Delta Ticket Costs Creeping Up!

[Beer Guzzler]

SimpliFares: $499 cap

Even with pressure building because of climbing fuel costs, coach fares are staying below a cap of $499 each way before taxes and fees.

That's because of the SimpliFares system Delta installed here in August as a test before taking it nationwide in January. That system also lowered the type of fares to six and removed the Saturday night stay requirement for 14-day advance tickets.

Several airlines have tried to get Delta to raise the $499 cap, but Delta hasn't budged. Still, many last-minute fares from Cincinnati have gone up to the limit since April, especially to the West Coast or on other longer flights.

"They've tried five times in the past month and weren't able to do it, which should make for an interesting July on the fare front," said Trippler. "I bet Delta is regretting doing this and looking for a way out of it, but they could not have predicted these oil prices."

Oil prices and SimpliFares just don't mix

 

[DLFlyer31]

Oil prices and SimpliFares just don't mix

[post="279932"][/post]​

All this woe about the $499 cap is just stupid. Hardly anybody buys these fares. Even if the cap went away, it would have NO MATERIAL IMPACT on airline revenues.

 

[TheDog2004]

Actually at $499 those fares sell.

Thsee media morons saying Delta should raise fares don't ask if anyone will pay more than $500 a ticket for a one-way fare. Delta has to price fares at a level that will sell.

If they don't make enough money at the highest most people are willing to pay then Delta (and everyone else) will fail. Southwest caps their one way tickets at $299 each way. Were it not for their fuel hedges they would have lost money as well (but not as much as Delta).

So if Delta is to raise fares, how high should they raise them and how much traffic should they be willing to lose?

 

[flyhigh]

Put simply (no pun intended) they're called simplifares not cheapfares. Raising the fare cap to adjust for the change in the price of oil is not a change in the program. The fundamental areas of importance remain the same...no saturday night stay, fewer number of fares, etc.