U.S Airways takes the gloves off

[T-Bird76]

U.S Airways just announced it has lowered its fare on the LGA-BOS to $100 one way for its 14 day advance purchase fares. This really should be an interesting fight between B6 and US.

[RDU-JFK]

Interesting to see how DL reacts as well.

[mikephotos]

You sure that isn't roundtrip? I don't show a 14day oneway for $100? I show:

TR14N1 T R 100.00

Which is a 14-day advance purchase roundtrip.

Delta has some nice oneways also:

18 - K3NBV K X 80.00
19 - L7NBV L X 70.00
20 - Q0NBV Q X 105.00
21 - T14NBV T X 50.00
22 - U7NBV U X 60.00

Mike

[T-Bird76]

The press release said one way but could have been wrong, 100 bucks r/t is even better. I like B6 but with 50,000 miles on US I'll fly them to Boston just to be a mileage slut.

[PhilDernerJr]

I hear a weekend BOS trip coming up!!

A shame it's so early in the month. The old ladies have already cashed their social security and I need to wait 4 more weeks to get back to my muggings.

[mikephotos]

Guess they got it wrong, it's $100 RT plus fees. The 14day advance purchase applies to any day of the week travel but requires a min. 1 night stay. Total with fees comes to $120.60. They also have a no-advance purchase $100 RT fare for Sat/Sun travel, no min. stay required, again, total comes to $120.60. It would cost me more in gas to drive up there...

Mike

[Futterman]

Great to see some of the majors taking a stand.

I know US is a "low-cost" carrier, but when the likes of Delta, American, United, and Northwest start lowering their prices, I have to wonder how long they can sustain them -- even with high yeilds. I've been under the impression that their higher cost bases, especially when compared to, in this case, JetBlue, would prevent them from seriously slashing fares in the first place.

Or am I just talking poo-poo?

Brian
(Lurker no more!)

[PhilDernerJr]

Brian presents a good point.

It can be worth it for an airline to eat some of their costs if they can truly beat their competition on a route and emerge victorious, but who can really beat JetBlue's setup?

Granted, US Airways is restructuring themselves as an LCC, but if they are taking any kind of a hit for these low fares, I wonder how smart it is.

[Futterman]

Granted, US Airways is restructuring themselves as an LCC, but if they are taking any kind of a hit for these low fares, I wonder how smart it is.

This is exactly why I feel US is in the best position among all the majors/legacy carriers to take on something like this. After reading an article on Australia's Jetstar in the last issue of Airliners (;)), it's not smart -- or possible, really -- for an estabished full-service carrier to try and imitate a low-cost operation.

Jetstar, JetBlue, Southwest, and others aren't categorized as having "no-frills" just because of smart advertising or high aircraft utilization. It all revolves around the business model laid out from the get go, before the first ticket is even sold, and you don't need to be a genius to see that certain airlines out in the market today just aren't designed to do what they're being pressured to do...heck, that's probably why I'm saying all this! :)

Brian

[T-Bird76]

Most of the majors have slashed costs to levels that are competitive with the so called Low Cost Carriers. US in particular has a very low CASM and now has the ability to compete head on. AWA has been doing it for years at PHX and LAS with WN, they know what their doing. Allot of carriers are going to be gunning for B6 now. B6 is in a difficult position, their costs have gone up, and their route structure isn't nearly as large or competitive as other airlines. Given this fact it’s hard for a seasoned business traveler to choose B6 over other airlines that offer more. Some are concerned with B6's expansion recently but they're starting to offer service to more business related destinations.

The market is changing as well, the large markets where most of these LCCs have been running to are quickly drying up. US serves a lot of small and midsize markets where today’s high yield tickets are coming from. Investment from Asia in cities like Columbia S.C, Eire, P.A and other such cities are demanding air travel at some rather high ticket prices. Cities like this are to small still for A320s, 737s, and 717s. Planes like the E170 and the CRJ 700 and 900 are perfect fits for these cities and put US in a good position.