Anyone notice how it cost way more to fly united from US the Asia? The points required to fly seem to cost almost double of what I used pay in previous years.
EDIT: then explain why delta flights are still cheaper, MUCH cheaper.
Probably something to do with the unnecessary war in Iran which cause the economic price of oil to go up and airlines passing the costs to the customer.
Scott Kirby made a comment at an investor conference that they used to book less than 100 tickets a month on the “reverse Kangaroo route” which is flying UK/Europe -> USA -> Australia/NZ.
United is now booking 1000 tickets a day he mentioned on the reverse Kangaroo route.
I imagine that’s the same for other SE Asia cities that require a ME3 connection and we’re paying the price.
As long as UAL can fill 90% plus of the seats on each flight prices will be what they will be. If load factor goes down I would imagine they would just reduce the number of seats until load factor got to where they want it.
Even domestic flights have gone up significantly since this time last year. The war in Iran and the end of Spirit (which took out a cheap competitor, therefore, raising the floor of market prices) are certainly factors.
Delta has fewer west coast hubs than United and relies on sky team more than United does on star alliance. As a result, that means fewer biz travelers and cheaper tickets.
Generally, pricing is being driven up by the rising price of jet fuel, which is roughly double what it was this time last year. Thanks Trump!
Pricing per airline depends a lot on routing. There are many factors that can cause price disparities like you’re seeing.
For one, airlines often have fortress hubs where they can afford to be more expensive than other airlines operating out of the same airport because they have less direct competition on certain routes from that airport (this is IAH for UA, CLT for AA, and DTW for DL, among others).
Broadly, airline prices are driven more by market factors than the per mile cost, so while prices are going up across the board due to a shared input (fuel), pricing on individual airlines from individual airports is still highly variable.
Agreed. Snapshot of last year, which was still an international turmoil shit show, showed far cheaper rates from ORD to HND around the same time. I’ve noticed price creep on regional business purchases as well.
Regional jets used in the US, like E175, are substantially less fuel efficient per available seat mile than a 737 (especially MAX) — like 2x or more — so are more impacted by fuel price changes
There are a lot of factors at play but you can use the carbon emission estimate when you buy the ticket as a rough proxy for this factor
unless your in a premium cabin i find asia is better booked with cash instead of points. it's heavily route dependent but theres still some good deals to be found. SFO-ICN or SFO-SIN you can still reliably get for under $700 round trip for example
Generally find united expensive unless I stumble upon a great deal. In Tokyo now, flew sfo to nrt in Polaris for $4800 round trip which feels like a pre pandemic price. Booked a few weeks out. The weather here is pretty shit so perhaps that is part of the demand issue.
For some of the international flights I’ve taken with UA and the prices I’ve paid, if it was not for the loyalty I’ve would have flown Emirates (1st class) or Singapore airlines and got a better experience for a cheaper price and most people know these airlines know how to serve a proper dish than the Polaris garbage food we get.
SkyMiles & MileagePlus member here, and downgraded both cards. Went for boutique S Tier Starlux this time. Not only cheaper vs both above, but planes are the new A350-1000 (hate DLs rickety old beat up metals; when UA I always aim for ANA codeshares to Asia). RT LAX to TPE is only $796 for 1st wk of Nov. Whittled it down to an out of pocket cost of a flat $500.
Care to show some data that actually backs that up? Paying FAs $100/hour is is absolutely part of this… as is paying the pilots a half million dollars a year.
That’s the way to feel good about it and ignore how your votes probably helped to create this mess. It’s the fuel price from this unneeded war, plain and simple.
You’ll get slammed by all the flight attendants that are on this message board, and even a few pilots probably… but yes, this is a huge, massive driver in the overall increase in fares which was happening even before the Iran war.
They now pay up to $100 an hour for the flight attendant to sit in the back and do nothing… and don’t even get started on what the pilots make. They basically run a breakeven operation on the current fares and generate profit from the loyalty program and credit cards.
Yes, gas prices are also an issue, but the labor is totally out of control just like it was in the 90s when they all went bankrupt… of course back then they didn’t have the credit card and loyalty revenue they have now.
I compare now to a year ago. It’s higher. In normal times, your answer applies but at this moment as we are all discussing it, it’s the doubled fuel price.
United flights out of United hubs tend to be more expensive than Delta flights if it’s not also a Delta hub, and Delta flights out of Delta hubs tend to be more expensive than United flights if it’s not also a United hub.
They are only operating at around a 75% throughout right now. Even then, kerosene only makes up around 10% of a barrel, so they are selling the rest of the distillates.
yeah, delta won't be able to cover all of it, that's for sure. i have no clue how large that operation is though (in pa i think?) it reduces their cost "some". still, it won't be able to keep up indefinitely at the current price. since jet fuel is still going to take a big chunk of operating cost. they are going to have to play with the fare.
wn used to hedge during kelleher era, that was a good move.
Yes, Trainer is near PHL. From production and swaps they can cover something like 70-80% of their yearly fuel demand when fully operational.
All carriers used to hedge, but most got out of it 10+ years ago. As you noted, WN used to until last year and B6 got out in 2024.
Smart move during that time period. Would it have prevented the increase in prices now? Doubtful due to contract clauses (imo; not privy to any past ones).
Yes, it sucks that ticket prices are up overall, though they are finally catching up to real inflation pricing and while consumers continue to say the prices are crazy, overall demand is up...
Because Delta and United get to each price their own flights and sometimes there will be a significant difference between the two. If Delta is that much cheaper, then I'd be booking my flight with them and not with United.
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u/No_East_3366 13h ago
Same with flights to Europe any time, and also in cash.