GadgetFreak
Advanced
Rationalizing fares doesnt mean the lowest fares. It means creating a fare structure that provides a value to a set of consumers that will pay enough for that product to cover that cost and make a profit. Now the majors try to do this with a two tier system that averages fares at the right point (in theory) by combining very high and very high fares. One of the big problems is that despite the very complex fare structure, the combination of easy availability of information on the internet and increasing competition people buy the expensive fares much less often. US is out of cheap seats, okay try UA, AA, NW and if that doesnt work look at WN or B6. Or if you dont do that, teleconference if the ticket is too high. I dont fly LCCs so if I cant get a cheap fare on the majors I will not go. But cheap is based on some realistic expectations since I travel a lot. For instance, I have for the last few years had a couple meetings I should attend that are very close together in time and requires something like JFK-NRT-SFO (1 day stay in Japan)-ORD-RSW-ORD-LGA. I know Im not getting that cheap. It is sometimes near 3 grand. But I wont pay 5 grand for it and I wont pay 2 grand to fly to LA.
On the other hand, I would seldom flinch at paying 600 or 800 for a changeable, refundable fare on a full service carrier even if I could get it for 400 on JetBlue. Because I think the full fare carriers are worth more. But again, they arent worth say 5 times as much or more, as is often the case now. I dont think US has much to lose by dumping those 2 grand plus transcon fares. Not enough people fly them and they just scare people away who dont realize the wide variation in fares. US should dump the real cheap fares that they lose money on, and dump the real expensive ones that too few people fly and try to fill the planes with people paying more than the LCCs for better service on US. That really seems like the only chance they have. US will not beat Southwest and JetBlue in the discount market. Wont happen. They need to market a premium product successfully. This wont be easy however since I think a lot of flyers view the Southwest, and especially JetBlue products to be superior to the US product in addition to being cheaper.
On the other hand, I would seldom flinch at paying 600 or 800 for a changeable, refundable fare on a full service carrier even if I could get it for 400 on JetBlue. Because I think the full fare carriers are worth more. But again, they arent worth say 5 times as much or more, as is often the case now. I dont think US has much to lose by dumping those 2 grand plus transcon fares. Not enough people fly them and they just scare people away who dont realize the wide variation in fares. US should dump the real cheap fares that they lose money on, and dump the real expensive ones that too few people fly and try to fill the planes with people paying more than the LCCs for better service on US. That really seems like the only chance they have. US will not beat Southwest and JetBlue in the discount market. Wont happen. They need to market a premium product successfully. This wont be easy however since I think a lot of flyers view the Southwest, and especially JetBlue products to be superior to the US product in addition to being cheaper.