Lcc's What A Bunch Of Bull....

[LD3]

U controls 95% of the traffic out of CLT, locals cry and whine like little babies with poop in their pants about the airfares..Try and book CLT/BUF and see who is cheaper. AA wanted 995.00 r/t, Citrus wanted 238.00, Independance shows no flight operating in Nov...US was about 170.00 r/t, not bad for a so called "predatory airline"... No changing planes, no conx to worry about. No thanx, I'll stick with ya'll...Plus my wife has over 20 yrs with US, she would kill me if I flew someone else!!!

 

[KCFlyer]

U controls 95% of the traffic out of CLT, locals cry and whine like little babies with poop in their pants about the airfares..Try and book CLT/BUF and see who is cheaper. AA wanted 995.00 r/t, Citrus wanted 238.00, Independance shows no flight operating in Nov...US was about 170.00 r/t, not bad for a so called "predatory airline"... No changing planes, no conx to worry about. No thanx, I'll stick with ya'll...Plus my wife has over 20 yrs with US, she would kill me if I flew someone else!!!

[post="278466"][/post]​

So...US is $70 less than the LCC and oil is $60 a barrel and rising - how much longer can they maintain the strategy of "out LCCing the LCC's"? Why not charge $238 and make a little more? Sure - it puts butts in seats, but it still LOSES THEM MONEY.

 

[Schatzee]

That would imply that someone in Pricing has a brain............NOT 🙁

 

[High Iron]

Another oft forgotton tidbit the Charlotte airfare whiner contingient ( with the 'Disturber' their biggest soap-box/ally ) studiously ignores is that the hub status of US/CLT will for the most part give them a 1 seat/direct flight to their destination.

Of course to those accustomed to having it both ways that won't mean much.

 

[ClueByFour]

U is only that cheap on the route because of Airtran. Last year, U would have asked $900.

Reality check at 11.

 

[sfb]

U is only that cheap on the route because of Airtran. Last year, U would have asked $900.

Exactly. Look at the pricing on monopoly routes out of CLT. The lowest fare available between CLT and ALB is $382.40 including taxes. Compare that to RDU-ALB where the full refundable RDU-ALB fare on Southwest is $291.30.

 

[firstamendment]

Exactly. Look at the pricing on monopoly routes out of CLT. The lowest fare available between CLT and ALB is $382.40 including taxes. Compare that to RDU-ALB where the full refundable RDU-ALB fare on Southwest is $291.30.

[post="278491"][/post]​

If you want to talk about insanity, compare $382 for US (nonstop) and $291 for SW..ah, no more than 2 connections, to a ticket with Greyhound Bus.

US $382 non-stop 1hr 20 min
Greyhound BUS $127 2 transfers, 2 days 8 hrs., 43 mins.

SWA $291.30 no more than one stop...say no more than 6 total hours
Greyhound BUS $110 3 transfers, 2 days, 17 hrs., 24 mins.


Anyone who thinks flying prices are over valued should be shot in the head. The airlines need to remind the flying public that they are getting an EXCELLENT deal, no matter US or SW. Those that complain should shut the hell up and book Greyhound, and leave the almost three day driving to them.

BTW, SFB,
Once the merger with AWA is completed, the fare structure will be like SW. I do believe AWA already has such a structure. Oh, I know, we are still too high a cost airline. I mean, God knows my lowest pay, besides JBlue, in the industry while your co is now the highest, is KILLING US. 🙄

 

[whlinder]

BTW, SFB,
Once the merger with AWA is completed, the fare structure will be like SW. I do believe AWA already has such a structure. Oh, I know, we are still too high a cost airline. I mean, God knows my lowest pay, besides JBlue, in the industry while your co is now the highest, is KILLING US. 🙄

[post="278531"][/post]​

The fare structure won't be like WN because the airline would bleed to death with that kind of revenue. AWA has a simplified structure (but more complex than LCCs) but as has been mentioned it really isn't any different than DL or AS.

Low employee pay does not make an airline a low-cost carrier. The airline has to operate efficiently and economically. US has low pay but their operation is so complicated that it drives their costs up and prevents them (in their current state) from approaching LCC status.

 

[Squonk]

"... No changing planes, no conx to worry about. No thanx, I'll stick with ya'll...Plus my wife has over 20 yrs with US, she would kill me if I flew someone else!!!

[post="278466"][/post]​

Aha!!!!!! The crux of the biscuit!

😛h34r:

 

[firstamendment]

The fare structure won't be like WN because the airline would bleed to death with that kind of revenue. AWA has a simplified structure (but more complex than LCCs) but as has been mentioned it really isn't any different than DL or AS.

Low employee pay does not make an airline a low-cost carrier. The airline has to operate efficiently and economically. US has low pay but their operation is so complicated that it drives their costs up and prevents them (in their current state) from approaching LCC status.

[post="278536"][/post]​

Sorry, friend, I disagree!! 😉

 

[SpinDoc]

U controls 95% of the traffic out of CLT, locals cry and whine like little babies with poop in their pants about the airfares..

