on a route that the seat map shows about 80% of seats already assigned.

In general supply and demand drove the air fares up higher in the last couple of year. However, on a route by route basis, CO pricing can be confusing.

Nancy