BA -- VA price 'matching'

I can understand the VA pricing structure (of old before BA competition) for LAS only 14 'j' class seats and a ready public allows them to stick the price 'sky high' when compared with their other West Coast flights (even if it is a shorter journey).

When we come to look at BA, on this route, we find a funny thing. Their 'j' class is also a grand more expensive to LAS than it would be to SFO etc.

Is this not all a 'little neat'?

Looks like its SFO once again [:(]

I put it down to supply & demand. Even with BA on the LAS route as well, there will still be far more people willing to pay J fare than there are J seats on the route. All airlines need as much cash as they can get at the moment, so if the market will allow them to charge higher fares, they'll do it.

The business traveller (with J class travel allowed) going to a convention in Vegas will probably just pay the direct fare in J and not think twice about it.

Would have to agree with post above, any airline will charge what they think they can get for the route. There are still many more seats to SFO or LAX in Business than to Vegas so they will be working on the assumption that Virgin could charge a high fare and be full most of the time then the route is simply under supplied.

Competition only brings down prices if there is more supply than demand in the market.

quote:Originally posted by Kraken
I put it down to supply & demand. Even with BA on the LAS route as well, there will still be far more people willing to pay J fare than there are J seats on the route. All airlines need as much cash as they can get at the moment, so if the market will allow them to charge higher fares, they'll do it.

The business traveller (with J class travel allowed) going to a convention in Vegas will probably just pay the direct fare in J and not think twice about it.


I appreciate what you are saying. I also appreciate the fact that an airline will maximise profit for any route. In turn i hope that you would accept that the vast majority of traffic going to LAS is B+S and not convention business.

Let's face it BA have simply matched the inflated VA fees for this route. It will be interesting to see what happens when the BA service actually starts.

quote:I appreciate what you are saying. I also appreciate the fact that an airline will maximise profit for any route. In turn i hope that you would accept that the vast majority of traffic going to LAS is B+S and not convention business.
I agree, much of the traffic to Vegas is B+S, with Stag & Hen do's being particularly popular. It's fairly common knowledge that the Vegas flight is one that VS crew often do not enjoy working 'down the back' in economy, as the bar is frequently drunk dry long before the flight lands.

With only BA & VS going direct to Vegas from the UK, I think there will still be a shortage of J seats personally. But only time will tell - you can guarantee that as soon as a significant number of these seats fly empty regularly, then fares will start to fall.

quote:Originally posted by Frosty
When we come to look at BA, on this route, we find a funny thing. Their 'j' class is also a grand more expensive to LAS than it would be to SFO etc.

Is this not all a 'little neat'?


I booked a fare EWR-DFW-EWR earlier this week - I checked CO, AA and DL, all within $20 of each other. Is that a little neat or do they simply look at what the market is sustaining (best measured by competitor fares) and if that gives the right return then bob's your uncle!

[preiffer]

Ever noticed how washing powder brands all price extremely similarly?

Or how coke and pepsi are *very* close on price point?

Or how the same class of hotels in a close area tend to charge almost identical amounts?



...let's dig out that retail 101, back to basics book, shall we? [;)][ii]

[Scrooge]

Or a nicer way off putting it is that yes airlines do check the prices of the other airlines flying the route, depending on how many seats are sold the airlines will price close to eachother.

On the Vegas part, yes it is a very good flight for Y loads, however it must be remembered that it is also one of the largest convention cities in the world, there is always a huge demand for J class seats, one of the reasons I am still scratching my head as to why it never became a LHR route.

Also J will always have customers going to conventions in las vegas which are endless throughout the year drawing hundreds of thousands of people there to visit.

cheers

alex

Despite visiting Vegas several time we've never flown direct. Generally we've flown into LAX spent a couple of days in LA and then driven across the desert.

The last time we went in July 08 the cost of the flights (in UC) hotel and car hire were roughly the same as the UC fare direct to LAS.

The other advantage was flying out of LHR and of course the T3 CH.

If you don't mind a 3-4 hour drive across the sandy bit it's a real and cost effective alternative.

Miopyk[8D]

quote:Originally posted by preiffer
Ever noticed how washing powder brands all price extremely similarly?

Or how coke and pepsi are *very* close on price point?

Or how the same class of hotels in a close area tend to charge almost identical amounts?



...let's dig out that retail 101, back to basics book, shall we? [;)][ii]
#



That retail 101 is that the book that advises to charge 1 for 1 can of coke 5 for 5 cans of coke and 9 for 4 cans of coke.

Thanks for your contribution, unlike you I have extended the courtesy of reading and digesting all of your post [:w]

We all know why BA have priced LAS at 1000 more than LAX.

If there was THAT much demand for J seats to LAS, then the VS flight would have headed to LHR long ago.

I firmly beleive that the BA pricing is a launch, test the market type thing, and that in time the prices on both airlines will drop to much nearer LA levels.

Who knows, we may even see award seats open up on VS [^]

I am certainly holding off booking my 2010 trip for now in the hope that I am right

[preiffer]

quote:Originally posted by Frosty
That retail 101 is that the book that advises to charge 1 for 1 can of coke 5 for 5 cans of coke and 9 for 4 cans of coke.

Thanks for your contribution, unlike you I have extended the courtesy of reading and digesting all of your post [:w]

We all know why BA have priced LAS at 1000 more than LAX.
Yes, we do - it's because they CAN.

If you were selling a car that's worth (in your mind) 10,000 but someone is WILLING to pay 12,000 for it... errr....? [;)]

It's nothing to do with what it costs (or is 'worth') to the SUPPLIER - it's about what the CUSTOMER is willing to pay. If you're not willing to pay that price, don't, and find an alternative (as I see you're planning to, from reading your entire post earlier [ii]). If enough people do that, prices will either drop OR the route will get axed as unprofitable.

If enough people don't, the price will remain at the level they can achieve in the marketplace - JUST like any other retail proposition.

[Scrooge]

quote:Originally posted by Professor Yaffle
If there was THAT much demand for J seats to LAS, then the VS flight would have headed to LHR long ago.



How long ago do you think they should off moved it to LHR ?