The Saturday-night-stay requirement is inching its way back into airfares as carriers, including United Airlines, look for ways to increase revenues.
Airlines previously used Saturday-stay requirements to differentiate business travelers from vacationers, so they could charge more to business travelers whose companies were less price-sensitive while remaining attractive to leisure travelers paying their own way.
Delta dropped the Saturday-night-stay requirement in 2005 in favor of a simplified fare structure that was seen as a way to compete against low-cost carriers. Other airlines ended up matching some of the changes, but many warned it would cause a significant drop in revenues.
Now, with high fuel costs putting pressure on airlines, some — including United, the largest carrier at Denver International Airport — have reversed course.
“It’s something that’s been slowly starting to come back,” United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. “It is in some markets but not all.”
Urbanski said the requirement hasn’t shown up on any nonstop flights from Denver but may appear on flights that require stopovers. She said United followed Continental, which initiated the change.
Continental spokeswoman Julie King said adding back the Saturday-night-stay requirement this year in certain markets “is part of our focus to better manage revenue across the system.”
Airfare expert Terry Trippler said the move is another way airlines can generate more revenue without increasing fares.
“It’s going to hurt those business travelers who were saving the bucks,” Trippler said. “The hotels are $200 or $300 a night.”
Carriers are experimenting with other ways of generating revenue. United on Monday said it plans to start charging most passengers $25 to check a second bag.
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com
