Sticker shock for Summer Domestic UA fares
#121
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2000
Location: TPA for now. Hopefully LIS for retirement
Posts: 13,690
Wow! Glad I purchased my summer domestic travel early, even though it was what I thought was nosebleed fare levels at the time.
But, this essentially just means these flights are sold out and UA is willing to involuntary bump other people who purchased cheaper fares some time ago when those were available.
So if you really want to go, at least you still can. The alternative would be for a search like this to simply say "Sold Out" or "Unavailable" (or similar) instead of these crazy fares. Which, ironically, would attract less attention and anger on the internet compared to having the choice we see here.
But, this essentially just means these flights are sold out and UA is willing to involuntary bump other people who purchased cheaper fares some time ago when those were available.
So if you really want to go, at least you still can. The alternative would be for a search like this to simply say "Sold Out" or "Unavailable" (or similar) instead of these crazy fares. Which, ironically, would attract less attention and anger on the internet compared to having the choice we see here.
#122
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 695
Wow! Glad I purchased my summer domestic travel early, even though it was what I thought was nosebleed fare levels at the time.
But, this essentially just means these flights are sold out and UA is willing to involuntary bump other people who purchased cheaper fares some time ago when those were available.
So if you really want to go, at least you still can. The alternative would be for a search like this to simply say "Sold Out" or "Unavailable" (or similar) instead of these crazy fares. Which, ironically, would attract less attention and anger on the internet compared to having the choice we see here.
But, this essentially just means these flights are sold out and UA is willing to involuntary bump other people who purchased cheaper fares some time ago when those were available.
So if you really want to go, at least you still can. The alternative would be for a search like this to simply say "Sold Out" or "Unavailable" (or similar) instead of these crazy fares. Which, ironically, would attract less attention and anger on the internet compared to having the choice we see here.
#124
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,447
Nocella alluded to revenue management algorithms being a bit out of whack for this summer on the domestic side, and having difficulty responding appropriately to demand. The impact has been a correction to extraordinarily high airfares in certain markets, cooling more price-sensitive demand. I suspect things will moderate as we get closer-in to departure, and UA gathers more data on present booking trends. I've noticed this in certain city pairs I've been paying attention to, over the past week. Best advice is to "hold your water!"
https://seekingalpha.com/article/451...ca-29th-annual
Andrew Didora
Yes, got it. Kind of sticking on the leisure consumer, I guess, I publish my bookings data each week. We have seen just in terms of domestic leisure volumes, kind of probably not as strong as maybe they were, call it, a month or two ago, but we're seeing a real uptick on the international side. Are you seeing like, I always thought like, maybe as we were going through kind of the leisure boom last summer, as we moved into the summer of 2020, as international opened up more, do you think there's maybe a little bit more of trade-off going on in terms of people that used to just -- would just fly domestic over the past couple of years, maybe now are looking more internationally?
Andrew Nocella
They are definitely looking more internationally. But I wouldn't read too much into that leisure data domestically. I think the revenue management systems, my guess across all the U.S. airlines are just beginning to tighten up, because we don't want to run out of supply for this summer. And it was just going, at least at United, it was coming too quickly and we made the appropriate changes to slow it down, so that we can meter in with the capacity that we had available. Otherwise, we just had a fear that we would be sold out, not only for leisure business, but for business this summer.
Yes, got it. Kind of sticking on the leisure consumer, I guess, I publish my bookings data each week. We have seen just in terms of domestic leisure volumes, kind of probably not as strong as maybe they were, call it, a month or two ago, but we're seeing a real uptick on the international side. Are you seeing like, I always thought like, maybe as we were going through kind of the leisure boom last summer, as we moved into the summer of 2020, as international opened up more, do you think there's maybe a little bit more of trade-off going on in terms of people that used to just -- would just fly domestic over the past couple of years, maybe now are looking more internationally?
Andrew Nocella
They are definitely looking more internationally. But I wouldn't read too much into that leisure data domestically. I think the revenue management systems, my guess across all the U.S. airlines are just beginning to tighten up, because we don't want to run out of supply for this summer. And it was just going, at least at United, it was coming too quickly and we made the appropriate changes to slow it down, so that we can meter in with the capacity that we had available. Otherwise, we just had a fear that we would be sold out, not only for leisure business, but for business this summer.
#125
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Baltimore, MD (BWI/IAD)
Programs: United Mileage Plus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 347
Yup, that's what I did for one summer trip - though note that with "dynamic award pricing" you may be paying 65K / seat ow on some routes. But, small consolation, the cents/mile goes up with these prices. I burned all my miles, have a few thousand left, and I doubt I'll be getting enough to make a difference down the road.
#128
Join Date: May 2000
Location: IAH
Programs: UA 1K 2.7MM, Marriott Titanium/LT Plat, IHG Spire
Posts: 3,317
The domestic fares seem just a slight bit better over the last week, and I say that as a person who checks certain routes daily.
At the same time, the international fares this summer are flat out crazy. I am waiting until fall for international travel that I have not already booked.
At the same time, the international fares this summer are flat out crazy. I am waiting until fall for international travel that I have not already booked.
#131
#132
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#133
#134
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#135
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