Originally Posted by
flyerhormones
Then not so long ago, I began to understand that airlines track my movements and searches, such that they might actually increase prices when they know I'm coming back to check for the same trip and dates.
Is this true, and is it ethical? I've only had one occasion where it happened to me, but I've had 2 other people tell me similar stories.
No, it's not at all true. Prices can change quickly, most commonly due to people booking the "cheap" tickets between the times you looked.
If you need to prove this to yourself, the next time it happens go into your browsers "private browsing" mode and re-check (which will not send your existing cookies) - you'll find that the prices are the same regardless of which browser you're using.
You will find countless accounts of people claiming this occurring on the internet - it's simply a matter of people seeing a price increase, and presuming it was due to previous browsing history. There's never any proof behind it.