Help understanding fare jumps
Feb 12, 2011, 12:27 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: New Orleans, LA
Posts: 166
Help understanding fare jumps
Looked at SFO-EWR-AUA-EWR-SFO yesterday. Coach was somewhere around $800, 1st was $1050. Check today, same fare basis / buckets, but everything is significantly more expensive.
What can cause this if not sell out at the cheaper fare buckets - has to be just a random and significant price increase to each given fare bucket, right?
Very frustrating. I flew 150k last year on this airline and still can't figure out their pricing formula - no reason for any algorithm to bump this price right now.
Any thoughts as to what could have happened?
What can cause this if not sell out at the cheaper fare buckets - has to be just a random and significant price increase to each given fare bucket, right?
Very frustrating. I flew 150k last year on this airline and still can't figure out their pricing formula - no reason for any algorithm to bump this price right now.
Any thoughts as to what could have happened?
Feb 12, 2011, 1:31 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium.;UA 1.5MM; UA Lifetime Gold (whoppee); DL Plat
Posts: 2,124
weekends
weekends tend to be higher because that's when everyone shops......
Feb 12, 2011, 1:42 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2009
Location: PHL
Posts: 2,842
It's just the basics of how the airlines price fares. As stated more people search for flights on the weekends so fares can be several hundred higher than if you look on Monday.
If you watch a specific fare throughout the week it is very interesting to see where it goes. I'm looking at MSP-IAH-NRT-SIN-NRT-EWR-MSP with MSP-IAH-NRT and NRT-EWR-MSP on CO, that specific routing is around $1500 on Monday but by Friday it's 2000+ if it's even available.
If you watch a specific fare throughout the week it is very interesting to see where it goes. I'm looking at MSP-IAH-NRT-SIN-NRT-EWR-MSP with MSP-IAH-NRT and NRT-EWR-MSP on CO, that specific routing is around $1500 on Monday but by Friday it's 2000+ if it's even available.
Feb 12, 2011, 2:52 pm
#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Generally speaking the fare jumps through the week and on weekends described above happen because lower buckets are zero'd out, not because the fares in those buckets are raised and then lowered again on Tuesday. I'd be quite surprised to see a K fare that is one price on Monday, another price on Thursday and a third price on Saturday.
Feb 12, 2011, 3:14 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2009
Location: PHL
Posts: 2,842
Generally speaking the fare jumps through the week and on weekends described above happen because lower buckets are zero'd out, not because the fares in those buckets are raised and then lowered again on Tuesday. I'd be quite surprised to see a K fare that is one price on Monday, another price on Thursday and a third price on Saturday.
Feb 12, 2011, 3:15 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia, PA
Programs: OZ Diamond
Posts: 6,134
Generally speaking the fare jumps through the week and on weekends described above happen because lower buckets are zero'd out, not because the fares in those buckets are raised and then lowered again on Tuesday. I'd be quite surprised to see a K fare that is one price on Monday, another price on Thursday and a third price on Saturday.
LAX
Feb 13, 2011, 11:50 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,230
What was the exact fare basis code (not just "K" -- "KEF12N"), what were the dates of travel, and what were the dates you searched? I think I can look up historical fares and see if they actually changed the price of a particular fare basis code.