American Airlines lol (Phoenix: cheapest, Amtrak, deals)

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

I believe he is referring to the three largest airlines at PHX. Delta is the third largest airline at PHX in terms of market share, after US Airways (soon to be American) and Southwest. United I think is actually fourth..

The converstation was about competition for flights to ORD. It looks like United has a fair number of flights and is competitive price-wise. I have no stake in the discussion, was just curious why United wasn't considered.

[dvxhd]

Originally Posted by RubyJune

A $100 Frontier flight will end up being $300 anyways. They are the WORST about their price ads versus what they actually charge. They had a $59 to Vegas sale at the beginning of the year. By the time I was done with all the fees (they charge for both checked and carry on luggage, BTW) the ticket was $250. Even if that does end up being cheaper than other airlines, I refuse to reward that type of business practice with my travel dollars.

Right?! In my personal top three worst airlines, Frontier is #1, followed by Aeroflot and Aerolineas Argentina. The other two are bad because they have the absolute rudest flight attendants and staff.

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

I believe he is referring to the three largest airlines at PHX. Delta is the third largest airline at PHX in terms of market share, after US Airways (soon to be American) and Southwest. United I think is actually fourth.

However, I am not sure how American ranks at PHX right now, since they have since added some American-branded flights ever since the merger. After the schedules and reservation systems are merged, American will be #1 at PHX. American was actually fifth at PHX prior to the US Airways merger.

I'm not sure he delved too much into that. If you combine the Express services on United and Delta with the main airlines, they both equally serve about as many non-stop destinations, even if one carries more passengers. It's possible that if Phoenix is lucrative enough, Delta could ramp up its presence here and make Phoenix into a hub or focus city, which would be great if they were to increase competition and keep prices in check.

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Southwest doesn't really need ORD other than having more transportation connections. They serve 2 nearby airports direct from PHX and within a reasonable distance from ORD. While neither is as convenient as O'Hare for some fliers or destinations, they seem to do well with Midway. There is also MKE, which is a good alternative for the northern suburbs of Chicago (around an hour or even quite a bit less for the state line suburbs), but has virtually no road traffic delays in or out, has cheaper parking, has less air traffic problems, shorter security times, shorter walks, etc. Even given the longer drive time, the rest probably evens out.

Other than that, take American or United and fly direct to ORD.

Oh I couldn't care less if they use O'Hare or Midway: I was responding to his statement. I never go to Chicago aside from plane transfers. Because of that, I've used O'Hare only. SWA seems to be reluctant to enter larger (and probably more expensive) airports when there's a choice amongst multiple spots. I believe they were relatively slow to enter Reagan in DC (they stuck with BWI for a long time), as well as LaGuardia (opting for Islip instead in the NYC market). They have a fairly large presence at LAX, but are more dominant in Burbank, Orange County and Ontario. That's up to the airline and the cities where the airports are located (hence the Wright Amendment in Texas). In Phoenix they don't have much choice regardless of expense, because Mesa can't handle their volume. I think if this city were to try to dismantle Sky Harbor in favor of a larger regional airport serving Phoenix/Tucson, SWA would go kicking and screaming. Then it would be our issue.

[Wally Sconce]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

You do realize US Airways is no more, right? For months now the flights listed as US Airways were also listed as American Airlines. So, in other words, if you looked up a flight someplace you might see 10 flights via US Airways and AA, but there are really only 5 because those were the same flights just duplicated. Does that make sense?

So, you could see American Airlines flight 653 at 12:00 PM and US Airways Flight 653 at 12:00 PM. Take away the US Air flight and you have just one AA listed, but you didn't "lose" a flight, they were one in the same from the beginning.

They aren't really gone, they were just duplicates listed twice for both airlines until AA took over completely.

O'really? lol yes I realize the merger.. The final US Airways flight is Oct 17 out of SFO then the name US Airways goes into the history books. What really annoys me is the flights they had listed in July for the end of Oct were removed this week. They couldn't have figured it out sooner? Fortunately I bought two tickets because the sobs have doubled the price! The only flights they have from here now are the crack of dawn and return after midnight their competition has a 10 am flight a 3 Pm flight and a 7.

