So I got word a few hours ago (before it was public) that NC State was playing in the Music City bowl in BNA. As a DM with refundable award bookings, I went ahead and booked a (2x) roundtrip RDU-BNA for the game at 42,500 miles (30DEC-01JAN).
Within 10 minutes after it was officially announced, it's gone up to the full 50,000/per. Southwest, whom I also looked at, has also gone up from (revenue) $250/per to 384/per on similar flights.
Just wondering if others have noted similar "price maximizations" in their markets for bowl traffic. I would like to think that the rev mgt peeps are smart enough to immediately increase fares.
I would say the same thing for hotels, but since it includes NYE, all bets are off...
Noticed for the BCS game in Miami that flying back on 1/8 which is a Tuesday and the day after the game on 1/7 is significantly higher (double) than waiting an extra day and traveling Wednesday. I've noticed (at least for the flights I take) prices are normally close in price for Tue, Wed, and Thu flights so I would imagine the unusual increase is because of the game.
Noticed for the BCS game in Miami that flying back on 1/8 which is a Tuesday and the day after the game on 1/7 is significantly higher (double) than waiting an extra day and traveling Wednesday. I've noticed (at least for the flights I take) prices are normally close in price for Tue, Wed, and Thu flights so I would imagine the unusual increase is because of the game.
I would bet if you checked EF that most of those flights on 1/8 are sold out (or very close to it) since DL has a strong presence in BHM and Alabama fans will have purchased them either long before last night's game, or last night when the SEC Championship was decided. I'd also be willing to bet that DL will add extra capacity on 1/6 out of ATL to MIA (and perhaps FLL and PBI) and vv on the 8th, as they did last year for the NC game in NOLA. But, that the prices will be strong .
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I noticed that DL had zeroed out or sold most inventory to BHM on January 8th (only M, B, and Y available) on Thursday. I won't learn about my eligibility for BCS National Championship tickets until December 5th and have to be back in Tuscaloosa by that Wednesday evening for the start of the spring semester, which complicates purchasing airfare.
I've noticed that most of that Tuesday's flights ATL-BHM are on CR9s. While better than the CR2s, it wouldn't be surprising to see DL replace those flights with some operated by the DC9/MD88/73W/738/319s that fly the route during busier months.
Interestingly enough, AA has plenty of inventory DFW-BHM on Tuesday, but that would involve some serious backtracking unless one was coming from the West/Midwest.
Somewhere, somewhat recently, some Delta person said they do indeed monitor news, entertainment and sports events so they can adjust seat availabilities for maximum revenue. Not surprising.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharaoh
Somewhere, somewhat recently, some Delta person said they do indeed monitor news, entertainment and sports events so they can adjust seat availabilities for maximum revenue. Not surprising.
I'd love to know how deep that runs...do they simply monitor World Series and Super Bowl...or does it go all the way down to the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile?
Yeah ...... this sort of stuff DEFINITELY happens. I noticed it last year. Out of curiosity, I priced fares for PIT/SCE/MDT-DFW on DL 2 days prior to when Penn State's bowl game destination was announced, and then the Sunday night after the invitation was official --- and prices on each of those routings went up by 25-30% each.
As for me, I went to the game, but I wound up flying out of DAY. There was no pricing change on either CVG-DFW or DAY-DFW in the immediate wake of the announcement.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
and people wonder why there are empty seats at the games...
We save our money for other trips, stay home and yell at the tube (and see more games).
Bob H.
And yet airfares are probably one of the least expensive parts of the trip. Ticket prices are the real reason a lot of people don't go. I looked online last night for tickets to the Notre Dame - Alabama game. Cheapest ticket for a 400 level corner seat was $1333 per ticket. For a family of four, that's over $5,000 just in tickets. Of course that game will still sell out. I didn't look at other bowl games to see what kind of premium those tickets were going for but I can't imagine tickets are that cheap. Hotels are also the other big driver. Their rates will probably be jacked way up for the days around the games.
And yet airfares are probably one of the least expensive parts of the trip.
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I didn't look at other bowl games to see what kind of premium those tickets were going for but I can't imagine tickets are that cheap. Hotels are also the other big driver. Their rates will probably be jacked way up for the days around the games.
U of M -- SC Jan 1 is going for a face value of $80 and...
there were a lot of empty seats in Nap town last weekend and ...
the MAC championship at Ford Field had less that 15k people at it and...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uElliots
try getting to any of the BCS games on Jan 1st or 2nd, those fares are out of this world
To be fair, some of it isn't exactly bowl-driven.
Take the Orange Bowl this year for example - it's FSU-Northern Illinois. A large chunk of FSU fans are likely going to drive from wherever they are in the state to South Florida, considering that FSU fans are spread out amongst the state.
Northern Illinois fans will fly, but how many of them are there actually?
I say this as an alum of Wake Forest that went to the Orange Bowl in 2006. You had one small school, and one up-and-coming school. It wasn't hard to get tickets in the $15-20 range for that game. However, flights were still crazy - reason - it's New Years in Miami - that'll drive enough people to go there for that and not a football game.
New Orleans is similar in that it's a town that draws people for the actual New Years festivities. LA and Phoenix not as much, but it does have some draw other than just the football.
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Yeeeeargh... glad I snagged tix to PBI a few months ago for my fiancé's birthday on Jan 2 (flying 12/30-1/3). I was cringing at $400 for K fares both ways plus 12.5K miles to upgrade on the way back when I bought them, but now I am seeing $660 with only H fares and up available. We are also going to the Orange Bowl because both of his daughters attend FSU. I think tickets were $69 each.
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I think tickets were $69 each.
