Empire Builder 2021-22 obscene pricing

[toddinde]

The airlines are exactly the same. Walk up and buy a first class ticket shortly before you want to travel during a peak travel period, and you’ll see what I mean. I’m not justifying yield management. The Deutsch Bahn has a similar system, but it’s much more based on the earlier you buy, the cheaper. DB also sells rail cards that will give you a 25% or 50% discount on any ticket for a year for paying an upfront price for the card. You can even buy an annual rail pass and ride all trains for one price for a year. I’m sure things will continue to evolve as Amtrak expands.

 

[nferr]

Maybe they are not the ones missing the point ... even low bucket fares are too high !!!

If that were true nobody would book them.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

That's the high bucket price (actually $2464 for PDX to CHI). Your current alternatives on Amtrak are:

• 3 Jan '22 on the CS and CZ for $1172
• 4 Jan '22 on the EB for $1144

Don't forget Southwest, Delta, United, American and a few others. And no 99 cent quality TV dinners needed.

 

[IndyLions]

I agree that sleeper prices are high. Unfortunately, if you look at the traditional price of sleeping accommodations adjusted for inflation - you will find that sleepers were always very expensive. That was true even when supply was plentiful back in the Pullman days.

I’ve seen lots of ideas on this forum such as lie flat seats, a return of slumbercoaches, etc. as a budget option for travelers. The best one I’ve heard yet would be for Amtrak to purchase some sleepers that are “all roomette” geared towards the budget traveler. Not including meals (like the slumbercoach of the 90’s) would also be appropriate

This wouldn’t be to replace the current offerings, but to augment them. Kind of like the Auto Train has some all-Bedroom Superliners.

Unfortunately, in this ADA era - which in general is a good thing but really limits new equipment specs – that probably won’t happen.

One thing they could do that would not involve new equipment would be to more aggressively seek to sell empty sleeper capacity to passengers who are already on board. In the early 2000s I purchased a roomette while aboard the Capitol Limited when capacity opened up due to some missed connections from the west. That was a lifesaver, as I was traveling with two small toddlers at the time, and had to change to the CL because of the cancellation of my Cardinal sleeper.

They seem to have forgotten how to do that these days. I know you can call the hotline from the train, but that seems silly.

 

[bms]

I took one Economics class in the mid-60's but when we instituted a form of seasonal demand-based pricing on the Portland<>Salem commuter club bus it worked like a charm. HOWEVER, the low price for summer months was lower than the cost of driving to work with some vacation days assumed. Ridership grew that summer, though it had dropped during the two preceding summers. We retained the new customers in the autumn when the price went up.

From this and other experiences I'd say that Variable Pricing works but only when the low fare sells surplus capacity at rates that match or undercut the competition AND where there is some predictability for people who plan, such as our monthly commuter bus fare or the old CN Red, White and Blue fares.

Now perhaps you can explain to me how a Reverse Demand Curve works...

I actually may know this. There's a theory in economics that if you have a luxury good, people might pay more for it just because it costs more. You see this with a Supreme t-shirt that costs 60 dollars.

 

[railiner]

I actually may know this. There's a theory in economics that if you have a luxury good, people might pay more for it just because it costs more. You see this with a Supreme t-shirt that costs 60 dollars.

Those that believe, "You get what you pay for", are sometimes right, but not always. Just because an item costs more than another, intended for the same purpose can sometimes be a guide as to its quality. But you need to thoroughly research it, to be sure. Even if multiple sources have different prices for an identical item, you also need to consider the customer experience with the different sources...

 

[Willbridge]

I actually may know this. There's a theory in economics that if you have a luxury good, people might pay more for it just because it costs more. You see this with a Supreme t-shirt that costs 60 dollars.

Right! Maybe that's the theory behind Amtrak sleeper pricing.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Unfortunately, in this ADA era - which in general is a good thing but really limits new equipment specs – that probably won’t happen.

Adding 1 ADA room isn’t going to hurt the capacity of the car that much.

But are roomettes typically selling out faster than Bedrooms?

 

[Sidney]

I was on 27 last month from Chi to Pdx.Every roomette in my car was sold. Only one bedroom was sold and this was for the entire trip. Of course there is more space in a bedroom,but the prices are outrageous. I would imagine that's why all but one remained empty.

 

[IndyLions]

Adding 1 ADA room isn’t going to hurt the capacity of the car that much.

This is just a total guess from looking at diagrams, but if you eliminated standard bedrooms, you could probably add 4 roomettes. If you also eliminated the H room, you could probably add another 3 or 4 roomettes.

That would get you from the current capacity of 12, up to potentially 19 or 20. That’s a significant increase.