US & LCCs: My $.02
May 17, 2004, 2:50 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: PHL
Programs: US, AA, UA, SPG, HHonors, PC
Posts: 235
Originally Posted by geo1005
XStAnt, I see your point. And you are correct in that for the coach-only non-status traveller there is little or no difference between a Southwest and a US Airways. But I will say that sometimes that slight premium may make a difference over the long haul.
I have a good friend who travels SOME for business. With his occasional personal travel he probably comes in right below 25k miles a year so he'll probably not earn status UNLESS he does a challenge and can get it that way. And he does have some choices when it comes to which airline to fly.
Even if he doesn't earn status I have still tried to convince him that spreading his miles/points over several programs may not be the best thing even if it does save him some $$$ along the way. His wife told me he was "earning tons of miles these days." When I asked him about it he mentioned he was "close" to a free ticket on American and over half-way to a free ticket to Europe on United (although he hadn't flown them in a long time) and that he has enough for a free domestic ticket on US. He has also taken a few AirTran trips in the last two years and does not have an account with them as he says he'll never fly them enough to earn anything. He has done the same with Delta - a few trips with no FF account.
His problem is that he wants to take his wife to Paris.
I showed him that if he had allocated all his points to either United or US he could do it now instead of a "couple of years" from now.
The net result is that he could have all the miles he needs right now for two to go to Paris and still have a domestic free ticket if he'd been a bit more specific with his airline choices and stuck to US and UA. He (rightly) won't pay a 25% premium every time he flies but in several cases he has picked a non-stop on one carrier when a conncetion flight was availible for the same price on United or US. He also admits to wanting to fly US or UA but bought a Delta ticket because it was "cheaper". When I asked him how much he saved, he said it was probably $20.
Everyone needs to decide what "premium" (if any) they are comfortable with but I've suggested he not be so "penny wise and pound foolish" as they say. Even for the in-frequent flyer, asset allocation can be your friend. ^
I have a good friend who travels SOME for business. With his occasional personal travel he probably comes in right below 25k miles a year so he'll probably not earn status UNLESS he does a challenge and can get it that way. And he does have some choices when it comes to which airline to fly.
Even if he doesn't earn status I have still tried to convince him that spreading his miles/points over several programs may not be the best thing even if it does save him some $$$ along the way. His wife told me he was "earning tons of miles these days." When I asked him about it he mentioned he was "close" to a free ticket on American and over half-way to a free ticket to Europe on United (although he hadn't flown them in a long time) and that he has enough for a free domestic ticket on US. He has also taken a few AirTran trips in the last two years and does not have an account with them as he says he'll never fly them enough to earn anything. He has done the same with Delta - a few trips with no FF account.
His problem is that he wants to take his wife to Paris.
I showed him that if he had allocated all his points to either United or US he could do it now instead of a "couple of years" from now.
The net result is that he could have all the miles he needs right now for two to go to Paris and still have a domestic free ticket if he'd been a bit more specific with his airline choices and stuck to US and UA. He (rightly) won't pay a 25% premium every time he flies but in several cases he has picked a non-stop on one carrier when a conncetion flight was availible for the same price on United or US. He also admits to wanting to fly US or UA but bought a Delta ticket because it was "cheaper". When I asked him how much he saved, he said it was probably $20.
Everyone needs to decide what "premium" (if any) they are comfortable with but I've suggested he not be so "penny wise and pound foolish" as they say. Even for the in-frequent flyer, asset allocation can be your friend. ^
I agree there are reasons why you would want to keep flying with one carrier on a regular basis. That is why I'll always try to get a flight on US first. I am accumulating enough miles to (soon) let me have a nice award ticket somewhere (Hawaii?).
When the price between US and another carrier (like WN or FL) are equal to US, I'll choose US, unless the flight times become a problem. I may even pay a little more for US to get the FF miles and to be able to choose a seat. But we're talking maybe $10 more on a $175 ticket. I don't think it's worth it to pay $50 more on a ticket in that price range.
Others may feel a $50 premium on a ticket that can be purchased on another carrier for $175 is worth it. I guess each person will have to choose for themselves where the cut-off would be. But for a family of four going on vacation that is $400 that could be put to other things. It can quickly add up for the average leisure traveller. I suspect most people will not pay an extra $50 for that kind of ticket.
US will lose customers if it has fares that are 25% higher than WN or FL. But I still say if US matches that lower fare for as long as WN or FL have it on their flights, US will fill their planes up first. Most people like being able to pick seats ahead of time, like being able to book flights more than 3-5 months out, and like a FF program whose points don't expire in one year. Even if it means US sells every coach seat on a flight at that lower fare, they are better off in the short term. That is one less person booking at WN. If WN can't sell enough seats because US keeps their fares just as low, then it wobn't be profitable for WN to expand in PHL.
May 18, 2004, 3:19 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Somewhere...
Programs: AA PLT/3MM, UA GM/1MM, DL DM/1MM, FB Plat, AS MVP Gold, WN AList+
Posts: 1,588
Originally Posted by Beckles
The situation US is in now is significantly different than when they got pushed out of BWI by WN, their costs are significantly lower now than then, so I'm not sure how you can say they can't compete with WN based on what happened in BWI ... apples and oranges.
Their costs are lower, but not nearly low enough...
They have a lot less money to fight WN with now...
Their product quality has deteriorated even further...
They have done nothing or little to endear Customer loyalty...
Their work force is older, paid less and more demoralized...
To estimate that they are at the same point they were at when the 'Battle of Baltimore' started would be a plus for US.
One big difference is that it won't take six years to resolve the competition this time...it should be closer to six months.