Originally Posted by brp

Probably not, in this case, as the behavior mentioned happens quite often.

OP- why the assumption that lower fare buckets would be offered this far out? Why would the airline not try to sell the higher-priced seats now to those who want to travel on that specific day? If I were trying to maximize profit on anything, I'd certainly not open with my best offer.

If one has never looked at flight pricing before, this may be new. For anyone that has, this is old hat.

Cheers.