LarkSFO

Not to continue with this completely off topic direction, but you are both dead wrong.

Personal debt continues to drop and saving rate is near its high over the past 10 years in the USA.

UA is raising prices because they can.

Capacity discipline is being adhered to, and simple supply and demand dictates that UA should be able to push through price increases.

Prices will be even higher at this time next year...

JetAway

Debt/savings rate is relative. US had/has one of the highest debt rates/lowest savings rates in the world. And unemployment rate continues at historic high.

It'll be interesting to see if your predictions about prices next year are similarly correct.

Passmethesickbag

Clever man, Jeff Smeagol. The more you yank up the fare, the classier the product looks. Amazing nobody thought of that before!

LarkSFO

8.3% is an historic high? How do you figure?

And unfortunately, I do believe that airfares will be higher in summer of 2013... I would love to be wrong on this one.

hobo13

Really? Just this? Everything else is hunky-dory?

craz

Sorry something doesnt add up, once a tkt is issued the carrier can NOT up the price in any way

XLR26

Assuming the tix were already issued, it sounds like a clear violation of the DOT regs. They can file a complaint with DOT if they're still PO'd about it.

Indelaware

I may be mistaken in my membory, but this seems like SOP from airlines going back sometime. If they are sucessful with one increase, they try another.

On a whole, the industry has been much more succesful since the DL/NW merger (NW often held out on fare increases), now with the UA/CO merger, there is less competion - except on certain route flown by WN and new LCC carriers. One can only imagine what will happen to the market place with further consolidation. Passengers almost never win in a merger - although I think the US/PI and the TW/OZ mergers may be exception.

They always say it is about creating a seemless network, but really codeshares, through fares, interline ticketing, and interline baggage is seemless enough in my book.

Indeed. And how long has MA been out of business anyway? Besides even when there was a Malev, it was a Oneworld carrier; what would they be doing tickeintg on DL?

NYC1K

Bingo!!

:-::-::-:

Mike Jacoubowsky

And I can't believe United would even try to get away with something like that. Fuel pricing has been volatile for years, and I've certainly purchased tickets at a time when the fuel was low and then zoomed skyward by the time I flew. Never has United (or any other airline) tried to ding me for more $$$.

Getting back OT, it's important to keep in mind who these increases are aimed at. It's not the Kayakers, who have the flexibility to shop for fare sales based upon destination. This is all about getting a few extra bucks from the traditional road warrior, the person flying SFO-ORD or LAX-JFK on a regular basis. For most of us, $10 here, $50 there, is irrelevant, because we're looking to buy when the timing's right, at prices well off an M, B or Y fare.

We also have, as mentioned, some flexibility in where we fly. I just saved a whole lot of $$$, and improved upgrade options, by flying SFO-BRU instead of SFO-CDG in a couple of weeks. Sure, I'll miss the inner guts of CDG, but I'll get over it.

Rather than focus on the mythical $10 increase across-the-board, we need to see what's happening to average fares overall.

Flyingeagle

I'm a 1K (been so for 10 years) now but who knows going forward. Right now I'm only at about 35,000 miles for the year so it's not looking too favorable. I haven't posted in a while because I have taken the alternatives which have included other carriers and that old standby, driving. When I'm looking at a $750 one way fare or driving 12 hours, I unfortunately drive.

My wife is a silver as are my two sons, but going forward my wife is so pissed off at UA that she is shifting the family's travel elsewhere. She particularly disliked a comment made by a UA executive about UA elites having been "over entitled" and as a result now not being able to pick an E+ seat at time of booking.

She is an exec at a major national retailer and her biggest efforts there have been working with the sales force to enforce the culture that the customer is key and most important. This is what drives sales and loyalty. In her opinion she says that the new United just doesn't get it and predicts that eventually all the "over entitled" elite customers will just disappear from their flights.

PS...and by the way, who in their right mind thought the Spring break travel time was a good time to initiate the merger...and how could the senior management staff have agreed to it? My personal thinking is that it was a bunch of MBA's (not entrepreneurs) looking at spreadsheets.

My new motto when anything goes wrong these days is, "I've been Jeff'ed."

emcampbe

Not to go too OT, but as long as there is an agreement, a carrier can issue a ticket with segments on whatever carrier they want. In Feb., I was ticketed on TK via ORD, and despite them being in *A and UA offering non-stop service on my connector, they flew me AA.

Indelaware

Well, yes, of course. And I have purchased from UA directly on 016 stock a ticket for travel entirely on AS. But such is rare. OP was discussing a UA ticket, which was apparently was rebooked by MA for travel on DL -- all because of price, not irrops or anything. I'm just highly confused as to what transpired.

15cats

Just looking at an NYC-CHI run for 8/9-8/11 and united is starting at $437. I've flown this route many many times and never seen it this high without being 1-2 days before. ITA shows options for AA at 280, DL, WN, B6, and NK (not an option though) at around 330.

Now I'm willing to pay a little extra to keep the miles under one roof with hopes that its sunny after it pours, but I'm sorry, the privilege of flying UA E is not $150 more than anyone else. Plus marine air terminal at LGA > terminal C zoo.

Not sure what type of customer this price is really targeted at..

787fan

definitely amazed by how much price premium UA could command on such a competitive route ... and that 437 is out of LGA not EWR