What Are They Thinking?
Less than a month ago this BLOG reported amazement that the airlines were increasing capacity. We are more amazed today.
I just bought a ticket roundtrip from Huntsville, AL—we are not a major hub and have no discount airline service—to fit my schedule, on a legacy carrier, for a grand total (including fees and taxes) of $258.19! I also got a quote from here to Boston and return for an all-up total of $296.60—again, to fit my schedule, on a legacy carrier. (I didn’t buy that one yet. I’m waiting on prices to go down!)
Is there any hope for the airline industry?
What is their competition? Not driving, that’s for sure. Gas alone on the Phoenix trip would be more than the airline ticket. Gas plus a few meals would cost more than the Boston trip. Throw in a little insurance, tolls, motels, and other costs and it gets even more ridiculous. Obviously, the only competition is with other airlines. Is memory so short that they can’t remember where this downward spiral of ticket prices quickly leads them?
If “one swallow doth not a summer make,” then surely one summer of (slightly) higher ticket prices doth not a turnaround make for an entire industry. But so help me, that’s the way the industry acts.
The airline industry proved this summer that the traveling public will not quit flying if airfare goes up a little. Having proved that, they bought more airplanes and lowered prices.
What are they thinking?
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[…] Ralph Hood, an AirportBusiness columnist, commented that he was shocked that on a ticket roundtrip from Huntsville, AL, which has no discount carrier service, cost only $258.19, and a ticket from there all the way to Boston for $296.60…both of which fit his schedule. Obviously, he didn’t read our post on the subject of USAirways lowering its fares out of Huntsville as part of an attempt to continue fare reductions. […]
Ajay–
Danged if I know. The airlines here have been deregulated for roughly 28 years, and still have not adapted to the free market.
BTW, where do you live in India? My (adult) son just returned from two weeks of working in Pune.
Thanks for writing,
Ralph Hood
It’s bizarre how all airlines seem to want to compete on driving prices way below sustainable levels. No single airline could possibley carry *all* the traffic - no matter how low its price. We’ve got a similar situation in India - the so called low cost carriers proliferating in this country actually are merely ‘low fares’ carriers, pushing fares probably subsidized through venture capital funds! How long is that going to last?