What's up with AA's prices?
 

I was checking domestic ticket prices at least three months in advance and American Airlines seems to be the High Price Leader. What's up? Some prices were $400 higher than Delta and $200 higher than Continental. Have they come up with a new strategy; lower the price the last two weeks until the plane is sold, or maybe it doesn't take that long to fill up an MD-80?

In the meantime, I can fly Northwest and Delta and put the miles on my Continental Frequent Flyer, right?

as posted by wally34949,

<i> I can fly Northwest and Delta</i>...

It's called corporate responsibility. Contributing to employees retirement plan, paying down the debt, making investors happy, declaring a modest profit for the year and last but not least, never declaring bankrupcy and screwing the suppliers and the taxpayers!

It simply means AA is not releasing cheap fares <b>on the flight you want</b>.

It can mean:

- AA thinks they can sell these seats later on at higher prices,

or

- a lot of people love AA and has picked up all the cheap fares on that flight.

Anyways, you can earn CO Onepass miles flying NW and DL, but most discount fares only earn 50% EQM.

Hm, let me think, do I want to donate to corporate responsibility, employee retirement plans and make investors happy, or do I want to purchase an airline ticket that is 66% cheaper.

I think this is a no brainer!

AAFrequentFlyer: I suggest that you don't declare any deductions on your income tax. You can help out the government budget.

You already paid higher fares for the ticket(s). When Northworst and Delta declared bankrupcy, dumped the retirement plan on the federal government, where do you think the money comes from?

Also glad to see that it is all about Wally. Forget the thousands of employees and their families that got screwed after being dedicated, loyal employees for a company for many years. As long as Wally gets his ticket for less, Wally is happy..... (what goes around, comes around)

besides, of your lack of understanding on how fares work boggles my mind. AA will not be very competative on all the routes it serves, just the same when NW or DL will not be close to AA fares on many routes.

That's why most people understand the free market economy. Apparently you are having difficulty with this simple concept. You don't like what Best Buy sells a TV for, you go to Wal-Mart. Wally, hate to tell you, but that's how things work in this country.

It's a beautiful thing when a consumer has a choice because of healthy competition.

AA, I was checking many prices from many different markets. Why pay $600 for AA's 1 connection flight to the Bay area on MD-80's when you can hop on Jet Blue non stop with Directv? $425 for PBI to Austin? I haven't payed this much since 1991. And that flight included food.

I'm just saying that AA used to be the low price leader and now their the High Price Leader. It sounds to me like their encouraging the other airlines to raise their prices. And when AA was the low price leader, they were encouraging the other airlines to lower their prices.

The problem has been in the past that airline ticket prices were too cheap.

I'd wait to book AA's flights because what goes up will need to come down unless a few airlines stop flying.

wally, it is a no brainer. No way you should be so greedy &amp; selfish and should pony up the money to support the employees, shareholders, and suppliers of the airline. Of jetBlue, I mean.

Thanks for sharing, Wally.

Could you give us a report on who has the most expensive/cheapest gas where you live? How about T-bone steaks and good Merlot? Or do you drink stinkin' #@%&amp;! Merlot anyway?

When someone in my area starts selling gas for $5.00 a gallon, or my favorite wines go from $10 a bottle to $30, I will give you a full report.

I'm just trying to say that in the past, American Airlines was a great place to book flights six months in advance and get a good rate. Now it looks like you are better to wait until 3 to 5 weeks before domestic departure with this airline.

Oh is that what your post was about? I thought you were just trying to get under the skin of the AA fans.

AA has to make up that $200M they lost by not getting that Beijing route last week. What a debacle...so much for being loyal or even thinking about their employees, shareholders and the community at large.

I thought that one of the reasons that AA didn't get the route was because of the pilots. A nonstop from DFW to PEK would make them fly 15 minutes longer than their contract allowed, and they would not budge. So, AA's plan was to fly to ORD and change crews.

<i>So, AA's plan was to fly to ORD and change crews.</i>

Which they decided to propose only after they had already filed for DFW-PEK nonstop. When they tried to amend their application to add the ORD stop, the feds said they couldn't, so they withdrew it.

Not just the pilots acting silly, but the airline management not knowing they would... What we got here is failure t'comunkate...

It caused quite a stink here in DFW when they didn't get it.

When this route was initially opened, AA had the whole town painted in AA colors...signs in/out of the airport, their website saying it was between them and CO, talking up their grassroots efforts; getting their customer and local businesses to support it as it was &quot;...time the South got a nonstop flight to PEK&quot;.

I think it's less of a failure ot communciate and more of the biggest gane of chicken I've seen in awhile.

Between them and CO? They almost got that right.

Wally got his ticket! I wanted to fly from Orlando to Seattle and I wanted Alaska's direct flight (so I could get miles with American), but it was almost $400, so I booked a ticket from Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle for $279.10. The plane stops in Orlando where I pick up the Alaska direct flight. I booked it on the Delta website so I will put the miles on my Continental FF. I'm returning from SFO to Ft. Lauderdale on a one-stop flight with Delta.

BTW, I plan to go up to Vancouver this summer and guess who is flying from Vancouver to SFO? My buddy, Qantas! They want $271 for the one way flight so I will wait a few months because last year I got it for $125.00. Friday's are a good day to catch the SFO Vancouver, Vancouver SFO flight with Qantas.

You'll only earn 50% EQM on Onepass, flying most discount DL fares.