How do you decide when to pay the Medallion Tax?
Jun 2, 2019, 12:15 pm
#31
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Diego
Programs: IHG Spire Amb, HH Diamond, DL Diamond and 1MM
Posts: 3,611
That's a five hour flight! On a sample booking, the medallion tax is $20 each way. You're a Diamond. I hope you are getting the first class upgrades at least sometimes!
Jun 2, 2019, 12:26 pm
#32
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,185
The funny thing about BE is I always check in at exactly T-24 and I am surprised to usually get a preferred window seat. Once I even got Comfort. I have yet to receive a middle seat. I think there is something in their seat allocation software to still give preferred seats to medallions as opposed to status being irrelevant for BE seat assignments.
Jun 2, 2019, 12:30 pm
#33
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,994
There is a small correlation to distance, but that correlation is not that great. City pair and the likely nature of travel (business vs. leisure) is likely the more significant driver.
For example, the ATL-BNA premium is usually $70 difference round trip. This is less than a 30 minute flight from wheels up to wheels down. Compare this to ATL-PDX- obviously a much, much longer flight - where the difference is also $70. Compare this to ATL-MCO where the difference is only $30 (which is a noticeably longer flight than ATL-BNA, while still much shorter than ATL-PDX) but the "base flow" is almost 100% leisure rather than a business/leisure mix like an ATL-LAX or even ATL-BNA would be.
While I would probably drive ATL-BNA anyways, that would be a no brainer to pick BE unless I really wanted a SDC.
Jun 2, 2019, 12:43 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MCO
Programs: DL PM, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 4,319
Jun 2, 2019, 12:44 pm
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Back in Reds Country (DAY/CVG). Previously: SEA & SAT.
Programs: DL PM 1MM, AA PLAT, UA Silver, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 10,353
20% odds if all seats were available at the time seats were assigned at the same time. But people are selecting seats in advance and depleting the number of available window and aisle seats. The statistic to determine your odds of getting a middle seat are number of passengers needing a seat assignment and middle seats versus other seats at the time those with a BE ticket are assigned a seat. If more window/aisle seats remain than people needing a seat, your odds og getting a middle seat are likely pretty low. If the only seats remaining are middle seats, then you're odds of getting a middle seat are more like 100%.
Jun 2, 2019, 3:06 pm
#37
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,994
The funny thing about BE is I always check in at exactly T-24 and I am surprised to usually get a preferred window seat. Once I even got Comfort. I have yet to receive a middle seat. I think there is something in their seat allocation software to still give preferred seats to medallions as opposed to status being irrelevant for BE seat assignments.
Jun 2, 2019, 3:32 pm
#38
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: MSP
Programs: DL GM, MR Gold, Hilton Gold, National Exec
Posts: 535
Definitely not always the case. A lot of the standbys at the gate are BE passengers that weren't able to select a seat during check-in. I've seen plenty of seat maps completely full before check-in.
Jun 2, 2019, 5:10 pm
#39
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mostly living in the basement
Programs: Newly minted free agent; MR LT(!)TE, HH SE, BA SECM, DL MM, UA PS, 2V Fanboi, CBP GE
Posts: 5,108
I didn't address this in my post because it's a bit OT, but in short: in a proper free market competition would reduce prices or increase the quality of the product. When prices go up or quality is reduced (as is the case with BE), it could be because of a natural scarcity, or it could be because the market is not truly free and competition is not properly functioning. (Or I'm sure some would argue here: the consumer has spoken and wants to pay the same for a worse product, but I struggle to believe that most people, given the choice, would pay more for a worse product.)
Jun 2, 2019, 6:20 pm
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,234
(But I suppose this won’t last forever.)
Jun 2, 2019, 6:29 pm
#42
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,994
Jun 2, 2019, 6:56 pm
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,059
I didn't address this in my post because it's a bit OT, but in short: in a proper free market competition would reduce prices or increase the quality of the product. When prices go up or quality is reduced (as is the case with BE), it could be because of a natural scarcity, or it could be because the market is not truly free and competition is not properly functioning. (Or I'm sure some would argue here: the consumer has spoken and wants to pay the same for a worse product, but I struggle to believe that most people, given the choice, would pay more for a worse product.)
Jun 2, 2019, 7:34 pm
#44
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
My guess is that most frequent travelers and especially medallions tend to avoid BE tickets. This would be especially true of those on corporate travel accounts which would generally not require (or even permit) the purchase of such restrictive tickets.
Jun 3, 2019, 10:32 am
#45
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mostly living in the basement
Programs: Newly minted free agent; MR LT(!)TE, HH SE, BA SECM, DL MM, UA PS, 2V Fanboi, CBP GE
Posts: 5,108
Yes, let's bring back the CAB so we can have a "proper" free market. There's a clear shift going on from the legacy to ULCC/LCC model. It may be going on in fits and starts, but it is going on. In the end, there will probably still be a place for the legacy airlines for those who are willing to pay a premium. In the end, I trust the market more than know-it-all, all-powerful regulators who often end up just creating some form of crony-capitalism instead of creating a "proper" free market.