RooseveltL

Two challenges currently (I recognize this is not the original thread/post city pairs) -
FL leadership basically denies C-19 is a problem in the state. Only that NY has it so sort of a scapegoat approach to the NE region (Despite lots of the $$$ in FL from the tri-state)
I don't think the demand is high nor will be anytime soon without the business travel part (people work in more expensive places but live in cheaper FL) as the peak family travel periods (Winter Break, Spring Break, Memorial Day) have all come and gone. When Orlando reopens that may give a clue but prior to that - not many families are comfortable spending thousands for a vacation stuck in a hotel room. Assuming the families have the thousands to spend vs. holding on to their jobs.

UA_Flyer

May be a bit off topic.

I heard an airlines analyst on the CBS News radio broadcast a couple of days ago. He stated that airlines will be operating in different business models post-Covid 19. All airlines will be a lot smaller, and passengers need to change their mindsets that multiple flights between city-pairs could be the things of the past and a number of cities will not likely to see direct flights from hubs. International feeder traffics into hub may be even slower coming back because the international traffic will likely take longer to recover.

He did went on to say that air fares will likely to be higher during and post Covid-19 because airlines are trying to balance supply with sustainable demand instead of creating demand by offering lower fares (when there were more planes in service).

JimInOhio

I don't know UA's strategy or tactics to execute their strategy. What I do know is my own perspective as someone who's taken quite a few flights over many years and that tells me UA should be concerned with what they are doing. TSA counts have already returned to 10% of last year, up from a low of less than 5%. UA claims they are operating 10% of the planned capacity. This tells us UA is running their flights nominally "full" (let's say at the normally high LFs) or they are losing market share. Pricing your product substantially higher than competition inevitably leads to market share loss and every airline executive will vouch for this. DL just announced they are adding flights in response to something of a rebound in demand so it seems DL are not the ones who are planning to lose share.

What's really changed in the dynamics is UA has cut capacity so much that their market power is largely gone. Two main factors for customer loyalty are convenience and, in some fashion, inertia. The convenience factor has been discarded with a 90% reduction in service. Hasn't that created a motivation for customers to status match at other airlines when they never seriously considered it before? This is not the time to be charging double the competition.

UAflyer93

United was agressive (as it should have been) for its May schedule, but they’ve cut too far for June. I’ve been looking at booking something these past couple weeks but everything I’ve searched (out of EWR) is booked out and insanely expensive. Will probably end up booking on B6 instead.

JNelson113

DEN-IAH, I route I fly monthly, is $350 one way on 6/10, over three weeks out. The fare normally ranges from $50-150.

It is $54 on Frontier on the same day at a very convenient time. Normally I always fly United, but this is craziness.

narvik

Considering that it would use about 12 gallons of fuel per passenger for that route, I reckon $54 wouldn't even cover the cost to fly the plane.
As I previously alluded to, the adjustment UA is making might be due to cost analysis: i.e. "How much do we need to charge a passenger in order to be transporting that passenger profitably".
Not saying that is a good or bad strategy, but I don't blame them for not matching Frontier's $54.
An adjustment to these ridiculously LOW prices isn't all too bad IMO. Of course, UA apparently is taking it too far in the other direction, so there's that.

YumYumcake

With Jet-A at less than $1 per gallon, 12 gallons is less than $12..

UA_Flyer

Delta just announced yesterday it is adding roughly 100 more daily flights in June versus May, including service out of its Atlanta hub and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Florida.

Perhaps UA should look at its current loads and advance bookings to see how it should adjust accordingly.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/delta-res...172051063.html

JNelson113

I don't blame them at all for not matching $54, but $350 for the same route at a comparable time? I'd definitely choose UA up to $180 or so, but $350 is hard to justify.

SS255

I don't mind paying more if I could be guaranteed that the middle seat would stay open. I understand that it costs more for UA to keep customers and employees socially-distanced and safe, and those costs must be offset by charging higher fares. But I resent paying higher fares and UA does not make any reasonable effort to keep us safe.

UA has a right to try to sell and fill every seat. But they should be transparent about it, and the fares should be priced accordingly. I honestly wouldn't mind an "add-on" to a reasonably-priced fare to guarantee an open middle seat. (Sorry if this post is crossing over into "open middle seat thread" territory.)

jsloan

UA has offered this ability for years: How to buy an extra seat? "EXTRASEAT" for paid or award flights

SQLInjection

It appears all of the lower fare buckets are just completely booked - lax on the other hand has nearly all of the lower buckets open. You'd think they'd notice this demand and attempt to add more flights, sooner than 6 weeks out.

st3

I am looking at fares for July 4th weekend. TPA-SAT R/T either 7/3-7/4 or 7/2-7/5
UA is coming in insanely high. For the 3rd-5th itinerary I can book on AA,DL or WN for under $200. Cheapest on UA? $689.

I have flown this route a lot and am scheduled to fly it this weekend but $689 is bonkers. $300-$400 is pretty typical and the sub-$200 the other carriers are asking is unusually low.

raehl311

And they can charge 2 passengers for the same open middle seat... can't believe they haven't jumped on this already!


So do we think United will come to their senses or should I just book American?

jsloan

If it's real demand, I'm sure they will. I don't think they really believe that yet.

If AA is offering you a fare that you like, and you're comfortable with their schedule change policy, by all means, book them. (Theirs is 4 hours for a refund, as opposed to UA's 6).