I am traveling from ORD (Chicago) to BOS (Boston) in June 2008. I am wondering why American Airlines is almost $100 cheaper than all the other airlines? Is there something wrong with the company or the air planes?

Airline pricing is so complex that it's hard to totally understands it. If you see a price you like, book it. There's no need to wonder why...

There is nothing wrong with the company or the airplanes. Each airline has some routes that are cheaper than others for a variety of reasons (hubs, competition, etc.)

Or - you may have just hit a good fare.

There is nothing wrong with AA. And flying from Chicago to Boston, they are probably the best bet (along with United) - as they offer a ton of flights, you can be readily re-accommodated should anything like delays, cancellations, etc get in the way of a smooth trip.

They are not always cheaper - my husband flies that route several times/month and usually finds UA cheaper. He has flown both, and finds no difference.

It is a better fare than the others, but is it a low fare?

If Airline AB and CD fly the same routes and AB is $100 higher, reactions are:

"Is there something wrong with CD?" and
"AB is out of their mind charging me $100 more!"

If CD is $100 higher, reactions are:

"Is there something wrong with AB?" and
"CD is out of their mind charging me $100 more!"

If AB and CD are same price, reaction is:

"There must be price fixing. Congress must investigate!"

Once I flew American, but the reservations were made through Alaskan website. It was soooo much cheaper

Depends on the route I guess.

And no, AA is not always cheaper.

<i>If Airline AB and CD fly the same routes and AB is $100 higher, reactions are:

&quot;Is there something wrong with CD?&quot; and &quot;AB is out of their mind charging me $100 more!&quot;

If CD is $100 higher, reactions are:

&quot;Is there something wrong with AB?&quot; and &quot;CD is out of their mind charging me $100 more!&quot;

If AB and CD are same price, reaction is:

&quot;There must be price fixing. Congress must investigate!&quot;</i>

As always, rkkwan, a learned and excellent response. With no offense intended to the OP.

The airlines would never get involved in price fixing, now would they?

Perhaps it is because they charge $5 for a glass of wine on international travel?

Perhaps it is because they bring their food with them for the return flight back to the United States, so they don't need to purchase food from International kitchens?

Perhaps it is because they haven't cleaned the seats on their planes in years?

Perhaps it is because they are still flying many old MD80's and 767 aircraft?

Just a thought