Yes but - I am Star Gold - live in Philly - and fly north to the Boston area for both business and pleasure. When flying on my own dime - I always book on WN because I can change my plans and don't have a $150 change fee plus any fare difference. Yes - if on business travel may still fly US for the miles (all 500 of them!) - but when on personal travel will always fly WN to the Boston area to avoid the risk of the $150 change fee.
LUV BOS_PHL
- Thread starter CaptBud330
- Start date
Yes but - I am Star Gold - live in Philly - and fly north to the Boston area for both business and pleasure. When flying on my own dime - I always book on WN because I can change my plans and don't have a $150 change fee plus any fare difference. Yes - if on business travel may still fly US for the miles (all 500 of them!) - but when on personal travel will always fly WN to the Boston area to avoid the risk of the $150 change fee.
BoeingBoy
Veteran
- Nov 9, 2003
- 16,512
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And I suspect that you are the exception rather than the rule among FF's. Be it the "free" upgrade, the miles, whatever I suspect most would take the 500 miles each way for a few dollars more (and that's for next day refundable coach on US, at least for today - Monday - checked Sunday evening.
Jim
On many times. I try to get my son home on US or Southwest.... many times us is cheaper... so Wn is not always the winner...
WN has rarely (maybe, never) claimed to have the lowest fare. It's part of Herb Kelleher's genius. WN has always charged a reasonable fare--none of this $800 walk-up fare one-way for last minute travelers from Dallas to Ft. Worth like the rest of us do. (For those of you who are going to attack the whole post because there is no air service between Dallas and Ft. Worth, it's called a facetious example. AKA, a joke!)
The problem for the rest of us who do gouge last minute travelers or charge inflated fares on low-competition routes, a reasonable fare translates in the public's mind as a lower fare--which it usually is. We can all pull out some comparison of "On the last Tuesday of the month when the wind was from the south, and there was rain predicted for Phoenix, I found that my airline charged $10 less for Dallas to Houston than WN." However, if you are truthful, you know as well as I that doesn't happen all the time.
And, we still have to overcome the fact that for that extra $10, the passenger gets free baggage check and smiling, happy employees who seem to be glad to be there that day. And, a lot of them are under 50 years old, too.
The problem for the rest of us who do gouge last minute travelers or charge inflated fares on low-competition routes, a reasonable fare translates in the public's mind as a lower fare--which it usually is. We can all pull out some comparison of "On the last Tuesday of the month when the wind was from the south, and there was rain predicted for Phoenix, I found that my airline charged $10 less for Dallas to Houston than WN." However, if you are truthful, you know as well as I that doesn't happen all the time.
And, we still have to overcome the fact that for that extra $10, the passenger gets free baggage check and smiling, happy employees who seem to be glad to be there that day. And, a lot of them are under 50 years old, too.
BoeingBoy
Veteran
- Nov 9, 2003
- 16,512
- 5,865
Plus there's the other angle - what would "my" airline charge if WN didn't serve the route. People can say what they want about US being $10 cheaper on the restricted non-refundable fare now that WN serves the route, but we've seen what US would charge absent WN - over $500 each way plus taxes/fees.
Jim
and now WN ads on the side of thier planes say bags fly free here -pointing towards their cargo door poeplle think its still cheaper to fly WN to bos over US.Great marketing..
Nothing wrong with the E75 or E90...comfortable airplane and they are the right size for these high frequency short haul sectors.
WN has always charged a reasonable fare--none of this $800 walk-up fare one-way for last minute travelers from Dallas to Ft. Worth like the rest of us do. o.
When I checked a walk-up fare from PHL to ABQ last month it was $775 each way.
WN has rarely (maybe, never) claimed to have the lowest fare. It's part of Herb Kelleher's genius. WN has always charged a reasonable fare--none of this $800 walk-up fare one-way for last minute travelers from Dallas to Ft. Worth like the rest of us do. (For those of you who are going to attack the whole post because there is no air service between Dallas and Ft. Worth, it's called a facetious example. AKA, a joke!)
The problem for the rest of us who do gouge last minute travelers or charge inflated fares on low-competition routes, a reasonable fare translates in the public's mind as a lower fare--which it usually is. We can all pull out some comparison of "On the last Tuesday of the month when the wind was from the south, and there was rain predicted for Phoenix, I found that my airline charged $10 less for Dallas to Houston than WN." However, if you are truthful, you know as well as I that doesn't happen all the time.
And, we still have to overcome the fact that for that extra $10, the passenger gets free baggage check and smiling, happy employees who seem to be glad to be there that day. And, a lot of them are under 50 years old, too.
I guess I'm missing something here, but if the airline that any of us works for can charge and get an inordinate amount of money on a certain route or routes than so be it. It's good for the company and it's good for labor. When the legacies were ruling the pricing roost we all made good money, had decent work rules and enjoyed unheard of flexibility in our lifestyles. Of course times changed, and so did all of the goodies that accompanied those higher fares. I get that. But I'm sure as heck not gonna bash my company for charging a premium and receiving it when it positively affects the bottom line. You may call it "gouging" or "inflated" fares, but I call it sound business. If the marketplace can sustain those fares than bring it on. If not, it'll change. Just my humble opinion.
EBWGS -
The marketplace can't sustain those high fares when there's competitive options.
If your one and only electric company weren't beholden to regulation and decided to charge you what ever it wanted for your monthly bill, would you feel the same? What about telephone or TV service? If you had just one choice for either of those (which many do), would you happily write a check over to them each month knowing that they are gouging you?
US commanded those fares because they were the only game in town *AND* had businesses forking over the money. I doubt many individuals paid those fares out of their own pocket.
PHL:
I don't disagree with you at all. I'm saying that I'm not gonna gripe if the company I work for--be it US, The Electric Company or Dominoes Pizza--charges a preimuim for a service, and as a result makes money in doing so. If my company is making money charging a premium that's good for the company and for me. If the market for whatever reason can't sustain it then it won't.
I don't disagree with you at all. I'm saying that I'm not gonna gripe if the company I work for--be it US, The Electric Company or Dominoes Pizza--charges a preimuim for a service, and as a result makes money in doing so. If my company is making money charging a premium that's good for the company and for me. If the market for whatever reason can't sustain it then it won't.
Travelpro72
Veteran
- Jan 30, 2005
- 4,964
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Let me chime in here for a minute. I'm not ok working for a company that bases it's business on gouging customers with absolutely NO plan on how to compete with the LCC when they hop into said market. I'm sorry but it doesn't seem like a great plan to me. US will have a difficult time demanding price on many routes against the new "mega" carriers and certainly has no pricing power against most LCC's namely Southwest. US is running out of places to charge those fares. US still needs to decide who and what they are. Do you hear in ANY corporate mumbo jumbo the words "BUSINESS CASUAL" anymore? NOPE! ! ! Do you hear US touting themselves as THE worlds largest LCC? NOPE! ! ! The only people that believe a Hybrid airline works is those that created it on Rio Dorito Blvd. LCC's and certainly legacy carriers have NO interest in US or their style or marketing. US has more of an identity crisis than Pat from Saturday Night Live. All said, US just lost one of the last big price gouging routes for them with WN entering PHL-BOS. Sure US will hold it's own I'm sure but does anyone believe that WN entering this market won't put a HUGE dent in US on the route?
