Fixed point air fares
So just playing with some data on commercial airline fares. Anyone notice some interesting convergence of late in this:
I thought the story was that one benefit of the USAirways dehubbing here is that at least our air fares are now relatively inexpensive. I guess compared to where they were a decade ago that is true, but the competive advantage compared to elsewhere looks to be evaporating. If the trends in this data continue then next quarter may be a fixed point.




4 Comments:
I don't follow this as much as I used to. Is the Singularity because SWA stopped flying to PHL? What happened in 2009 Q1?
What happened in 2009 Q1?
Obama? Anyway, I have noticed that I'm not getting deals on plane tickets anymore. It's been pretty much $400 every time I go.
A recession impact seems to explain the big dip. Beyond that I say it needs a higher order of parsing, but for sure less competition = higher fares. Less competition can be the result of say a hub displacing potential competition, or just plain less service.
I spoke to some experts who pay more attention than I do anymore. I'm told that our lower cost started to go away when SWA first reduced and then stopped flying to PHL, and then our delta (sorry) reduced further when SWA and TRS merged. We've seen a real reduction in the "southwest effect", and the result is we're a "Lake Wobegon Airport" - all our airfares are reflecting the national norm now. Plus, people are driving to both Akron and Latrobe for cheap fares. Finally, we're just like everybody else n'at.
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