How can you run a business like this?
I'll freely admit that my business skills are not finely honed, but I do think that I have some degree of common sense. I understand the legacy carriers are not in the best shape financially. I've heard enough economics reports about how Southwest has lower costs and stuff like that, but I still don't understand how you can run a business that can create the scenario outlined below. While I'm certainly not the only one to run across something like this, this is the first time it has happened to me. (I am not a frequent flier.)
At 9:30 pm on March 24, 2006, I searched on Orbitz.com for a one-way flight on a Wednesday in mid-May from Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to within 80 miles of New York, NY. The cheapest flight that it returned was a $49 flight (plus $26 in taxes & fees) on Continental Airlines from RDU to Philadelphia International (PHL). Not a bad deal if I wanted to fly to Philadelphia--it beats Southwest by $5. However, this does consist of two legs, Continental Flight 2950, departing RDU at 10:50 and arriving at EWR at 12:20, where I would have a 3 hr, 10 min, layover before taking Continental Flight 2224, which puts me in PHL at 4:45 PM. Of course, my six hours of flight would still require that I get from Philadelphia to New York.
Perhaps you are anticipating the punchline here (or you just know your airport codes) but this airport encoded EWR is Newark Liberty International Airport, NJ.
Then I wondered, why don't I just look for this Flight 2950 that flies directly from RDU to Newark. It's $264 plus $15 taxes & fees. $279! Let's get from RDU to Penn Station in New York:
Trip 1: Fly to EWR $279 + NJ Transit train from EWR to Penn Station $14 = $293
Trip 2: Fly to PHL, via EWR $75 + SEPTA train from PHL to 30th St. Station in Philadelphia $5.50 + Amtrak train from 30th St. Station to Penn Station $95 = $175.50
Is this some bizarre way to subsidize Amtrak?
By buying the flight to PHL via EWR, and then just skipping the leg to PHL (assuming this is still legal--I think I heard they were cracking down on this) I can save $117.50 and get to Penn Station about 6 hours earlier.
Furthermore, I decided to see how much Flight 2224 from EWR to PHL cost if I started in EWR and didn't start off with Flight 2950 from RDU to EWR. It was $366 plus $15 taxes and fees! Lesson: Always buy in bulk. Flights 2224 and 2950, purchased seperately, $660. Or purchase them together for a savings of $584.
If you were at EWR, you had some free time, you wanted to fly only Continental Airlines, and your heart was set on taking Flight 2224 to PHL, you could save $162 by first buying a ticket for Flight 1418 from EWR at 6:30 AM, arriving at Tampa (TPA) at 9:20 AM for $99, and then also buy for $120 the combo ticket from TPA back to EWR on Flight 1819 (dep. 10:10 AM, arr. 12:52 PM) and Flight 2224.
Or, for a savings of only $6, you could take this trip:
Purchase 1: $105
Flight 474: dep. EWR 9:55 PM, arr. San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) 1:55 AM
Purchase 2: $167
Flight 461: dep. SJU 3:00 AM, arr. EWR 7:04 AM
Flight 1196: dep. EWR 7:45 AM, arr. Chicago Midway (MDW) 9:10 AM
Purchase 3: $103
Flight 1145: dep. MDW 9:55 AM, arr EWR 12:57 PM
Flight 2224
Or, if you were a little more ambitious, and were willing to spend $22 more for a few more frequent flier points, you could take this adventure:
Purchase 1: $99
Flight 1418: dep. EWR 6:30 AM, arr. TPA 9:20 AM
Purchase 2: $111
Flight 1707: dep. TPA 3:15 AM, arr. Houston Intercontinental (IAH) 4:29 PM
Flight 667: dep. IAH 5:50 PM, arr. Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) 8:24 PM
Purchase 3: $118
Flight 5154: dep SEA 12:50 AM, arr. Minneapolis (MSP) 5:55 PM
Flight 2997: dep MSP 6:30 AM, arr. EWR 10:07 AM
Flight 2789: dep EWR 11:15 AM, arr. RDU 12:45 PM
Purchase 4: $75
Flight 2950: dep RDU 10:50 AM, arr. EWR 12:20 PM
Flight 2224: dep EWR 3:30 PM, arr. PHL 4:45 PM
Note: This does require a 20 hour layover in RDU, if done exactly this way. However, the beauty of this route allows you to skip the flight to Raleigh and stay in EWR after the leg from MSP, and then just wait 4 hours for Flight 2224.
