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No mystery here. The only seats left were preferred seats. You have to pay to play.
Let me put the shoe on the other foot - myself as a frequent flyer pay alot of money to Delta, essentially we are the 1% that keep them in business by buying business class fares and getting butt time sitting in there metal tubes week after week. We get a bit of comfort by getting priority seating - upgrades to first, or at least priority seating - first row of coach, exit rows, windows and aisles. First few rows are always blocked, and now the airlines are configuring some of these first few coach rows with expanded leg room and recline, and free drinks - that makes them midway to a first class seat experience. I am a platimum medallion million miler. You're damn right - Delta treats me like a king. Imagine the outcry if Delta was giving my bulkhead aisle seat to Joe Blow the tourist traveler who travels once a year? Trust me, we frequent flyers would raise hell. Already the complaints are in from the elite flyers - Delta and other airlines are monetizing these benifits. Selling out our benefits, hence the $2,000 seat. If it was up to me Nader would not have the choice of pre-booking these seats at any cost.
What's unfair to you, or Ralph Nader, is very fair to me.
Traveling by air can be a nightmare of fees, different ticket prices and excuses. It's a wonder anybody does it at all.
For instance, when I flew down to Haiti as a member of a Southern Baptist disaster team, one guy and I were late add-ons to the mission. The Oklahoma Baptist's paid for the tickets. Having bought the other ones in advance, they were something like $1000 round trip (I think that's right). But, for the other guy and I, they were $2700! On the same plane! For the same flights! To the same destination! Worse none of the 3 flights we took were full and I got upgraded to first class from Ft. Lauderdale to Port au Prince and all the way back to Oklahoma City.
There's really no excuse for such a ridiculous difference in fares. It costs x-number of dollars per mile to operate an aircraft, so the pricing could be as simple as that much times the miles involved.
Here's another example: I can fly from DFW to Atlanta for as little as $300, if I book in advance. Yet, even booking in advance, I can't fly to Knoxville, TN, which is roughly the same distance, for less than $1000 one way.
In the end, air fare pricing has nothing to do with cost + profit, and everything to do with taking all the traffic will bear. So long as we're willing to pay it, they'll be willing to charge it.
In the end, air fare pricing has nothing to do with cost + profit, and everything to do with taking all the traffic will bear. So long as we're willing to pay it, they'll be willing to charge it.
Duh!!!! isnl;t that the whole idea of a american businesses????
truthfully, no airline can stay in business if they charge a flAT fee for a ticket unless all the other ailines and travel services do the same. Imagine if it cost only $350 a ticket from Point A to Point B. Airline 1 charges only $350 regardless of when you buy, Airline 2 uses the current system. Which airline will survive and which will go bankrupt? Airline 1 will go bankrupt because they will be advertising fares of $350 while Airline 2 can advertise fares of only $99. true those $99 fares are limited with major restrictions but in the marketing game, they will win.
People could care less what it cost for a seat, all they care about is getting a cheaper price than they see. Now, throw in Airline 3 who advertises $349.99 tickets if purchased 3 days in advance otherwise its $351.00 a ticket, that $.01 savings will have people running to them instead of Airline #1. So Airline 1 will be the biggest loser over $.01 a ticket. Americans buy on price and price only, so the airlines need to develope a fare structure that allows them to take it down to the lowest possible advertsing price to get the customers.
(FYI, many airlines did try it and it was flop because americans don;t shop that way, cheap is always better)
Traveling by air can be a nightmare of fees, different ticket prices and excuses. It's a wonder anybody does it at all.
For instance, when I flew down to Haiti as a member of a Southern Baptist disaster team, one guy and I were late add-ons to the mission. The Oklahoma Baptist's paid for the tickets. Having bought the other ones in advance, they were something like $1000 round trip (I think that's right). But, for the other guy and I, they were $2700! On the same plane! For the same flights! To the same destination! Worse none of the 3 flights we took were full and I got upgraded to first class from Ft. Lauderdale to Port au Prince and all the way back to Oklahoma City.
There's really no excuse for such a ridiculous difference in fares. It costs x-number of dollars per mile to operate an aircraft, so the pricing could be as simple as that much times the miles involved.
Here's another example: I can fly from DFW to Atlanta for as little as $300, if I book in advance. Yet, even booking in advance, I can't fly to Knoxville, TN, which is roughly the same distance, for less than $1000 one way.
In the end, air fare pricing has nothing to do with cost + profit, and everything to do with taking all the traffic will bear. So long as we're willing to pay it, they'll be willing to charge it.
Is this a joke? That's how capitalism works. Airlines aren't out to break even; they're out to make a profit.
If a certain route is more in demand, then they can charge a higher price for it; the fact that there may be another shorter route that they have to charge less for since its in less demand is totally irrelevant.
And of course it costs more to book at the last minute. It's for the simple reason that people book at the last minute probably have some important reason to be traveling that they can't get out of, therefore they are willing to pay a higher price.
Generally flying hub to hub will be cheaper than flying from small city to small city (or hub to small city in many cases).
Is this a joke? That's how capitalism works. Airlines aren't out to break even; they're out to make a profit.
If a certain route is more in demand, then they can charge a higher price for it; the fact that there may be another shorter route that they have to charge less for since its in less demand is totally irrelevant.
And of course it costs more to book at the last minute. It's for the simple reason that people book at the last minute probably have some important reason to be traveling that they can't get out of, therefore they are willing to pay a higher price.
Generally flying hub to hub will be cheaper than flying from small city to small city (or hub to small city in many cases).
Of course businesses have to make a profit. However, there is such a thing as raping their customers to make MORE profit and that's not alright with me.
I don't mind paying for the service they provide, and I want them to be profitable, but I won't be willingly robbed. Nor, will I justify the robbery. You may do as you wish.
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isnl;t that the whole idea of a american businesses????