Bye Bye US/American.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Wally Sconce

O'really? lol yes I realize the merger.. The final US Airways flight is Oct 17 out of SFO then the name US Airways goes into the history books. What really annoys me is the flights they had listed in July for the end of Oct were removed this week. They couldn't have figured it out sooner? Fortunately I bought two tickets because the sobs have doubled the price! The only flights they have from here now are the crack of dawn and return after midnight their competition has a 10 am flight a 3 Pm flight and a 7.

Bye Bye US/American.

The merger on flights does take place in October. Again they didn't cancel anything, just took away duplicate listings for US airways flights that were American ones all along. It has been in the works for a very long time. They didn't just "figure it out" just now. As for doubling the Price, I find that hard to believe.

[Huckleberry3911948]

wow that is a big spike.

[Wally Sconce]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

The merger on flights does take place in October. Again they didn't cancel anything, just took away duplicate listings for US airways flights that were American ones all along. It has been in the works for a very long time. They didn't just "figure it out" just now. As for doubling the Price, I find that hard to believe.

No they did cancel flights, when they tell me the flight at 3:30 which I already paid for in July is no longer available and you now have to leave at 6:40am...the only flight to Phx.. that is a cancelled flight. Repeat.. the same thing 7times a week. AA never flew from here to PHX before it was all USA.. now It's all AA with half the flight schedule. May be they will figure out how much business they lost next winter.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Wally Sconce

No they did cancel flights, when they tell me the flight at 3:30 which I already paid for in July is no longer available and you now have to leave at 6:40am...the only flight to Phx.. that is a cancelled flight. Repeat.. the same thing 7times a week. AA never flew from here to PHX before it was all USA.. now It's all AA with half the flight schedule. May be they will figure out how much business they lost next winter.

Flight cancellations happen all the time, on all airlines. They do so based on business needs. Airlines don't want to fly half empty planes, so they cancel and move around passengers to maximize their trips. October is a long way away, so it can change again. Your flight may be added back to the schedule, that happens, too.

I was flying to Vegas last month and wanted the 7:45 am flight from PHX to LAS. It was there, they cancelled it, and about 2 weeks before I left, it was back. That is why it isn't always a good idea to book out months in advance, because flights can change, and they do. All the time.

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

The converstation was about competition for flights to ORD. It looks like United has a fair number of flights and is competitive price-wise. I have no stake in the discussion, was just curious why United wasn't considered.

I've flown United from ORD to PHX dozens of times in the last five years. They are usually very competitive and a great option. Fares are often just as good as, or a close match with, SW (which isn't convenient for me out of MDW).

[Wally Sconce]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Flight cancellations happen all the time, on all airlines. They do so based on business needs. Airlines don't want to fly half empty planes, so they cancel and move around passengers to maximize their trips. October is a long way away, so it can change again. Your flight may be added back to the schedule, that happens, too.

I was flying to Vegas last month and wanted the 7:45 am flight from PHX to LAS. It was there, they cancelled it, and about 2 weeks before I left, it was back. That is why it isn't always a good idea to book out months in advance, because flights can change, and they do. All the time.

Half empty planes? That's my point these flights never had more than 3 or 4 empty seats. I flew them 4 or 5 times every winter for the last 6 years.


Sometimes depending on your job and other obligations you have to book months in advance . Would you book a flight for December two months in advance? If you wait too long you could pay a lot more unless there is a seat sale. I booked in the middle of July for Oct 31. One good thing with US Airways was they always had a good price on those flights and they never had to have a seat sale because they beat the competition. The only time they would raise the price is within the month before departure dates.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Wally Sconce

Half empty planes? That's my point these flights never had more than 3 or 4 empty seats. I flew them 4 or 5 times every winter for the last 6 years.


Sometimes depending on your job and other obligations you have to book months in advance . Would you book a flight for December two months in advance? If you wait too long you could pay a lot more unless there is a seat sale. I booked in the middle of July for Oct 31. One good thing with US Airways was they always had a good price on those flights and they never had to have a seat sale because they beat the competition. The only time they would raise the price is within the month before departure dates.

I never book flights that far out. I might start watching fares that early, but generally don't pull the trigger yet; some of the best deals are to be found closer to the actual date of travel, within a few weeks many times.

The bottom line is all airlines are for profit. They are going to schedule and fill flights based on what is good for business, not specifically to screw people over.