Could it be because they have to file tariffs with regulatory agencies,
declaring their prices in advance?

Bob Gardner

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:fIspd.85397$V41.82999@attbi_s52...
Here's a mystery that I just cannot answer:

To fly to Las Vegas from Chicago costs $99.00. (For example.)

To fly to Cedar Rapids from Chicago costs $300.

Naturally, at that price practically no one flies on that plane into Cedar
Rapids.

Question: WHY do the airlines that fly into Cedar Rapids insist on flying
back and forth with mostly empty planes? Would it not make sense, say,
30 minutes before departure, to drop the price until the plane was full?
This is basic "Econ 101" -- if empty, lower the price until demand matches
supply.

Their actions seem to defy logic. In the lodging industry, you're going
to find rooms are discounted much more aggressively after 10 PM than they
are at 3 PM, simply because no innkeeper wants to sit empty, and the odds
of being able to charge full-rate at that time of day are slim. Yet no
airline seems to do it this way, at least on the short hops.

If it were MY airline, I'd sure as hell rather make a hundred bucks than
nothing!

There must be something else in play here -- anyone know?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"