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Wolves With Low-Fare Paint Jobs
Charles Leocha · December 6, 2004

I am dismayed to hear of the travails of some of the country's low cost carriers (LCCs). Independence Air and ATA have both been the subject of repeatedly negative news stories-in the case of ATA, bankruptcy; and in the case of Independence Air, rumors of bankruptcy.

Indianapolis, support ATA. Washington, support Independence Air. If you want to maintain understandable, fair, transparent and reasonable airfares, fly on these airlines every chance you have. If the majors succeed in driving them out these markets, your airfares will skyrocket.

Both seem to be the victims of their own overexpansion or overly ambitious launch plans. However, in both of the cases there has been the hand of the major airlines marshalling their forces to focus on niche markets.

The majors, Northwest, in the case ATA, and United/USAirways, in the case of Independence Air, have dramatically lowered their prices and changed many schedules to drive these competitors out of some of their most profitable markets.

They are major airline wolves in low-cost sheep's clothing.

Only days after ATA declared bankruptcy and decided to pull flights from Chicago-Midway and concentrate their rebuilding efforts in Indianapolis, Northwest decided to start new service from that same airport. This service came with lavish frequent flyer awards and low, low fares

Northwest is promising Indianapolis passengers the world. This is nothing more than a shakedown - big league version of a shell game. Don't fall for it.

Northwest promises of low fares will all fall to the wayside if they can manage to force ATA to stop flying. Look at their pricing across the country. Every flight, where there is competition from LCCs, is sold at a matching discount. Virtually, every flight where Northwest has no competition is sold at exorbitant, rapacious major-airlines airfares.

Indianapolis, if you let ATA die, I guarantee your airfares will spike within days of ATA's demise.

The same goes for Independence Air with its battle against the major-airlines Dark Side in the Washington DC area. United once virtually controlled Dulles as a fortress hub together with USAirways. Both of these airlines seem to have coordinated schedules and have dramatically lowered prices to match Independence Air.

Don't fall for this wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ploy.

Granted, the attraction of Dulles is not as compelling as Ronald Regan airport for travelers to Washington DC. However, Dulles is now a major destination in its own right with scores of businesses setting up shop in the once hinterlands of Northern Virginia and the continuing sprawl of Washington suburbia.

If passengers want to pay the higher airfares to travel into Ronald Regan, let them do it. But if Washington area passengers want to have Dulles develop into a reasonably-priced alternative such as Baltimore-Washington International they will have to fight for it and vote with their pocketbooks for their long term interests.

Delta's carrier Song and United's Ted are both the same old, price-gouging, major airlines disguised in new paint jobs. In United's case, the low-fares are even more egregious. Their pricing is being managed under the veil of bankruptcy that allows them to skirt payments to creditors while the LCCs they are targeting have to play by a different set of rules.

The majors are using these low-cost vestments to pull the wool over the public's eyes. Don't be deluded. Don't mistake frequent flyer miles for real cash. Though, today, they may give you a dime, tomorrow, they will hold you up.

Remember, all major-airline low-cost efforts end as soon as they vanquish their competition.

Charles Leocha is a commentator based in Boston.