LC757

Comments like these demonstrate quite clearly why UA is viewed poorly in comparison to the other domestic carriers.

UA execs have mastered the art of saying precisely the things that will rub consumers the wrong way.

TominLazybrook

Except in the case of CDG service, UA with stops is more than AF nonstop. And charging 4 to 5 grand more for the same service class/stops in certain cases Is there any real difference connecting via MEX (or frequently YYZ) vs EWR or ORD?

And while UA does fly SCL and EZE nonstop, theyre charging more for coach service than AM charges for business first.

There is a historical precedent for new entrants too. AC/UA routinely charged a minimum of 1800 to 2000 for flights that originated in Houston or Calgary for travel between the 2 cities. Even with stops, it was 1500, minimum. Thats why Westjet is now in the market. They played that game with Mexico as well...Now there are multiple airlines competing with UA.

And Houston doesnt have the competition that ORD or EWR or IAD has. They introduce the Houston Premium at those hubs and theyll lose market share and incentivize new entrants, which can create further problems.

Ive been a lot less angry with UA since Ive started just flying other airlines when UA gets non competitive. Even in Houston, you can do it easily. UAs European and Asian options are very limited out of IAH anyway. Dont need status when you can just buy the upgraded seat cheaper on another airline. And you dont need to fool with status or lists either.

Flying to Europe? Aeromexico. Or if youre really adventurous.. connect with La Compaigne via Newark. Youll pay roughly half. Air Canada sometimes works too. Asia? Usually American. I do still fly UA, but only when the price is within 20 percent of the price on other carriers.

Try explaining to your client or corporate travel department....I spent 4000 more on a the same quality ticket and times to CDG because I wanted miles and status.

Airline prices are "low" because airlines can make money charging what they charge. If UA wants to set prices artificially high, theyll just get new entrants.

jsloan

Right; my point was just that they know this. As for demanding a loyalty premium when they're not offering a nonstop -- I bet they have a large number of corporate contracts in Houston. Those contracts tend to be written as percent-off deals based upon the fare class, so they may be keeping their retail prices high in order to keep their contract prices competitive.

That said, you may just be running into inventory issues on the dates that you're looking, or you're running into a business traveler surcharge that other airlines might not be charging. I did a sample search for economy IAH-CDG 10/16 - 10/25, and Turkish was very cheap (but way out of the way) and AF / DL / AA / UA were all the same price at about $1480. If I do an earlier return --- 10/16 - 10/19, Singapore / flybe becomes the cheapest at $1470, then Turkish and AM at $2000, and then Lufthansa and United at about $3900; DL/AF is several hundred dollars more at $4600. So it's really hard to do this kind of comparison in a vacuum.

I can assure you, though, that if they thought they could do the same thing in other cities, they would. In some cases, they do -- UA is accused of "fortress hub" pricing at SFO and EWR, just like AA at CLT and DFW and DL at DTW and ATL.

The airline business is extremely difficult to break into. If all of the existing airlines were to raise fares in concert, they might get away with it. If UA were unilaterally to double fares across the board -- well, I don't think Scott Kirby is that stupid.

DELee

Given what he's been blamed for - and some of it justified (replacing bonuses with lottery, F meal shrinkage, etc.) - he can be pretty boneheaded.

If his ELT is as stupid as he can be and the Board doesn't do anything, we'll likely see more idiotic statements and moves.

David