gozetta

OK, not really a secret, but I've been experimenting with a "Price and Schedule" search for DFW to LGA during the week of 10/11/2010, returning one day that same week. My results are extremely inconsistent!!

Keep in mind that I have made NO CONCSLUSIVE OBSERVATIONS yet, except to say that the results do not make sense. Could it be that searching for a day before (or a day after) your DESIRED dates might be the best course of action?

1. Using the Chrome browser I put in DFW/LGA 10/19 return 10/22.
2. Using the IE (beta 9, hopefully that's not messing with things), I put in DFW/LGA 10/18 return 10/21 (a day earlier for both flights).
3. Queries were performed in these browsers at roughly the same time (within seconds).

I've observed the following:

* The tabs across the top are not "in sync" among the two result sets.
* The IE browser says EVERY flight in Page 1 for a WED OCT 20 departure has "Economy Super Saver" available, but on the Chrome results, NONE of those SAME flights have ESS availability! How is that?
* One tab indicated "From $378" but when the tab was clicked, the tab changed to "From $267." This is alarming, as most would make a quick decision based on the information in the tab.

I wonder if there is some logic in the booking engine that skews the prices based on "desired dates?" The bottom line is that I could have actually BOOKED a cheaper fare for the same city/pair, same dates, within the same few seconds, by just searching for nearby dates instead of the desired ones. I also wonder (since I tested this in different browsers) if there are cookies set indicating what my preferred dates were and/or previous attempt history to indicate which fares should be shown? I also note that I've never signed into my AAdvantage account on IE9, but have with Chrome. Could my status/flight frequency have influenced the prices displayed?

I have these fully documented with screenshots and I intend to open a case with AA.com support but if you've read this far you might be interested in conducting your own experiments with "Price and Schedule" to see if your results vary too!

jwking

Maybe I'm missing something here...

When you search a flight that departs on the the 20th and returns on the 22nd, you might get different results on the outbound, if you search again the same departure date, but a different return date (i.e. the 21st or 23rd)

In your example, you aren't comparing apples to apples. In fact, you aren't comparing "departure 10/19 return 10/22" to "departure 10/19 return 10/22".

Some flights may have a 3 day minimum stay.

When you enter a return after 2 days, the flights with a 3-day minimum stay won't appear, because you don't qualify for that flight.

Or did I miss something?

magic111

And some fares with 3 day minimums may not be available on all days. @:-)
Without knowing the fare buckets offered for those different dates it is difficult to understand whether you were offered inconsistent prices

gozetta

That could be it! 3 day minimum stay. Hmm. Didn't know about that one. I guess the 3 day minimum only applies to fares, not one-way Flex Awards since that could get real messy. 15K miles with a 3 day min, 30K without, etc...

Still doesn't explain why a tab would say one price, but when you click it, the price changes.

The 3 day fare rule may, however, explain that with some RETURN flights, prior dates are not shown in the calendar.

gozetta

Here's a quick bug to try at home:

Book "Price and Schedule" for DFW to LGA 10/11 returning 10/13. Calendar is shown.

1. What is the price on the tab for 10/12? What about the 10/13 tab?
2. Now click the 10/12 tab, what is the price now? Do the same for 10/13.

For me, the 10/13 price on the TAB changed from $960 to $267!! That's quite a difference. I don't care what the fare rules are, that's a system bug.

miamigrad

I'm not able to replicate the issue you are seeing unless I change my preferred number of stops to "none," then it shows the $960 fare on 10/13 because the lower non-stop fares are sold out. On that date (10/13), there still is a $267 option albeit with a connection.

gozetta

I just did it again, with Google Chrome this time, and with 10/11-10/13 DFW LGA, was presented with these tabs: 10/11 'From $267' 10/12 'From $378' and 10/13 'From $960'.

When clicking on the 10/12 tab it changes to: 'From $267'.
When clicking on the 10/13 tab it changes to: 'From $267'.

Again, $960 to $267 on the 10/13 tab.

brp

When you change the timeframe the fares change, as noted above. That's as it's supposed to be.

Cheers.

dayone

As stated by the OP.

brp

My point is that the bug isn't. Things are functioning as they should (given the arcane pricing strategies for the airline, of course )

Cheers.

dayone

That was also my point, albeit poorly made.

gozetta

The calendar is misleading. Why would the tab be displayed with a price on it at all? Especially one that is incorrect for that booking? Shouldn't it be blank, or at the least say, "click me to see the new fare after I recalculate all of my magical inventory, night requirements, tariffs, etc."?????

gozetta

I would generally agree with that but no return date has even been selected at this point. The system doesn't even know my return date because that calendar the next step.

Are you saying that I should expect to see the DEPART FLIGHT change fares after I select the RETURN DATE? Using your logic I should.

brp

The parameters for the departing flight are based on the return date you suggest. Because these are based on duration of stay and other things, one can often see, when going to the RETURN and moving dates around, a tab saying "No Flights Available." It doesn't mean that there are no flights on that date- it means that there are no flights on that date that comport with the departure date you've chosen. So, it won't let you pick a "bad" return date in the first place.

Cheers.

dia1

I have had similar experiences and questions to those of the OP. I certainly understand the RT duration issues but don't understand why the lowest fare on a certain day changes when you change the span of days viewed when no date had been chosen for either direction.