Here, here! Excellent point. Stop whining you
CLT locals. If you don't like the fares, you can
always drive to GSO and connect through CLT
on a cheap ticket.

Oops. Never mind. The brain dead dumb azzes
in schedule planning are looting GSO and handing
market share over to DL like there is no tomorrow.
Guess GSO isn't as good as it once was with only
3 RJ's/1 737-300 per day to PHL, and 4 RJ's/1 737-300
to CLT each day. PIT no longer has any direct GSO
service, even though the demand was certainly
there.

Who's in charge at US anyway? I'd like to line them
up against the wall with all of the Middle Eastern
fundamentalist terrorists and let the general public
take whacks at them with an aluminum baseball
bat. Enough said.

 

[whlinder]

Sorry, friend, I disagree!! 😉

[post="278571"][/post]​

Well if we all agreed on everything we wouldn't have much to talk about! 😉

Care to describe why?

My personal opinion is that HP in its present state is not a LCC, but is a lot closer to being a LCC than the Big 6 & AS.

IMHO, a LCC exhibits most of the following characteristics:
simple fares
simple fleet
no interlining/codeshare
no express carriers
limited GDS presence
simpler travel rules
no F class
limited international flying
high fleet utilization

HP fares are simpler than the legacies but not as simple as WN, B6, F9 or FL.
HP has a more complex fleet than any U.S. based LCC.
HP codeshares and interlines.
HP has express carriers
HP is a full GDS participant
not sure about HP's travel rules offhand
HP has a few Mex/Can flights (and maybe some further south in central America; I can't remember)

Thus HP is somewhere between a LCC and a legacy.

 

[High Iron]

firstamendment:

Anyone who thinks flying prices are over valued should be shot in the head. The airlines need to remind the flying public that they are getting an EXCELLENT deal, no matter US or SW. Those that complain should shut the hell up and book Greyhound, and leave the almost three day driving to them

Now that's the crux of the biscuit

....more so than the apostrophe..............

 

[FWAAA]

The fare structure won't be like WN because the airline would bleed to death with that kind of revenue. AWA has a simplified structure (but more complex than LCCs) but as has been mentioned it really isn't any different than DL or AS.

Low employee pay does not make an airline a low-cost carrier. The airline has to operate efficiently and economically. US has low pay but their operation is so complicated that it drives their costs up and prevents them (in their current state) from approaching LCC status.

[post="278536"][/post]​

Excellent points. Low wage rates don't necessarily mean low cost. WN has high wage rates but relatively low labor cost.

Productivity is the key. WN moves lotsa bodies lotsa miles with less labor cost than most others.

 

[sfb]

If you want to talk about insanity, compare $382 for US (nonstop) and $291 for SW..ah, no more than 2 connections, to a ticket with Greyhound Bus.

You still miss the salient point that I was comparing the least expensive fare on US to the most expensive fare on Southwest -- and US was STILL $90 higher. You'd need to take out a second mortgage to buy the refundable ticket on US.

US $382 non-stop 1hr 20 min
Greyhound BUS $127 2 transfers, 2 days 8 hrs., 43 mins.

SWA $291.30 no more than one stop...say no more than 6 total hours
Greyhound BUS $110 3 transfers, 2 days, 17 hrs., 24 mins.

Nope. Minimum of 3 hours on Southwest to a maximum of 4.5 hours. If you score the Internet Special on WN, the price drops to $157.30.

Anyone who thinks flying prices are over valued should be shot in the head. The airlines need to remind the flying public that they are getting an EXCELLENT deal, no matter US or SW. Those that complain should shut the hell up and book Greyhound, and leave the almost three day driving to them.

Airfares are still ridiculously high on short-haul routes with no LCC competition. If you need to go from Boston to Buffalo, the lowest-fare option is over $300 round-trip. You're paying $700 round-trip if you can't buy in advance. Greyhound wants $120. JetBlue will probably charge $100-200 for BOS-BUF once the E190's show up, and US will be forced to match.

BTW, SFB,
Once the merger with AWA is completed, the fare structure will be like SW. I do believe AWA already has such a structure. Oh, I know, we are still too high a cost airline. I mean, God knows my lowest pay, besides JBlue, in the industry while your co is now the highest, is KILLING US. 🙄

The pay isn't the problem at US Airways now; it's the inefficient operation. The company promises Nordstrom service at Wal-Mart prices but often delivers Family Dollar service at Nieman-Marcus prices.

AWA is only price-competitive with Southwest on routes where they are foced to compete. $300 each way walkup for PHX-COS is not "LCC pricing." $280 each way from PHX to BFL is not "LCC pricing." $385 each way from PHX to FAT is not "LCC pricing." $499 each way from PHX to DCA isn't any more of an example of being an LCC than Delta charging $450 each way from CVG to LAX.

I agree with whlinder that HP isn't an LCC any more than Delta or Alaska. Their principal cost advantage over the years has been bottom-of-the-industry pay rates. The necessity of remaining competitive with WN at PHX and LAS has kept other costs relatively under control, a virtue of necessity.