Originally Posted by
Bend alot
I would be very interested to know, who sets the ticket prices then?
I expect that the routes "sanctioned" by major partners are more a contract of a service with a minimum of "x" passenger capability for a fixed price - certainly not a ticket price. The aircraft type and capacity is then up to the regional operator/airline to make that fixed price work, and there are vast options there on aircraft to use such as age, max seating, cargo area and quality of service to work with.
The major sets the price. You buy a ticket at Major.com from Europe to a small town in the US. You fly a 777 to a hub, then hop on to Major Connect to the smaller town. The Express carrier must operate the aircraft type specified in the agreement.