NBC Nightly News "Low Cost Airlines"

[Tug Driver]

Oh, they've changed a LOT over the past 20 years. A ticket in 1984 was way more than now, and that was in 1984 dollars. Tickets cost a whole bunch less now than in yester year. Trust me on that one, I was flying a lot on business trips back then, and the choice to fly out to an account, had the airfare being a major part of the budget for travel. Now car rental, meals and hotels are the biggest bite of business travel costs

good point...

so if a gallon of gas was $0.65 in the '80s and an airline ticket was lets say on average $350.00 ..... todays fares should be around $700 on the low side.

Business people will/do pay this....but the "spring breakers" will not.

 

[jarhead]

Tug Driver

You have a good point there. I guess everything is relative. You reinforce my point, that tickets today ARE way less costly today than 20 years ago. Twenty years ago, a person making around $25,000 a year, would be the equivalent of around $70,000 a year today That ticket you mention that was $350 twenty years ago, is usually less than that right now, and in 2004 dollars, for the savvy consumer.

There are boundaries for the price of air travel, and it is not just competition among the various carriers. At some point there is an equilibrium, or sway point, when the price of a ticket will discourage air travel, and traffic then declines. When the traffic declines enough, capacity is reduced. That’s when airplanes are parked or sold to some foreign carrier, and pilots, f/a’s CSA, managers, and all other employees start getting pink slips, and are seeking other lines of work.

 

[climbhappy]

jarhead

quote: there are boundaries for the price of air travel......etc.

the problem is two tiers of pricing and yet the public doesn't differentiate between the level of quality. I have read all day long on this board an argument put forth by pilots who consider themselves in the know. they trash southwest as a cattle car.

two weeks ago in ATL, i witnessed two different settings of an irate father with his family getting bumped off confirmed flights with boarding passes in hand. airtran apparently loves to overbook their flights at least to MCO by 15 or 20. looked like a big mess to me. Is it isolated? sure! does everyone else have the same problem? yes!

So we could say that to the public most airlines are the same. that's why the balance sheets of SW,At and JB look far better than the majors. Jetblue will have to prove they can carve out market share on the east coast against stiff competition.

 

[73belair]

Its not just Airtran that over books flights. ALL carriers will do that. Its all based on a 15-20% no show factor, and usually it works.
Now as far as people getting "better" service on the majors as opposed to LCC... I've been flying Delta for the past 2 years pretty regular. In those short 2 years I've seen the things that people would pay extra for go away. i.e. meals/snaks, more room in the cabin, etc. Not sayin all of theflights are like this, but from DFW to ATL that is the case. Now I'm all about supporting Delta, but if I were the general public I don't seen why I would pay at least $200 more for the same "service". I HATE Southwest's no seat assignment thing and won't fly them because of that. But Airtran I have no problem with.