Sudden BIG price bump for my route rest of the year - pricing error?
Apr 2, 2019, 1:01 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: AY+ Platinum / FlyingBlue Gold
Posts: 835
Sudden BIG price bump for my route rest of the year - pricing error?
Hey FT'ers,
First of all I'm pretty much of a noob. So this might be easy explainable. But.... having a long-distance relationship and a limited amount of days off I constantly track prices for trips to Finland. Big price increases obiously have a direct effect on how often we can see each other.
My Google Flights email alerts have just gone crazy today, letting me know that ALL my tracked potential trips for the rest of the year have been risen in price from +- 250 euro to at least 403.euro. (61% increase, on any given date)
I really wonder what triggers such change to such an extent. Wondering if this would be a pricing error... or if any of you have seen similar patterns with other destinations.
I'm a frequent flyer on the AMS-HEL-KUO route and I have seen some small price increases in the past, but that was usually a few euros. Base light ticket price was always around 250 euro for me. This change happened yesterday or today.
I did find out one remarkable thing:
When booking seperately
AMS-HEL @ 6 sept on AY1306
HEL-AMS @ 9 sept on AY1301
comes at €133 euro on a light ticket
HEL-KUO @ 6 sept on AY379
KUO-HEL @ 9 sept on AY376
comes at €130 on a light ticket
That totals €263,-
When booking in one booking
Booking the flights as a whole shows a price of €420. That is a very big difference (again +60%). And it shows the same thing on every other flight for the rest of the year: weekdays & weekends.
and more...
First of all I'm pretty much of a noob. So this might be easy explainable. But.... having a long-distance relationship and a limited amount of days off I constantly track prices for trips to Finland. Big price increases obiously have a direct effect on how often we can see each other.
My Google Flights email alerts have just gone crazy today, letting me know that ALL my tracked potential trips for the rest of the year have been risen in price from +- 250 euro to at least 403.euro. (61% increase, on any given date)
I really wonder what triggers such change to such an extent. Wondering if this would be a pricing error... or if any of you have seen similar patterns with other destinations.
I'm a frequent flyer on the AMS-HEL-KUO route and I have seen some small price increases in the past, but that was usually a few euros. Base light ticket price was always around 250 euro for me. This change happened yesterday or today.
I did find out one remarkable thing:
When booking seperately
AMS-HEL @ 6 sept on AY1306
HEL-AMS @ 9 sept on AY1301
comes at €133 euro on a light ticket
HEL-KUO @ 6 sept on AY379
KUO-HEL @ 9 sept on AY376
comes at €130 on a light ticket
That totals €263,-
When booking in one booking
Booking the flights as a whole shows a price of €420. That is a very big difference (again +60%). And it shows the same thing on every other flight for the rest of the year: weekdays & weekends.
and more...
Apr 2, 2019, 1:54 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2015
Programs: AY+, SK EB
Posts: 2,954
As I wrote to your original post that is highly likely no pricing error. They are testing what people are willing to pay. If you buy separate tickets then you yourself need to take care of misconnects.
At the moment booking KUO - AMS is still available starting from 232€. Maybe for the very moment an alternative.
At the moment booking KUO - AMS is still available starting from 232€. Maybe for the very moment an alternative.
Apr 2, 2019, 3:23 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,016
BRU-KUO and QYG-KUO on AY is about the same as AMS-KUO. Scandinavian capitals to KUO is much cheaper.
I also checked AF AMS-CDG-HEL-KUO and those prices are even higher.
This is a situation where connecting on separate tickets makes sense, but it is also risky.
Apr 2, 2019, 3:46 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: AY Plat Lumo+LTG, FI Gold, DL Silver, BA, SK, AX Plat, Priority Pass, Marriott Ambassador & others
Posts: 634
I just checked the fares in Expertflyer for a random date. The cheapest return fare available for a weekend trip in May is 160 € (ZBA2NL). As the fare exists, it is more likely a question of fare bucket availability.
