Really? What measure are you using to determine that Amtrak ain't broke? Compared to other nationwide passenger railways I've used in other industrialized countries Amtrak has a lot of fixing to be done.
Compared to the only comparable system in the world, VIA Rail, Amtrak is great. If you want to fund Amtrak to the point where it is competitive on more than a niche basis, go right ahead. I won't stop you. Actually, I spend a good portion of my time advocating for improved rail service, but that's neither here nor there- and completely irrelevant to Amtrak's fare policy intended to do best with the small percentage of the market interested in using them at any price.
I'm the selfish one eh? Never mind that I've never made any reservations I didn't need or use. Not to mention that the scalpers actually leave Amtrak with an unsold room because I'll simply fly instead. I enjoy Amtrak but it's already a sacrifice on my part to adjust my schedule to match up with Amtrak's meager offerings that are only routinely on-time when we're in the middle of a "Great Recession."
Amtrak doesn't lose a customer because you chose not to take them. They just happen to get someone else instead of you. Fact of the matter is, most trains are running with their sleepers sold out. Sold out is sold out. The freight operators ability to operate their trains on time or lack thereof is, like your previous comment, irrelevant.
How does more capacity address the issue of people holding two or more rooms and then dropping them when their locked into high-bucket fares? Who are these rich people who supposedly wait until the last minute to snap up every high-bucket fare? It just doesn't make any sense how Amtrak's policies are helping anyone but scalpers and wishy-washy types who can commit to spending actual money.
If Amtrak had more capcity, they wouldn't be charging these prices for their rooms, they'd be having a lot more rooms available. Furthremore, any room that goes back into inventory goes back into inventory at its original bucket price. That is, a room I pay $125 for will go back into inventory at $125, and be the next to sell. Doesn't matter if it was at $750 10 minutes before I cancelled. You can come along and pay $125 for my room.
So profit is the same thing as slightly less negative cash flow? I'm sorry but how can I take you seriously when you talk like that?
Welcome to accounting 101. Class is now in session. If one business section is making a positive cash flow, it is a profitable business. Sleepers, for Amtrak, are profitable. Coach is not. The profit generated by the sleepers offsets the loss generated by the coaches. If Amtrak were to discontinue its sleepers, its subsidy would go up, even assuming no loss in total passenger numbers.
And so long as that remains the case Amtrak will continue to be a failure. Yes, that's right, a failure. Airlines are used by almost everyone. Amtrak is not. In other industrialized nations passenger rail is used by almost everyone. Amtrak is not. This needs to change if Amtrak expects to grow substantially. Otherwise whatever stimulus dollars are thrown at it will eventually be used up and Amtrak will slowly shrink back to it's former shell of a railway.
Amtrak could build a high speed network across this country, serving all major cities at reasonable hours and with quick speeds, not to mention good frequencies. Just give them about 5 trillion bucks to build it, and about 10 billion a year in subsidies, and it will happen. Then we can talk about Amtrak carrying airline passengers. Until then, with a sense of realism, Amtrak's LD business can and should generate the best possible revenue from the limited passenger network it has to draw from- those people who are willing to spend more time on Amtrak because they can't stand the airlines.
So ****-off the scalpers and refund abusers and be done with it. Why should Amtrak be beholden to a market that has nowhere else to go? I know the system I'm advocating works because the most successful airline in the country has been using it for as long as I can remember. Even in those situations when I'm buying a ticket on the next flight out I know I'm getting a reasonable fee for a last minute fare. They're happy, I'm happy, we all get what we want and nobody gets screwed. Seems fair enough to me.
I don't scalp. So far, I have booked only one trip in my life that I haven't either taken or cancelled with at least 6 months remaining to trip time. I am so fed up with just about every airline practice, if I became king of the world, I'd find the people that came up with the policies and have them lined up against a wall and shot. Then I'd have most of the airlines equipment bulldozed into the sea, where that garbage belongs.
The airline policies are a result of a lot of collusion and a market that had nowhere else to go because they can't imagine spending more time than absolutely needed to go from point to point. They take advantage. They treat their customers like children and garbage. They ignore the fact that I am their customer and I don't have to use them. Because if I want to get from New York to Florida in under 5 hours, I don't have a choice.
I use Amtrak because they don't treat me like I am not an important part to their business. I use them because I can book my trip in advance, locking in fare and space, without fear that perhaps some unthinkable contingency would cause me to cancel and lose myself a lot of money.
I have met people who like flying as a concept. I have met people who, for some reason, have no major problem with the cluster**** that is commercial airline travel. But I have not met anyone who likes their draconian policies, their "only game in town" attitude, or their rotten onboard conditions. And you suggest we add that horror to the only breath of fresh air we have less.
If Amtrak did this, I wouldn't start flying. No, dear lord. I'd just stop traveling, full stop.