Continental lowers price to Italy for Sept 08

[bxny]

I got great news last night. :D I had registered my flight with Yapta and they emailed me that the price of our flight droped $329. So I called Continental and we got a voucher for $129 each after they deducted $200 change fee. I never thought the price would drop because of high fuel prices. just thought I would let you all know to check your airlines especially those with flights on Continental. Good Luck.

[chipmaster]

I got great news last night. :D I had registered my flight with Yapta and they emailed me that the price of our flight droped $329. So I called Continental and we got a voucher for $129 each after they deducted $200 change fee. I never thought the price would drop because of high fuel prices. just thought I would let you all know to check your airlines especially those with flights on Continental. Good Luck.

 

 

Good for you! To bad we are flying right before the end of peak season, end of August to jump at fares like that.

 

Continental must figure they got already scheduled flights that are a bit to empty and gotta fill a few seats.

 

It never amazes me how airlines are more willing to sell a seat and fly at a loss versus scratch the flights and combine the flights. I fully expect that to be the case going forward more and more :mad:

[FlyerTalker]

It never amazes me how airlines are more willing to sell a seat and fly at a loss versus scratch the flights and combine the flights. I fully expect that to be the case going forward more and more :mad:

 

If you read the posts, you'll see how people go ballistic (or at least upset) when a flight time gets changed. Picture what it would be like if an airline just canceled if demand wasn't high enough on specific flights. Not to mention what that would do to both equipment and crew scheduling.

 

Never gonna happen.

[nho9504]

Good for you! To bad we are flying right before the end of peak season, end of August to jump at fares like that.

 

Continental must figure they got already scheduled flights that are a bit to empty and gotta fill a few seats.

 

It never amazes me how airlines are more willing to sell a seat and fly at a loss versus scratch the flights and combine the flights. I fully expect that to be the case going forward more and more :mad:

 

I bet you would not say so when and if your flight is being cancelled, because airlines feel the flight is too undersold and need to be "consolidated" or "schedule compression".

 

Also, planes do not sit at airport - they are constantly coming and going - that is why a flight is cancelled somewhere due to weather or mechanical, there is at least another flight, if not more, at its destination, is also being affected.

 

Lowering the price to sell seats just like the cruiselines to have flash sale to fill cabin, at least the newcomers can help pay the FIXED COSTS that are constants on the flight, such as the cost to lease the plane, the pay of the crew, etc.

[chipmaster]

I bet you would not say so when and if your flight is being cancelled, because airlines feel the flight is too undersold and need to be "consolidated" or "schedule compression".

 

Also, planes do not sit at airport - they are constantly coming and going - that is why a flight is cancelled somewhere due to weather or mechanical, there is at least another flight, if not more, at its destination, is also being affected.

 

Lowering the price to sell seats just like the cruiselines to have flash sale to fill cabin, at least the newcomers can help pay the FIXED COSTS that are constants on the flight, such as the cost to lease the plane, the pay of the crew, etc.

 

I am fully aware that outright cancellations the day of the flight will wreck havoc with the larger schedule of airlines. Most international routes have a single flight/carrier so canceling flights or consolidation would really mess things up even more. So it make perfect sense if consolidation isn't possible of already scheduled and booked planes, and that they aren't full to offer discount to get more revenue for the flight.

 

My comment was a more general one directed toward schedules say a week or more out which would be on routes where many domestic airlines have multiple daily or hourly flights that serve a large group of business/commuter flyers. I expect if oil stays well above 100 dollars these commuter routes will need a new and more flexible business model that both meet the needs of the higher revenue business travelers who demand flexibility and balance the larger cost / limited demand. I can't imagine they meet both without playing some game in the future. In this market consolidation of flights makes sense prior to day of flight as juggling before planes are in the air weeks before it happens is doable. Would I or the business travel be happy, NO, but we'd still get there.

 

Would I expect consolidation of a flight and a phone call from the airline in the future, Yes. WOuld I be happy, No. Would I expect they airline to arrange things so I still get to where I need in time, Yes. I would prefere thus then the silly things I see the airlines doing now that won't materially change things at all.

 

Nothing is for free, nor can I expect the current airlines to continue to offer tickets below their real cost and suck losses that will screw things up more in the future.

 

Its an interesting question as to the new business model, what is it.

 

Does an airline offer high fares with convenience to the deep pocket business traveler that has multiple flights where the airplane runs at 20-30% capacity? That model no longer works at all. Yet if the airline cuts back to offer fewere flights that they have high confidence of getting to 80% or more filling you don't offer flexibility that the business group demands. You pick the fill versus price level and the routes and the business model. At what level do you lose the deep pocket business travel but gain back the leisure traveler, or vice versa. SW has one model and the old line airlines started from the other end. At 150+ oil neither will work so what works??

[Globaliser]

My comment was a more general one directed toward schedules say a week or more out which would be on routes where many domestic airlines have multiple daily or hourly flights that serve a large group of business/commuter flyers. I expect if oil stays well above 100 dollars these commuter routes will need a new and more flexible business model that both meet the needs of the higher revenue business travelers who demand flexibility and balance the larger cost / limited demand. I can't imagine they meet both without playing some game in the future. In this market consolidation of flights makes sense prior to day of flight as juggling before planes are in the air weeks before it happens is doable.

In theory, taking a narrow view, this would be right. But the airline would always have to think about rather more than just the money saved by not operating a particular flight.

 

For example, except on routes where aircraft based at A just flew to B and then back again, you couldn't just cancel one flight. The aircraft and crew are typically going on long journeys across the country to almost random airports. The crew don't necessarily stay with the aircraft for the whole of a trip. The two crew on the flight dock don't always stay with each other for the whole of a trip. So if you cancelled a flight, you'd have to look down the line separately for the aircraft and each member of the crew to see what downline flights you'd be affecting.

 

Then every time you cancel a flight - whatever you call it - some people are going to misconnect. And in addition, some people who aren't going to misconnect are going to ask anyway to be moved to other flights because their new automatically-allocated flight time is too early or too late or too inconvenient.

 

Now, it is theoretically possible to sort all of this out. But it takes time, manpower and money. And because airlines don't operate with a lot of reserve in any department, you could easily find that things that need doing just don't get done: aircraft re-scheduling goes haywire and the aircraft end up well out of position; crew scheduling goes haywire and suddenly there aren't enough bodies to operate the aircraft; and people don't get rebooked or turn up at the airport to find that they're going to depart from their connecting hub before they arrive and there are no other flights on which to send them.

 

And then there are longer-term problems that you can introduce: For example, a particular aircraft's line may be intended to get it to a maintenance base just in time for its next maintenance check. But what if you cancel that line? If the aircraft's out of place, you may end up having to ferry the aircraft empty just for that maintenance check. You'd throw a lot of your earlier money savings out of the window doing that.

 

So, in the end, it may just be cheaper and easier to operate the flight. And, that way, you also avoid the longer-term and more indirect costs of pissing off hundreds of your customers.

 

What you're seeing in the current wave of activity is what you're suggesting, but at a longer time horizon and in a more controlled and planned manner. Flights are being cut, and loads amalgamated. But it's really not very easy to do just a few days out.

[nho9504]

Global,

 

Thanks for laying all these out. I would think such is almost common sense that is easy to see, but obviously it is not so to everybody.

 

A few years ago I read an article in the inflight magazine on a CO flight. The article documented how CO regrouped after the grounding caused by 9-11. That article gave me a whole new perspective on the aircraft / crew scheduling and made me appreciate the airlines flight control centers much more. It is not a simple picture viewed from a Monday Night Quarterback position - there are lots and lots more stuff involved.