Why undercutting other airlines is a bad idea

So you see a juicy route with 2500 demand and you want to get a share of the candy, right? Undercutting other airlines on such routes might make you money for a week or so in-game, but once other airlines find out that you lowered your ticket prices to $500 when they are charging $750, they will also lower their fares. You will be tempted to lower your prices again to $300, only to find 100% passenger load in all classes but you are losing money. You want to raise it back, but it is too late, as the other airlines on the route also lowered their prices to $300. Now nobody is making a profit, and passengers are not willing to pay $750 for the route again because one scamline is flying the route for $250.

The aim of such an activity is to make other airlines withdraw from the route and then beeing free to raise the price back. It's called dumping. Situations like the one you're writing about also happen, but mostly in mid/late game, when nobody really cares if 1 of 1000s of their routes makes profit lol

I giggle when people do this. what you REALLY need to do is put 80 seats on an empty 2000 demand route and charge 3x the default price

The fantasy of the people who lowered the tickets prices is that, make other airlines withdraw from a route, but that is very strange, only happens when the other airline is very little, i never made undercutting but i "suffer" many times, and never withdraw of the route, if somebody lowered the prices of any route i will find the way to stay in the route... even with a minimun profit. so i think mastacheifa118 is right

So you see a juicy route with 2500 demand and you want to get a share of the candy, right? Undercutting other airlines on such routes might make you money for a week or so in-game, but once other airlines find out that you lowered your ticket prices to $500 when they are charging $750, they will also lower their fares. You will be tempted to lower your prices again to $300, only to find 100% passenger load in all classes but you are losing money. You want to raise it back, but it is too late, as the other airlines on the route also lowered their prices to $300. Now nobody is making a profit, and passengers are not willing to pay $750 for the route again because one scamline is flying the route for $250.

Ok?

I really don't see the point of this.

AE is basically being an airline manager on god mode. People will be doing that. If anyone tried to deal with that in the real world, the FCC would be hot on their ass. Just deal with it and withdraw. If you're losing money, there is 0 reason to keep that route going.

the best is when the other person is in your alliance.

I remember I had an airline called Polandwings, a huge big airline, and this airline came along calling itself Polishwings trying to run other routes, so I undercut it so much it died. Good days.

that's kinda what real airlines do when there's a new airline on the market. just like nnr said, a big airline dumping a small new airline

Thing is... all of the airlines that I observed doing this have under 500M value and under 100 aircraft.

The fantasy of the people who lowered the tickets prices is that, make other airlines withdraw from a route, but that is very strange, only happens when the other airline is very little, i never made undercutting but i "suffer" many times, and never withdraw of the route, if somebody lowered the prices of any route i will find the way to stay in the route... even with a minimun profit. so i think mastacheifa118 is right

When we were splitting the demand between three airlines, and we kept economy prices at $1750...
 

Then some kid comes in with 58x 737-800 flights a week, with no IFE nor IFS but the ticket is $500...

Yeah, it just has a way of tearing apart a market.

When we were splitting the demand between three airlines, and we kept economy prices at $1750...
 
Then some kid comes in with 58x 737-800 flights a week, with no IFE nor IFS but the ticket is $500...
 
Yeah, it just has a way of tearing apart a market.

Charlotte > San Diego.

It's simply demand and supply.

If there are more seats on a route, the equilibrium price where everyone still gets 100%LF will naturally fall.

When we were splitting the demand between three airlines, and we kept economy prices at $1750...
 
Then some kid comes in with 58x 737-800 flights a week, with no IFE nor IFS but the ticket is $500...
 
Yeah, it just has a way of tearing apart a market.