Insane F Fares

[ClueByFour]

Okay, I just booked 10k butt in seat unrestricted F class travel, for the grand sum total of roughly $720 (with taxes, tags, and fees).

This is a bit extreme. One can now get from PIT or CLT to LAX/SFO/LAS for $189 in each direction (before discounts). In the front of the bus.

Rationalization is one thing. Selling the full-F product for less than what your competitors are charging for coach is certainly one way to fill the planes, but not the best one I've seen.

 

[youngblood]

Just a little extreme isn't it?

 

[GadgetFreak]

That would be funny if it werent sad. As I posted on another thread that is considerably less than US wanted to charge for me to fly LGA-CLT in coach. Realistically that would have been in first too since Im a US1. Not that I paid that however, I booked on AA with much worse connections but for 25% of what US wanted. I guess rational is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[firstamendment]

That would be funny if it werent sad. As I posted on another thread that is considerably less than US wanted to charge for me to fly LGA-CLT in coach. Realistically that would have been in first too since Im a US1. Not that I paid that however, I booked on AA with much worse connections but for 25% of what US wanted. I guess rational is in the eye of the beholder.

Pray those "GO FARES" come to CLT soon.

 

[FWAAA]

Airlines do things like this when things get desperate.

 

[USFlyer]

Folks -

This is nothing new. Those fares have existed in many markets for quite some time.

 

[hammerhead]

Okay, I just booked 10k butt in seat unrestricted F class travel, for the grand sum total of roughly $720 (with taxes, tags, and fees).

This is a bit extreme. One can now get from PIT or CLT to LAX/SFO/LAS for $189 in each direction (before discounts). In the front of the bus.

Rationalization is one thing. Selling the full-F product for less than what your competitors are charging for coach is certainly one way to fill the planes, but not the best one I've seen.

if you buy that seat, I think we"ll all see just how clever that fair pricing was!

 

[AtlanticBeach]

Airlines do things like this when things get desperate.

AA and DL matched the fares.

 

[Colby]

You All AMAZE ME !!!

First everyone is Bitc.... Complaining because U isn't being competitive and Now they are Definately Being Competitive and You All Are STILL COMPLAINING !!!!

UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[USFlyer]

UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I've said many times here and on flyertalk.com, management is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

 

[GadgetFreak]

You All AMAZE ME !!!

First everyone is Bitc.... Complaining because U isn't being competitive and Now they are Definately Being Competitive and You All Are STILL COMPLAINING !!!!

UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It shouldnt amaze you that people are responding this way. What people are saying is that US has to have fares that make people want to fly them and they make money on. The problem is that they have ridiculously cheap fares and ridiculously expensive fares and try to average them out for reasonable revenue. If it were working they wouldnt be in the situation they are in now.

And this is just another example of that. So they have fares of $300-$400 for first class in transcons. They wont make any money on those. Especially if AA has matched them since AA has vastly better first class service. US tries to balance that by, for instance, charging me $999 for LGA-CLT in coach. The problem is that they end up losing both ways. They dont make money on a $400 transcon first because it is too low a price and they dont make money on $999 LGA-CLT because I wont buy that ticket for that price. I bought one on AA for $249 with a connection.

This is just another version of the same crazy, stupid, demonstrably failed pricing model. Nothing more or less.

 

[geo1004]

This is just another version of the same crazy, stupid, demonstrably failed pricing model. Nothing more or less.

Very true. I needed to be in SEA and checked several airlines. Six days prior to departure the fare on US was almost $2,000... for a COACH fare that was not upgradable at the time of purchase. Several other carrriers had sub-$800 fares for nearly identical dates/times.

I ended up burning miles for a trip I would have paid $$$ for had the price even been semi-rational. After checking on ITN there were several US flights that day that showed lots of inventory in both coach and FC but none were offered at anything even remotely resembling sane prices. The return flights were as wide open as the Grand Canyon. Now, a FC seat that could have generated nearly $1,000 in revenue for US will now be offered gratis to some Silver Preferred who paid $350 three weeks ago for an advance fare.

 

[Colby]

Well if you all are so concerned about U selling Seats to Make a Profit...
Then I guess they should actually start Charging their Employees for Non- Rev Travel.....

Yeah I'd like to see how much Bitching will happen then !!!!!!!!!!

 

[bluetoad]

They do charge for non-reving. We get a 1099 at the end of the year and have to pay tax on that amount. This year they could not get the 1099's out in time causing most of us to have to file an amended return.

 

[TomBascom]

Well if you all are so concerned about U selling Seats to Make a Profit...
Then I guess they should actually start Charging their Employees for Non- Rev Travel.....

Yeah I'd like to see how much Bitching will happen then !!!!!!!!!!

That would be fairly high on my list of things to do were I ever appointed CEO...