At 9:30 pm on March 24, 2006, I searched on Orbitz.com for a one-way flight on a Wednesday in mid-May from Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to within 80 miles of New York, NY. The cheapest flight that it returned was a $49 flight (plus $26 in taxes & fees) on Continental Airlines from RDU to Philadelphia International (PHL). Not a bad deal if I wanted to fly to Philadelphia--it beats Southwest by $5. However, this does consist of two legs, Continental Flight 2950, departing RDU at 10:50 and arriving at EWR at 12:20, where I would have a 3 hr, 10 min, layover before taking Continental Flight 2224, which puts me in PHL at 4:45 PM. Of course, my six hours of flight would still require that I get from Philadelphia to New York.
Perhaps you are anticipating the punchline here (or you just know your airport codes) but this airport encoded EWR is Newark Liberty International Airport, NJ.
Then I wondered, why don't I just look for this Flight 2950 that flies directly from RDU to Newark. It's $264 plus $15 taxes & fees. $279! Let's get from RDU to Penn Station in New York:
Trip 1: Fly to EWR $279 + NJ Transit train from EWR to Penn Station $14 = $293
Trip 2: Fly to PHL, via EWR $75 + SEPTA train from PHL to 30th St. Station in Philadelphia $5.50 + Amtrak train from 30th St. Station to Penn Station $95 = $175.50
Is this some bizarre way to subsidize Amtrak?
By buying the flight to PHL via EWR, and then just skipping the leg to PHL (assuming this is still legal--I think I heard they were cracking down on this) I can save $117.50 and get to Penn Station about 6 hours earlier.
Furthermore, I decided to see how much Flight 2224 from EWR to PHL cost if I started in EWR and didn't start off with Flight 2950 from RDU to EWR. It was $366 plus $15 taxes and fees! Lesson: Always buy in bulk. Flights 2224 and 2950, purchased seperately, $660. Or purchase them together for a savings of $584.
If you were at EWR, you had some free time, you wanted to fly only Continental Airlines, and your heart was set on taking Flight 2224 to PHL, you could save $162 by first buying a ticket for Flight 1418 from EWR at 6:30 AM, arriving at Tampa (TPA) at 9:20 AM for $99, and then also buy for $120 the combo ticket from TPA back to EWR on Flight 1819 (dep. 10:10 AM, arr. 12:52 PM) and Flight 2224.
Or, for a savings of only $6, you could take this trip:
Purchase 1: $105
Flight 474: dep. EWR 9:55 PM, arr. San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) 1:55 AM
Purchase 2: $167
Flight 461: dep. SJU 3:00 AM, arr. EWR 7:04 AM
Flight 1196: dep. EWR 7:45 AM, arr. Chicago Midway (MDW) 9:10 AM
Purchase 3: $103
Flight 1145: dep. MDW 9:55 AM, arr EWR 12:57 PM
Flight 2224
Or, if you were a little more ambitious, and were willing to spend $22 more for a few more frequent flier points, you could take this adventure:
Purchase 1: $99
Flight 1418: dep. EWR 6:30 AM, arr. TPA 9:20 AM
Purchase 2: $111
Flight 1707: dep. TPA 3:15 AM, arr. Houston Intercontinental (IAH) 4:29 PM
Flight 667: dep. IAH 5:50 PM, arr. Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) 8:24 PM
Purchase 3: $118
Flight 5154: dep SEA 12:50 AM, arr. Minneapolis (MSP) 5:55 PM
Flight 2997: dep MSP 6:30 AM, arr. EWR 10:07 AM
Flight 2789: dep EWR 11:15 AM, arr. RDU 12:45 PM
Purchase 4: $75
Flight 2950: dep RDU 10:50 AM, arr. EWR 12:20 PM
Flight 2224: dep EWR 3:30 PM, arr. PHL 4:45 PM
Note: This does require a 20 hour layover in RDU, if done exactly this way. However, the beauty of this route allows you to skip the flight to Raleigh and stay in EWR after the leg from MSP, and then just wait 4 hours for Flight 2224.
1 Comments:
for some reason, your post reminded me of this story:
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=orbitz_blows
--matthew
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