Price changes in delta.com checkout?
 

For the third time in as many weeks, I am seeing significant (+50%; I saw 3x two weeks ago) price changes on final checkout (purchase). Original pricing remains available via Google Flights and delta.com search.

Anyone else seeing similar?

Thanks, Ken

Yes, and it's obnoxious. This has happened to me several times over the last year. Yet if you go to Google flights and/or Orbitz you can get the original fare. But for those of with AmEx cards we then miss out on the double points. Really annoying.

I suspect married segment issues are raising their heads again.

Orbitz 006 purchases have always counted as a DL purchase and gotten Amex double miles when I've bought tickets there. I've experienced inventory issues on Orbitz as well -- search thinks there is inventory, but when you go to confirm purchase, it is not actually there and the price is higher. The issue is not unique to delta.com.

I've had some success in calling to get the fare when delta.dumb repeatedly does this. It was a bit easier when EF showed fare class availability as one could check inventory that way.

I've also seen the fare rise slightly (for example, by $10-20 on a domestic coach RT) when the fare code but not fare class changes, despite meeting all the rules for the cheaper fare. It seems, for example, to be a case of buying a ticket a month in advance, seeing a 14 day advanced purchase fare, and then being given a ten day advanced purchase fare of the same fare class with otherwise the same fare rules. I don't understand how this can happen.

Two words: Revenue Management

I thought revenue management controlled inventory at the level of the fare class (bucket), not individual subcategories (do they even exist?) for particular applicable fare classes. In the cases I'm talking about, the fare class was available and I qualified for the cheaper fare, which was supposedly published (and not pulled), so I don't understand why delta.dumb was trying to give me the more expensive fare within the same fare class.

Maybe I used the wrong wording. I should have said "Maximizing Revenue any which way we can, including gauging customers out of $20 each"

Point is, most casual travelers don't catch these things and just go ahead and purchase. $20 here, $20 there .... it all adds up at the end.

Unethical as I truely belive that Delta is doing this on purpose.

Not at checkout, but I'm continually frustrated by the default search results on DL.com not showing the lowest priced options for connecting flights.

For example, going BOS-MCO via ATL. A BOS-MCO through fare in Q might price at $300, but search results will give you BOS-ATL in L and then ATL-MCO in U for a total of $350.

For one-way flights, you can see this and use the fare class option to force it "up" into Q class, but that's an annoying waste of time and also impossible to do when you want to book a RT or multi-city on one ticket.

This is what I keep warning people to do before purchasing a broken fare. You shouldn't assume that the broken fare is cheaper. It also limits SDC/SDS options.

Price changes in delta.com checkout?
 

This has been an issue for years and it has nothing to do with inventory, RM or anything else. It's another of those "glitches" DL likes to apologize for and then leave in place because there's a sucker born every minute.

Where are the regulators when we need them?

Where's the 'Like' button when you need one? You are so spot on.

I wanted to surprise my wife with a business ticket on DL(she is Gold) from ATL to BOM,(I am going there for work) I checked with Orbit and found a fare of $3850.00 including tax, thinking it was better to book the ticket on DL.com, went to the site, found the same fare, but at checkout after selecting seats, payment info etc, the price went up to $11,000 and change, called DL and they were of no use, "the price at checkout is the price...etc..blah ...blah.
went back to Orbit and was able to book the ticket... amazing.... does DL seriously think that someone is just going to say OK .. let me pay the higher price, espeically when I can book it else where for less than half the price?

Aren't these the exact situations that the "Best Fare Guarantee" applies to?