How does US charge so much less?

[sat74]

Looking at fares recently for various city pairs and was baffled at how US Airways is able to charge 50%+ less than DL UA AA etc.

I'm getting a little annoyed at this since the company deadheads me on the cheapest ticket and that usually means US via the opposite direction to where I'm heading, ending up with a very long day when nonstop flights are available.

How in the world do they do this and what effect will the AA merger have on their fares?

 

[GIZMONC]

After all LCC is LOW COST CARRIER. If my memory is correct when US AIR merged with America West fares from America West were adopted as the pricing for the merged company. Putting two one way fares together to form a round trip. This eliminated the SAT night stay that was in place for years. US Airways was just out of bankrupcy and these types of fares slowly helped them more forward. Since it was a solid busines plan it is still how they price PNR's ( Passenger Name Records) now. I think you will see this type of pricing with the merged AA/US. I have ready several times that many analyst think this will be strong competition to UA and DL.

 

[sbnflyer]

And this thread proves what has been said here many times before. There are always people that will take the cheapest flight, and then complain that it takes too long and they had to connect in Boofoo, Arkansas. I never feel sorry for them.

 

[greyskyracer]

You pay extra for the convenience of a direct flight on any airline. just looked up SEA-CLT for tomorrow.
1 stop
7:45a
SEA
Seattle
5:34p
CLT
Charlotte
ATL
Total duration: 6h 49m
$366 .80
oneway per person

US Airways

nonstop
11:20a
SEA
Seattle
7:16p
CLT
Charlotte
Total duration: 4h 56m
$699 .90

 

[sat74]

And this thread proves what has been said here many times before. There are always people that will take the cheapest flight, and then complain that it takes too long and they had to connect in Boofoo, Arkansas. I never feel sorry for them.

Since I have no choice in what flight I take I would hardly consider my question on fares containing about taking the cheapest flight. I realize direct flights usually cost more but I'm comparing 1 stop itineraries and would rather fly in DL due to my status than take US but they still get away with charging half the cost of even the connecting DL UA etc flight, even after considering I don't pay to check bags etc on DL.

 

[Jackie Moon]

Looking at fares recently for various city pairs and was baffled at how US Airways is able to charge 50%+ less than DL UA AA etc.

I'm getting a little annoyed at this since the company deadheads me on the cheapest ticket and that usually means US via the opposite direction to where I'm heading, ending up with a very long day when nonstop flights are available.

How in the world do they do this and what effect will the AA merger have on their fares?

So you are complaining that airways tickets are too cheap? Even though you are not paying for it maybe saving your company money is a good thing. Just a thought

 

[Jackie Moon]

Maybe if tickets were more expensive your company might not send you on as many trips. If your job requires travel maybe they decide hey don't need you anymore so you are out of a job. Maybe you should thank airways for the cheep tickets so you can stay employed.

 

[sat74]

You guys are all a bunch of TOOLS! I was merely stating that I am baffled at how US Airways is able to charge so much less for similar city pairs than the other majors. Being home based, commercial travel is the only way we operate, but having to fly MIA-PHX-JFK for $250 just to go to work when I can fly MIA-ATL-JFK for $450 or direct for $500 it makes a huge difference (fares and city pairs only an example). The downside to this is our productivity is shot when we spend all day deadheading when we could go direct into a flight or out of a flight, save on hotels, etc...

On the flip side, maybe if your company charged more for tickets they would make more money and be able to pay higher wages.

 

[scoreboardII]

You guys are all a bunch of TOOLS! I was merely stating that I am baffled at how US Airways is able to charge so much less for similar city pairs than the other majors. Being home based, commercial travel is the only way we operate, but having to fly MIA-PHX-JFK for $250 just to go to work when I can fly MIA-ATL-JFK for $450 or direct for $500 it makes a huge difference (fares and city pairs only an example). The downside to this is our productivity is shot when we spend all day deadheading when we could go direct into a flight or out of a flight, save on hotels, etc...

On the flip side, maybe if your company charged more for tickets they would make more money and be able to pay higher wages.

I am unable to understand why you cant understand that filling empty slots on any set of aircraft and flying all day results in a cheaper fare, than if you flew a more direct route. Baffling.

It's called revenue management using market demands.

 

[sat74]

I am unable to understand why you cant understand that filling empty slots on any set of aircraft and flying all day results in a cheaper fare, than if you flew a more direct route. Baffling.

