After a drought of many months, Flash EasyUp fares started poking up again on Aug. 27, starting at $1,971 on SkyTeam carriers Air France, Alitalia, Delta, and KLM, from East and West Coast cities to Barcelona, Helsinki, London, and Madrid. The next day fares fell to $1,375. Subsequently, the fares changed by the minute, often before our newsroom could post or email them. Here is a recap of what happened.
FCF’s Flash EasyUp Business Class Fare Journal
[table_opt style="blue-header" id="2261 " width="" alignment="center" responsive="all" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter"]
[["What Happened","Date","Starting Fare","Normal Lowest Discounted Fare","Savings","<em>FCF <\/em>Commentary"],["Flash EasyUp fares reappeared after several months' absence","Aug. 27","$1,971 ","$4,148 ","$2,177 \/ 52%","SkyTeam carriers Air France, Alitalia, Delta, and KLM came out with Flash EasyUp fares to Barcelona, Madrid, and London from many U.S. cities with no advance-purchase, no travel date restrictions, or minimum stay requirements. Fares were valid into 2015."],["SkyTeam Flash EasyUp fares reduced","Aug. 28","$1,375 ","$3,823 ","$2,448 \/ 64%","In a bold but short-lived move, SkyTeam reduced fares almost to what they were in 2012, but they only lasted a few hours."],["SkyTeam Flash EasyUp fares return","Sept. 2","$1,976 ","$4,148 ","$2,172 \/ 52%","Helsinki is added; Barcelona, Madrid, and London also offered as before. "],["Oneworld joins the fare war with more destinations and airlines; fares are pulled the same day","Sept. 3","$1,995 ","$4,125 ","$2,130 \/ 52%","American, British Airways, Iberia, and US Airways come out with Flash EasyUp fares to Amsterdam, Milan, Paris, and Rome from many U.S. cities with no advance-purchase, travel-date, or minimum-stay requirements. Many fares were valid into 2015. <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"><strong>A case of Oneworld going after Air France, Alitalia, and KLM hubs, given that the SkyTeam EasyUp fares were aimed at Oneworld hub cities. Tit for tat. <\/strong><\/span>"],["<span style=\"color: #800000;\">Through all of this pea-shooting in just a week, Star Alliance airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, and United stayed on the sidelines. Yet another good reason not to be married to one airline\u0092s mileage program.<\/span>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["SkyTeam Flash EasyUp fares settle down","Sept. 5-8","$1,869 ","$4,148 ","$2,279 \/ 55%","Only changing $50 or so."],["Star Alliance carrier Austrian comes out with its own deal","Sept. 11","$2,217 ","$4,727 ","$2,510 \/ 53%","Other Star Alliance partners don't match and the fare is pulled within a few days, even before its ticketing deadline, Dec. 12."],["Oneworld gets back in the fray","Sept. 15","$2,095 ","$4,125 ","$2,030 \/ 49% ","Similar to American, British Airways, Iberia, and US Airways EasyUp fares of Sept. 3; the fares only last a few hours."],["SkyTeam adds a restriction","Sept. 16","$1,969 ","$4,148 ","$2,179 \/ 53%","Lowest fares now require 7-day advance purchase; no-advance fares rise by about $200."],["Oneworld is back with Flash EasyUp fares","Sept. 19","$2,027 ","$4,125 ","$2,098 \/ 51%","Fares and routes are about the same; plus SkyTeam pulls the 7-day advance requirement it added 3 days before."],["SkyTeam and Oneworld Flash EasyUp fares are back","Sept. 23","$1,961 ","$4,125 ","$2,164 \/ 52%","Oneworld airlines\u0097again\u0097pulled fares after one day."],["EasyUp Fares continue with SkyTeam","Sept. 25","$1,809 ","$4,125 ","$2,316 \/ 56%","Two alerts, each highlighted fares to London and Spain."],["New SkyTeam EasyUp Fares to Paris","Sept. 29","$2,227 ","$5,012 ","$2,785 \/ 55%","Fares are only valid for one day, and only from three major US Airways gateway cities."],["Oneworld Flash EasyUp fares are back to new destinations","Sept. 30","$2,056 ","$4,125 ","$2,069 \/ 50%","Oneworld fares came back to cities like Amsterdam, Milan, Paris, and Rome on American, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, and US Airways\u0092; they lasted less than a day."]]