Get it while it is hot!

[PaulM]

Tell me again. What is the business rationale for this?

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Poor management. No business rationale, no excuses.

 

[Steve4031]

I suspect the roomette fare does not include rail fare. What happened when you clicked on it?

 

[Ryan]

Poor management. No business rationale, no excuses.

Supply and demand. Pretty basic, really.

 

[the_traveler]

The law of supply & demand. Different buckets between coach & roomettes.

That is also why you may occasionally find Acela priced lower than Regionals. Many people do not even compare the 2, thinking Acela costs so much. So they just price Regionals, and end up paying high bucket instead of a low to mid bucket Acela.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I suspect the roomette fare does not include rail fare. What happened when you clicked on it?

You are incorrect in this case. The price for the room includes the lowest rail fare. This is yield management. The lowest two coach buckets sold out, leaving the highest bucket. The lowest buckets of roomettes are not sold out. It is actually cheaper to buy two roomettes instead of a family bedroom due to the soft travel and glut of space January to mid February, particularly going north.
If the prices fill the space during a down period, I say go for it. Get the sleepers and stimulate ridership.

 

[niemi24s]

The only coach fare available when the quote from Amtrak was printed was the Flexible fare and those fares are very nearly twice the Value fare. And Saver fares are 80% of the Value fare, so the two coach fares NOT displayed would have been about $108 and $135 (to go along with the displayed Flexible fare of $271).

The Auto Train sleeper fare shown as "Premium" of $257 is the sum of the low bucket coach fare (Value fare) of $109 and the low bucket Roomette upcharge of $148.

This fare bucket chart might make it a bit clearer:

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

This is what happens when you over-automate something like fare management; the computer doesn't know the difference between Coach and Sleeper other than just being a series of numbers. Hopefully someone snapped these Roomettes up FAST! Now does that fare also include the vehicle charge?

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

This is what happens when you over-automate something like fare management; the computer doesn't know the difference between Coach and Sleeper other than just being a series of numbers. Hopefully someone snapped these Roomettes up FAST! Now does that fare also include the vehicle charge?

No, and it is not permitted for someone to travel on the Auto Train without a vehicle. Cars are around $250, with different prices for other vehicles.

 

[Triley]

There's also the difference in the cancellation policy... Most everyone here seems to ignore the fact that this same situation can and does happen on the airlines. I can not even begin to tell you how often I see flexible coach fares lower than unrefundable business/first class fares.

Flexible coach can be fully refunded at any time.

Sleepers have a 20% charge prior to the 14 day mark if you want it refunded in the original form of payment. 14 days or closer to departure it can not be refunded to the method of payment, but they will issue a voucher (and before anyone says anything, remember this website houses frequent Amtrak riders. Your typical riders may not want a voucher that expires in one year.)

 

[Triley]

The following picture is fares for Air Canada from Boston to Halifax on the same date used in the example at the beginning of the thread.

First column is what the call Tango fares. 25% mileage accumulation, pay to select any seat, and $200CAD change fee.

Next is Flex. Basic seat selection, 100% mileage accumulation, and $200CAD change fee. (They cut you a break on certain routes where v the Tango fare is a $150CAD same-day change fee and Flex is $75CAD.)

Next is Latitude, which is fully refundable. Free access to bulkhead/premium seating, a $9 food voucher if a menu selection is available on the flight, and 125% mileage accumulation. No change fee or standby fee.

Next is the restricted business class fare. Note how on some flights business is half the fare of the Latitude fare? $200CAD change fee for that class.

For refundable business class the premium is anywhere from double the $721 restricted business class fare, to only $25 over the Latitude fare (on the flights where Latitude is up to $1970, and business is $1529.

My point is...Amtrak has a lot of faults, and plenty of them with the fares. But for all those taking a dump on Amtrak because of the Flexible fare being more than a sleeper? Get out in to the real world, we're not the only company to charge an exorbitant premium for a flexible fare.

 

[Triley]

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