It's called revenue management using market demands.

Again you're not getting it... I am comparing connecting flights on all airlines. I know direct flights cost more usually but not in all cases.

Examples:
MIA-CLT-LGA $211 US
MIA-ATL-LGA $574 DL
MIA-LGA $260 DL or AA

 

[scoreboardII]

It's called, revenue management. Like you, others don't want to fly US, so US has to offer lower fares on those routes than the competition to stimulate demand. If as you say, they need to charge more, then they would be flying empty jets. They appear to be making money doing this, or have. It's not rocket science, its business.

 

[Flybywire44]

Looking at fares recently for various city pairs and was baffled at how US Airways is able to charge 50%+ less than DL UA AA etc.

I'm getting a little annoyed at this since the company deadheads me on the cheapest ticket and that usually means US via the opposite direction to where I'm heading, ending up with a very long day when nonstop flights are available.

How in the world do they do this and what effect will the AA merger have on their fares?

There are many reasons why US Airways charges lower fares.

1) Charlotte and Phoenix have very low airport landing fees. These airports have little O/D traffic so they like US Airways have a lower price structure to capture traffic.

2) US Airways is the largest Airbus operator in the world. Their airbus fleet is somewhat young with lower fuel burns and maintenance costs. The a321 in particular yields great fuel economy, but is so under powered that it rarely reaches FL340 in the summer.

3) Little money has been put into the overall LCC operation as the airline has been positioned to merge for years and is a bare bones operation. Pilots for example interact with a MS-DOS based computer program for bidding. The airline is dominated by dot matrix printers.

4) Two successive bankruptcies dramatically lowered US Airways capital structure?US Airways was obliterated by Southwest in the late 90s and early 2000s and the industry celebrated the demise of US Airways. I recall the VP and Director of FltOps at my former airline preaching that US Airways would liquidate in 2009 and we'd secure LCC flying. In retrospect US Airways has somewhat replaced Southwest as a low cost carrier. I was shocked to see SWA remove service from PIT and PHL.

5) The current LCC pilot and flight attendant contracts are shockingly substandard and subsidize US Airways' competitive ticket prices.


scoreboardII, I would expect to see US Airways airfare rise after their merger with American, but so will Delta's and United's. Many people have fallen in love with the Delta Skymiles Program and high quality of service, but US Airways for now makes up for a perception of poor service with cheaper ticket pricing?your welcome.

If you ever get tired of paying too much for airline tickets you can always apply to US Airways. By the time you get hired we'll have bases in MIA and JFK.

 

[Pattern-Master]

Looking at fares recently for various city pairs and was baffled at how US Airways is able to charge 50%+ less than DL UA AA etc.

I'm getting a little annoyed at this since the company deadheads me on the cheapest ticket and that usually means US via the opposite direction to where I'm heading, ending up with a very long day when nonstop flights are available.

How in the world do they do this and what effect will the AA merger have on their fares?

Ha,ha. Sounds like my company. We always do the "CLT shuffle" when being repositioned on the east coast and midwest locations. It sucks!

 

[zasca]

Stupid thread.... And why on earth would Airways try to match fares in cities that are AA/Delta hubs???

 

[DCAA320]

You guys are all a bunch of TOOLS! I was merely stating that I am baffled at how US Airways is able to charge so much less for similar city pairs than the other majors. Being home based, commercial travel is the only way we operate, but having to fly MIA-PHX-JFK for $250 just to go to work when I can fly MIA-ATL-JFK for $450 or direct for $500 it makes a huge difference (fares and city pairs only an example). The downside to this is our productivity is shot when we spend all day deadheading when we could go direct into a flight or out of a flight, save on hotels, etc...

On the flip side, maybe if your company charged more for tickets they would make more money and be able to pay higher wages.

Dude, they are just filling open seats if they have them. If u fly MIA-PHX-JFK u r just not that important.

 

[Flybywire44]

Dude, they are just filling open seats if they have them. If u fly MIA-PHX-JFK u r just not that important.

sat74, if you can't beat'em join'em?

 

[Bringupthebird]

How in the world do they do this

That's easy. Get a bunch of emotional kids to trade their pay (oh, and that of about 5000 other pilots) vacation, work rules and retirement for a chance to pretend to be union bigshots aka USAPA.

Shortsighted pilot stupidity is LCCs competitive advantage and they have exploited it to the fullest.

You can send the boys in Charlotte a fruit basket thank you if you want.