Change in Fares
Jul 26, 2016, 1:15 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 75
Change in Fares
I've been looking to book 2 tickets from ORD to FCO operated by Alitalia departing in approx. 2 weeks. This morning while trying to book I selected outbound economy (V Class Fare) and return economy plus (W Class Fare - was cheaper than reg Econ Fare). While in the purchasing screen on Delta.com my system "locked up" and I was booted out of the booking window. When I logged back my trip cost had increased by approx. $500 per seat (same fare classes and seats available). Has anyone else seen such a dramatic increase in price in such a short amount of time provided the fare classes stayed the same? Doesn't make sense unless the original fare which was $500 cheaper was a mistake.
Jul 26, 2016, 1:29 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,042
A lot of times the price changes at the very end with mixed fare classes like this. It could be something as simple as a lag in updating pricing, or the final combination of fares don't work together like the system thought at first.
Jul 26, 2016, 1:34 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Anywhere but home
Programs: UA 1K/MM, DL GM/MM, HH Dia, PC Plat, MR Gold, ALL Sil,
Posts: 4,552
Recently I've also seen DL price W (Comfort) fares less than V (main cabin) on domestic routes but haven't actually purchased any. My guess is the lower W fares would have errored out like yours, but who knows.
Jul 26, 2016, 7:41 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta PM, 1MM
Posts: 3,784
I'm not sure of the exact moment of the change, but from one day to the next in the past week a RT MSP-AMS fare changed from $655 to $1150; both are V fares. The low fare may have risen slightly but was under $700 before jumping to $1150.
Jul 27, 2016, 7:39 am
#5
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,413
Sometimes there are multiple fares in the same fare class where the fare rules have different advanced purchase requirements, minimum stay requirements, etc. If OP is right at the two week threshold, this easily could be the explanation. Alternatively, there could have been a general fare increase, particularly by AZ or on this route, although I think TATL leisure fare increases for RTs TO Europe are very unlikely at this time.