Hey Folks maybe Delta airlines will drop their fares to Dominican Republic.
Mum's the word on Delta airfares
By Marilyn Adams, USA TODAY
Delta Air Lines declined to comment Monday on published reports that the No. 3 airline is poised to cut some domestic fares and ease ticketing rules as part of a nationwide pricing change. (Related video: National airlines struggle)
Still waiting: Delta is also overhauling its entire schedule, hoping to limit future flight disruptions and delays.
By Tim Boyle, Getty Images
Delta on Monday was hastily reserving large amounts of advertising space for Wednesday in large newspapers, including USA TODAY, for an announcement, according to sources outside the airline.
Time magazine reported on its Web site that Atlanta-based Delta is preparing to announce a simplified fare structure designed to win back travelers who have defected to low-fare competitors such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue.
Delta, citing federal law prohibiting airlines from discussing prospective fare changes, wouldn't comment on the Time story or the ad buys.
If Delta reduces its highest fares on domestic routes, says consumer travel expert Terry Trippler, it will have to reduce the number of deeply discounted seats on those flights or risk losing too much revenue. Delta has been posting heavy losses and cannot afford a cash drain, he says.
In a speech last month in New York, Delta CEO Jerry Grinstein lauded an experimental fare structure called SimpliFares launched last fall at Delta's Cincinnati hub.
It offers one-way coach fares capped at $499, no Saturday-night-stay requirement and lower re-booking fees. Last-minute ticket prices dropped as much as 60% on some routes, Delta said at the time.
Grinstein said Delta's Cincinnati-based bookings rose 30% after the experiment began. "SimpliFares is affordable and easy to understand," Grinstein said at New York's Wings Club.
The Cincinnati experiment mirrors the fare structures of discount competitors, including Orlando-based AirTran and New York-based JetBlue. Discount leader Southwest Airlines pioneered the simple fare structure decades ago, offering just a few categories of one-way fares and no Saturday-night-stay requirement.
Delta and other traditional airlines, including American, United and US Airways, are struggling to survive amid heavy losses, high fuel costs and brutal competition from discount carriers. United and US Airways are in bankruptcy reorganization. Last fall, Delta narrowly averted a bankruptcy filing by winning $1 billion a year in contract concessions from its pilots union and concessions from some creditors.
Delta also is shutting down its Dallas hub. On Jan. 31, Delta will restructure the huge Atlanta hub, smoothing the peaks and valleys in its daily Atlanta flight schedule in hopes of cutting costs and reducing delays.
Delta isn't the only big airline experimenting with fares. Late last year American Airlines, the No. 1 carrier, restructured fares at its Miami hub to compete against discount carriers in an experiment American said it may expand later.
Mum's the word on Delta airfares
By Marilyn Adams, USA TODAY
Delta Air Lines declined to comment Monday on published reports that the No. 3 airline is poised to cut some domestic fares and ease ticketing rules as part of a nationwide pricing change. (Related video: National airlines struggle)
Still waiting: Delta is also overhauling its entire schedule, hoping to limit future flight disruptions and delays.
By Tim Boyle, Getty Images
Delta on Monday was hastily reserving large amounts of advertising space for Wednesday in large newspapers, including USA TODAY, for an announcement, according to sources outside the airline.
Time magazine reported on its Web site that Atlanta-based Delta is preparing to announce a simplified fare structure designed to win back travelers who have defected to low-fare competitors such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue.
Delta, citing federal law prohibiting airlines from discussing prospective fare changes, wouldn't comment on the Time story or the ad buys.
If Delta reduces its highest fares on domestic routes, says consumer travel expert Terry Trippler, it will have to reduce the number of deeply discounted seats on those flights or risk losing too much revenue. Delta has been posting heavy losses and cannot afford a cash drain, he says.
In a speech last month in New York, Delta CEO Jerry Grinstein lauded an experimental fare structure called SimpliFares launched last fall at Delta's Cincinnati hub.
It offers one-way coach fares capped at $499, no Saturday-night-stay requirement and lower re-booking fees. Last-minute ticket prices dropped as much as 60% on some routes, Delta said at the time.
Grinstein said Delta's Cincinnati-based bookings rose 30% after the experiment began. "SimpliFares is affordable and easy to understand," Grinstein said at New York's Wings Club.
The Cincinnati experiment mirrors the fare structures of discount competitors, including Orlando-based AirTran and New York-based JetBlue. Discount leader Southwest Airlines pioneered the simple fare structure decades ago, offering just a few categories of one-way fares and no Saturday-night-stay requirement.
Delta and other traditional airlines, including American, United and US Airways, are struggling to survive amid heavy losses, high fuel costs and brutal competition from discount carriers. United and US Airways are in bankruptcy reorganization. Last fall, Delta narrowly averted a bankruptcy filing by winning $1 billion a year in contract concessions from its pilots union and concessions from some creditors.
Delta also is shutting down its Dallas hub. On Jan. 31, Delta will restructure the huge Atlanta hub, smoothing the peaks and valleys in its daily Atlanta flight schedule in hopes of cutting costs and reducing delays.
Delta isn't the only big airline experimenting with fares. Late last year American Airlines, the No. 1 carrier, restructured fares at its Miami hub to compete against discount carriers in an experiment American said it may expand later.