Lack of competition sends Boston airfares soaring
Airfares to Boston are going up -- way up -- after today, which is the last day Southwest Airlines flies there from Philadelphia.
Ticket prices are higher on US Airways Group Inc. flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and three other cities where, on Jan. 8, Southwest eliminated nonstop service.
The reason: a monopoly.
US Airways is the only airline that flies nonstop from Philadelphia to Boston; Pittsburgh; Providence, R.I.; Manchester, N.H.; and Jacksonville, Fla. Last month, Southwest stopped flying from here to those cities because it could not make money.
A check of US Airways' website shows the cheapest nonstop round-trip flight to Boston is $220, and it requires a Saturday-night stay.
If passengers return on the same day, Monday to Friday, the fare is a whopping $720.
If a traveler spends one or two nights in Boston, the fare drops to $520 round-trip.
Fares are cheaper on Saturday -- $320 to fly to Boston on Thursday, Feb. 23, for example, and return to Philadelphia on Saturday, Feb. 25. But it costs $520 to return Friday, Feb. 24.
"We are returning to the days of 10 years ago, when flying Philly to Boston was over $1 a mile. This is simply gouging," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition in Radnor. "It's taking advantage of business travelers, who really don't have another option to get from Boston to Philly, or Philly to Boston, efficiently."
Jeffrey Erlbaum, owner of ETA Travel in West Conshohocken, said that, when Southwest flew the route, same-day fares were about $250. "Now, it's in the $700 range if you want to go in the morning and come back that same night."
Erlbaum said more Boston-bound clients were opting to take the train. "The Amtrak ticket is $147 round-trip."
When airlines have a monopoly, they stick it to the business traveler, who they figure can expense it, said George Hobica, founder of the travel comparison website AirfareWatchdog.com.
"Consolidation leads to higher airfares. Two things happen: People will drive when possible on shorter distances, because they are not going to pay those fares," Hobica said.
"And sometimes, another airline will go in -- Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways. Some of the discount airlines will pick up the pieces."
If fares get too high, it will invite competition, said William Swelbar, research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Center for Air Transportation.
"It's a fascinating case study that Southwest was not able to make a go of it and that they vacated Providence and Manchester, too, which were their secondary doors into the Boston metro market," Swelbar said.
"It speaks loudly to the presence that US Airways has in Philadelphia, and its frequent-flier base. If Southwest can't make a go of it, it's hard to imagine who might."
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