This is a different kind of Ask Cranky. What started as a question about why American/US Airways keeps fares so high in the Pittsburgh-New York market turned into discussion about how the airline really dropped the ball in its response to the traveler.
I tend to think airlines actually do a lot of things right, as many of you know, but communicating clearly is not one of them. In fact, that’s one of the big reasons this blog came about in the first place. I was sick of seeing such terrible misinformation (or complete lack of information) out there regarding how things work. At the urging of friends, I started writing. 
So when I see an example of bad communication coming from an airline, it gets me going. This exchange was real opportunity for American/US Airways to explain it to him, but that didn’t happen. The airline just made him more angry.
Joseph lives in Pittsburgh and sent this note over to someone at American/US Airways:
When I first moved from NYC to Pittsburgh in 2007, a midweek, coach, advance purchase non-stop from Pittsburgh to LGA was $120 RT. Even booked more than a month in advance, this Fall, that fare has been starting at $650+. The same thing happened in 2013, as well, with only a modest, short-lived dip in fares come January. That’s a 500+% increase for a flight that lasts approximately 50 minutes, with no appreciable improvements included as part of that purchase price. And don’t tell me it’s the fuel prices. Most people think I’m joking when I ask them to guess how high your fares have gone.
Looking at tomorrow’s US Airways flight #3979 from PIT to LGA, a 50-seater, only 20% of the seats are currently occupied. So, you’ve sold 11 seats on that entire plane. Most of the other nonstops for tomorrow look the same, as well. What does that tell you about your present pricing strategy?
I am presently Gold Preferred. But I may just let you keep your lounge improvements, as I am considering giving up on your airline altogether, and perhaps stick to driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike when I need to go to New York for work. I wish US Airways/American all the best (I’ve had mostly great experiences with your employees at airports, on the phone, and in the air these last 7 years), but your company obviously doesn’t need my business very much right now, nor that of anyone else in Pittsburgh.
This is from a regular customer who is clearly angry and doesn’t understand how airline pricing works. It’s a perfect opportunity to help educate him about the business, right? Wrong. This was the response he got.
Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations. On behalf of American and US Airways we are pleased to respond to your inquiry.
We very much appreciate the time you took to send us your suggestion about our service. Your idea certainly has merit and it clearly reflects the thought that went into it.
It is always helpful for us to consider our service from our customers’ perspective. We try to be responsive to our customers and carefully analyze trend information based upon their reactions. In this way we can identify those service elements that are most appealing as well as improve those that produce a negative response.
Mr. xxxxxx, our aim is to suit the needs and wishes of the majority of our customers. As we determine the appropriate action in this regard, your preferences will be considered. Thank you for giving us the benefit of your observations.
NO NO NO NO NO. Opportunity wasted. Instead of putting together a coherent response, this clearly shows that nobody even bothered reading the letter. It’s so generic that it’s only going to piss him off further. (And it did, he took to social media to rally his friends.)
Of course airlines can’t talk about future pricing legally, but that doesn’t mean they can’t put together a generically useful response. Something like this would work.
Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations. On behalf of American and US Airways we are pleased to respond to your inquiry.
We understand that airline pricing is complex, so we’re glad we have the opportunity to explain. In each market we fly, we file dozens of different fares and then we use systems that help us to determine how many tickets to sell at each level. The process of setting the fares and determining how many we sell is all based on demand in each individual market.
In this particular case, fares may be higher than they have been in the past, but that’s because we’re responding to market conditions. In many markets, fares were lower than they should have been in the past. That’s why you’ve seen other airlines leave some of these markets entirely. In our case, we want to continue to serve the travelers in important markets like this, but for us to do that, our fares must be at a level to make the service sustainable.
For many of our customers, a frequent flight schedule is most important, and we do what we can to make that possible. For others, price is most important. If price is what matters most to you, then here are some tips to help find lower fares.
- Fly on days with lower demand. Peak travel days can vary in each market, but those days will likely have higher fares due to higher levels of demand.
- Fly on flights at off-peak times. In a business market, for example, morning and evening flights may have the highest demand. Look at flights during the middle of the day to see if it saves you money.
- Buy a roundtrip ticket. In some of our markets, you can save money by buying a roundtrip ticket instead of two separate one way tickets.
- Buy tickets further in advance. In many market, our fares are often lower when bought at least a couple weeks in advance.
- Stay over a Saturday night. In some of our markets, staying over a Saturday night at your destination can help you to save money.
Hopefully this is helpful information. Please know that we do want to make our fares as affordable as possible for our customers.
I’m not suggesting this letter is perfect. That’s what legions of communications employees can perfect. But it shows that the airline is listening to the complaint, is giving a basic explanation, and finally, is trying to help solve the problem. It’s also generic enough that the airline could use this is a mass response to pricing inquiries that come in.
In the case of Pittsburgh – New York, it’s the last three points that do the trick. With a Saturday night stay and a 14 day advance purchase, I see fares as low as $214 roundtrip.
Will this response make him happy to pay $600+? Of course not, but it shows the airline is listening and that at least builds some respect.
So why can’t airlines do a better job in cases like these? I wish I knew the answer to that.
