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Old Aug 3, 2012, 10:09 pm
  #31  
 
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Originally Posted by 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..
Well, you can either prove them right and buy it (a lot of predictive analytics went in to this price you know).

Or you can prove them wrong ($437!?) and buy a flight on AA.

$280 sounds a lot better to me...
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Old Aug 3, 2012, 10:11 pm
  #32  
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Originally Posted by 787fan
Originally Posted by 15cats
Just looking at an NYC-CHI run for 8/9-8/11 and united is starting at $437.
...
Not sure what type of customer this price is really targeted at..
definitely amazed by how much price premium UA could command on such a competitive route ... and that 437 is out of LGA not EWR
Flights on 8/9 LGA-ORD are nearly sold out looking at seat map and only Q fares are avialable
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Old Aug 3, 2012, 10:14 pm
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
Flights on 8/9 LGA-ORD are nearly sold out looking at seat map and only Q fares are avialable
Which means UA got it right.

And AA is leaving money on the table...
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 6:34 am
  #34  
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Originally Posted by LarkSFO
Which means UA got it right.

And AA is leaving money on the table...
It helps that they've cut capacity on the route by switching 4 mainline flights a day to RJs...that's ~200 seats right there.
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 6:59 am
  #35  
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Shocking Newsflash: United Airlines is a Commercial Business!
Little Lord Jeffleroy is obligated to charge as much as the market will bear or be fired.

RNE, "para-channeling" my hero Milton Friedman.
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 7:03 am
  #36  
 
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I wish I was still naive to think that if airlines rose their fares enough, we could get back to improving service rather than cutting it- but alas, I am not.
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 8:06 am
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by UA-NYC
It helps that they've cut capacity on the route by switching 4 mainline flights a day to RJs...that's ~200 seats right there.
You hit the nail on the head...

This is the real reason UA is able to raise prices.
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 9:53 am
  #38  
 
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Clearly the surprise of the century. Wasn't that what the shareholders wanted?

Oh, you're not a shareholder. Right.
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 1:13 pm
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by reddirt14
Pretty easy decision to fly AA when their flights are cheaper and they are giving me Platinum EXP. I fly First allot more than I've done with UA in a long time, service is superior (CS, Gate & on the plane.)

[snip]

It's so much better, easier and cheaper to fly AA.
Originally Posted by 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..
AA is offering discount F on this route for the same price (or just a little more) UA is asking for economy. I believe DL is also reasonable, and reports are positive for their inflight experience on this route. If you are able to break away from UA, there are options.

You could also fly AA JFK-MIA-ORD on a 762 and 763. All wide-body service! Was coming in a dy early for a meeting so I had some slack in the schedule
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 1:18 pm
  #40  
 
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Originally Posted by Flyingeagle
My personal thinking is that it was a bunch of MBA's (not entrepreneurs) looking at spreadsheets.
... and lawyers ... and programmers ... and marketers ... seems anyone will do, as long as they don't know anything about the airline business.

Originally Posted by LarkSFO
You hit the nail on the head...

This is the real reason UA is able to raise prices.
And, the RJ's are probably flown by outsourced labor, so the cost per seat should be even lower.

Classic economics curve - optimizing for point of greatest marginal utility.

However, if they were getting it right in aggregate, then their financial results should be improving.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Aug 4, 2012 at 7:04 pm Reason: merge
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 4:39 pm
  #41  
 
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Are they actually raising fares or are they selling out the lower fare classes? I find that most people don't do the fare and availability research to figure out which situation they are in.

Also, which markets? Or is this across the board?
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Old Aug 4, 2012, 6:20 pm
  #42  
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Originally Posted by lensman
Are they actually raising fares or are they selling out the lower fare classes? I find that most people don't do the fare and availability research to figure out which situation they are in.

Also, which markets? Or is this across the board?
appears to be raising fares in most markets -- suspect a few specific competitive markets may have been exempted.
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Old Aug 5, 2012, 6:23 pm
  #43  
 
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Of course fares are going up. There are fewer competitors. Mergers never are a plus for passengers, nor labor - and often not in the long run for stockholders; every airline which has been involved in a merger (save WN) has later gone to bankruptcy court. The only ones who win are: management, investment bankers, and lawyers. But certainly not passengers.
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Old Aug 6, 2012, 9:57 pm
  #44  
 
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The fare increase failed. Cf India:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/bu...air-fares.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report...queeze_1724798
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