Originally Posted by kalia960

This is common all over the world. It is called multiple pricing. What happens is that an airline takes the same basic product (a seat on the plane) and packages it into cheap and premium products with artificial differences. The cheap product is nonrefundable, so the buyer gambles. The expensive product is often available up to the last minute and is fully refundable.

Sometimes one might prefer a more expensive fare even when a cheaper fare is available, because of the lack of penalties. For example, someone traveling on business (with the company, not the traveler, paying) might choose the expensive fare because the meetings could end early and if so there would be no problem changing to an earlier flight.