Apr 3, 2019, 5:27 am
#9
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,016
The walk-up fare for a train from Helsinki Airport to Kuopio (change in Tikkurila/Dickursby) seems to be 45 euros, so you could book a flight to HEL and then on arrival buy a train ticket to Kuopio and still save some money compared to booking a through ticket. This removes some of the risks with booking separate flight tickets, and a four-hour train trip could be better than having to wait a long time at HEL because you're adding extra connection time when connecting on separate flight tickets.
What value do you get when burning your points? Would an AMS-KUO award ticket give you better value than whatever value you currently get when burning points?
What value do you get when burning your points? Would an AMS-KUO award ticket give you better value than whatever value you currently get when burning points?
Apr 3, 2019, 9:21 am
#10
Join Date: May 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+Plat, ALL Plat, Scandic L2
Posts: 3,620
Apr 3, 2019, 9:33 am
#11
Join Date: Dec 2013
Programs: AY+ Plat, A3*G
Posts: 672
I'm pretty sure that the cheaper classes will become available eventually. It is very common (espcially for those domestic connections) to have high prices somepoint and closer to departure R class etc. is available.
1) If KUO-AMS is cheaper try to arrange your trips that way, I understood that you are frequently commuting that pair so might be quite easy
2) Play their game and buy the separate tickets - think how many times you have missed your connection at HEL and compare the risk against this number. Is it 1%, 15% of the trips etc..?
BR from the sucker who just bought a domestic-EUR Value ticket for ~440€ last Friday and today same flights are ~270€
1) If KUO-AMS is cheaper try to arrange your trips that way, I understood that you are frequently commuting that pair so might be quite easy
2) Play their game and buy the separate tickets - think how many times you have missed your connection at HEL and compare the risk against this number. Is it 1%, 15% of the trips etc..?
BR from the sucker who just bought a domestic-EUR Value ticket for ~440€ last Friday and today same flights are ~270€
Apr 3, 2019, 3:49 pm
#12
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: HEL
Programs: AY GOLD, HH GOLD
Posts: 411
Apr 3, 2019, 6:25 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,601
Not the real reason but there is a genuine need for KUO-AMS. The head quarters of Fimea (the Finnish Medicines Agency) is located in Kuopio (Most of the staff working in Helsinki) and because of the Brexit the Head quarters of EMA has already moved from London to Amsterdam. Still, this is only a small number of people travelling btw these great cities.
Apr 4, 2019, 4:49 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: AY+ Platinum / FlyingBlue Gold
Posts: 835
Finnair Platinum CS wrote me this. And honestly I don’t understand sh*t of it 😂. Could anyone translate? Lol
”There is not same price class available to these flights that you have been looking at. So as one books the whole journey as one the system does the pricing according to the price class that is available for all the flights. We can book the outbound flights to one price class and the home bound flights to one.
In this case it seems that you get a better price if you book the flight separately.
The rate that one gets for a booking follows the availability on the flight. When there is plenty of seats the price is lower.”
”There is not same price class available to these flights that you have been looking at. So as one books the whole journey as one the system does the pricing according to the price class that is available for all the flights. We can book the outbound flights to one price class and the home bound flights to one.
In this case it seems that you get a better price if you book the flight separately.
The rate that one gets for a booking follows the availability on the flight. When there is plenty of seats the price is lower.”
Apr 4, 2019, 6:31 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,737
It sounds to me that Janica did her best, but her English teacher never did. Or the mail has been hacked by Yan Nih Ka in China.
Basically, for some reason unknown to us or Janica, AY hasn't opened up the cheapest booking classes on your flights, as married segments. Either they somehow forgot to do it, or they're trying to extract more money from this particular route (which would make little sense). You'd need to get a really good agent on the phone that understands the problem and knows who to talk to about it. Otherwise, if there's award availability, now would be a good time to use some of your points stash.
Basically, for some reason unknown to us or Janica, AY hasn't opened up the cheapest booking classes on your flights, as married segments. Either they somehow forgot to do it, or they're trying to extract more money from this particular route (which would make little sense). You'd need to get a really good agent on the phone that understands the problem and knows who to talk to about it. Otherwise, if there's award availability, now would be a good time to use some of your points stash.