Could someone please explain Delta's price structure???

[Fearless Tower]

Ok, I'm trying to nail down holiday travel plans and I've been doing a little price shopping. As usual, the cattle car is the cheapest, offering round trip PVD-PHX for about $416/person. The other majors are a bit higher starting at $492/person.

And then I tried DAL.

The first fare that displays on the screen......$1327.50...for COACH.....WTF???? And the available seating chart shows the planes are practically empty at this point. If you scroll down the screen, you can find an $890 fare, but what the heck? Last I checked, you kind of need to fill your planes with paying passengers in order to pay your crew, let alone the debt service on your assets. How are they planning on getting those passengers? Is part of Grinstein's reorganization plan to cut a deal with funeral homes to fly corpses like Lorenzo.....I seem to recall that strategy didn't work.

What am I missing here?

 

[737 Pylt]

Ok, I'm trying to nail down holiday travel plans and I've been doing a little price shopping. As usual, the cattle car is the cheapest, offering round trip PVD-PHX for about $416/person. The other majors are a bit higher starting at $492/person.

And then I tried DAL.

The first fare that displays on the screen......$1327.50...for COACH.....WTF???? And the available seating chart shows the planes are practically empty at this point. If you scroll down the screen, you can find an $890 fare, but what the heck? Last I checked, you kind of need to fill your planes with paying passengers in order to pay your crew, let alone the debt service on your assets. How are they planning on getting those passengers? Is part of Grinstein's reorganization plan to cut a deal with funeral homes to fly corpses like Lorenzo.....I seem to recall that strategy didn't work.

What am I missing here?

It's real simple, the people at HQ are clueless! If they had half a brain they'd be considered dangerous!
Pricing is based on needs. When corporate needs more concessions, they'll slash prices and claim they're not making money and need concessions, asking DALPA if they would contribute, to which we'll bend over and hand them our wallets!
Hope that helps!
737

 

[michael707767]

And the available seating chart shows the planes are practically empty at this point.

small point, but it is my understanding that the seating chart does not reflect the number of tickets sold. Lots of tickets are bought without a seat assigned at the time of purchase.

 

[GuppyWN]

www.southwest.com

 

[jonjuan]

www.southwest.com

But it's a "cattle car." LOL

 

[FlyingSig]

I just did a Delta.com search leaving PVD on Wed return Sun over Thanksgiving and got a price of $672.

But since we're Delta bashing, I suppose American's price of $1283 isn't worth mentioning though?

Sounds to me more like all the flights are sold out but they'd be willing to bump the cheap fare via an oversell in order to get the big $$$. Heaven forbid the airlines charge to make a profit...opps, I forgot, it's in the bill of rights to get cheap tickets even if you wait too long.

 

[Fearless Tower]

I just did a Delta.com search leaving PVD on Wed return Sun over Thanksgiving and got a price of $672.

But since we're Delta bashing, I suppose American's price of $1283 isn't worth mentioning though?

I guess I should have mentioned I was referring to the Christmas holiday, not Turkey Day.....AA was in the low to mid 500's.

 

[Fearless Tower]

small point, but it is my understanding that the seating chart does not reflect the number of tickets sold. Lots of tickets are bought without a seat assigned at the time of purchase.

True, the number of available assigned seats does not necessarily reflect the total number of available seats. However, in the majority of my experience flying Delta, the first seats to go are usually the assigned seats.

 

[michael707767]

I just did a search on Travelocity. PVD-PHX leaving Dec 20 coming back Dec 26. Delta fare was 558. Course it said one seat was left at this price.

 

[lurker]

this ought to sum it all up for you...

If Airlines Sold Paint

Customer (CU): Hi, how much is your paint?
Clerk (CL). Well, sir, that all depends.
CU. Depends on what?
CL: Actually, a lot of things.
CU: How about giving me an average price?
CL: Wow, that's too hard a question. The lowest price is $9 a litre, and we have 150 different prices up to $200 a litre.
CU: What's the difference in the paint?
CL: Oh, there isn't any difference, it's all the same paint.
CU: Well, then, I'd like some of that $9 paint.
CL: Well, first I need to ask you a few questions. When do you intend to use it?
CU: I want to paint tomorrow, on my day off.
CL: Sir, the paint for tomorrow is the $200 paint.
CU: What? When would I have to paint in order to get the $9 version?
CL: That would be in three weeks, but you will also have to agree to start painting before Friday of that week and continue painting until at least Sunday.
CU: You've got to be kidding!
CL: Sir, we don't kid around here. Of course I'll have to check to see if we have any of that paint available before I can sell it to you.
CU: What do you mean, check to see if you can sell it to me? You have shelves full of the stuff, I can see it right there.
CL: Just because you can see it doesn't mean that we have it. It may be the same paint, but we sell only a certain number of litres on any given weekend. Oh, and by the way, the price just went up to $12.
CU: You mean the price went up while we were talking?
CL: Yes, sir. You see, we change prices and rules thousands of times a day, and since you haven't actually walked out of the store with your paint yet, we just decided to change. Unless you want the same thing to happen again, I would suggest that you get on with your purchase. How many litres do you want?
CU: I don't know exactly. Maybe five litres. Maybe I should buy six litres just to make sure I have enough.
CL: Oh, no, sir, you can't do that. If you buy the paint and then don't use it, you will be liable for penalties and possible confiscation of the paint you already have.
CU: What?
CL: That's right. We can sell you enough paint to do your kitchen, bathroom, hall and north bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do the bedroom, you will be in violation of our tariffs.
CU: But what does it matter to you whether I use all the paint? I already paid for it!
CL: Sir, there's no point in getting upset; that's just the way it is. We make plans based upon the idea that you will use all the paint, and when you don't, it just causes us all sorts of problems.
CU: This is crazy! I suppose something terrible will happen if I don't keep painting until after Saturday night?
CL: Yes, sir, it will.
CU: Well, that does it! I'm going somewhere else to buy my paint.
CL: That won't do you any good, sir. We all have the same rules. And thanks for painting with our airlines.

 

[filejw]

Try www.sidestep.com

 

[Helos2Galaxy]

Although I bought my tickets before the summer, my tickets from LGA to PBIon Delduh over Thanksgiving were $250 r/t (- my 20% employee discount)

 

[filejw]

That AA TV show gave pretty good explanation of how pricing is done. It's based on history, time day, time of yr, # of seats sold, days left till flight, etc, etc and the judgment of the the people in yield management.Yield management is why some pax paid 800$ for a flight and some paid 79$.Its these guys job to get as much money they can per trip.Works this way at most airlines.