Historical Airfare Data Needed

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Feb 2, 2004 | 2:34 pm

mweiss

Original Poster

Join Date: Apr 1999

Location: SFO

Programs: No status anymore. Former CO PLT, NW PLT, AS MVP

Posts: 502

Historical Airfare Data Needed

I'm looking for historical airfare data, for a project I'm working on in graduate school. It needs to be as granular as possible, and ideally would cover about the past 12 months.

Do you (or anyone else in FlyerTalk) happen to know how I might be able to obtain these data?

Feb 2, 2004 | 3:12 pm

rkt10

Join Date: Mar 2000

Location: NH

Posts: 5,725

Forgive me if this sounds like a joke, cause I don't mean it. What do you mean by "granular" in this context?

Feb 2, 2004 | 3:34 pm

jfe

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Feb 2002

Location: El Paso, TX, USA

Programs: Kicked out of all of them

Posts: 32,554

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by rkt10:
What do you mean by "granular" in this context?

</font>

I think he means detailed, as much as raw data as possible.

Nice to see someone starting a thread in this forum that is not trying to create controversy

Feb 2, 2004 | 3:36 pm

mweiss

Original Poster

Join Date: Apr 1999

Location: SFO

Programs: No status anymore. Former CO PLT, NW PLT, AS MVP

Posts: 502

Correct. As much raw data as possible. I want to cover as many routes and available fares as possible for those routes.

Feb 2, 2004 | 4:31 pm

Ocn Vw 1K

Senior Moderator

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: San Francisco, CA

Programs: UA Plat/2MM [23-yr. 1K, now emeritus] clawing way back to WN-A List; MR LT Titanium; HY Whateverist.

Posts: 12,458

Not sure this is the correct forum for this but perhaps the easiest route may be newspaper travel section archives. Many papers carry a weekly run of airfares on specific city pairs which are tracked each week. For example, the Fri. Wall St. Journal lists both the lowest advance-purchase fare and lowest unrestricted for several city pairs, naming the carriers. Other papers list even more pairs and carriers.

Feb 2, 2004 | 5:05 pm

B747-437B

Join Date: Aug 2000

Location: Exile

Posts: 16,064

If price is no object, IATA offers this kind of data commercially - but it will run you many thousand $ for 12 months worth.

Feb 2, 2004 | 5:32 pm

pynchonesque

Join Date: Feb 2001

Location: bringing sexy back

Posts: 7,751

Please also see this topic discussed previously, in Mileage Run:

http://www.flyertalk.com/pasttalk/ft...ML/001135.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/pasttalk/ft...ML/004478.html

Feb 2, 2004 | 6:31 pm

mweiss

Original Poster

Join Date: Apr 1999

Location: SFO

Programs: No status anymore. Former CO PLT, NW PLT, AS MVP

Posts: 502

Thanks for your help in this endeavor. The links to past discussions were especially helpful, though I'm looking for a bit more data than they were.

Feb 2, 2004 | 7:00 pm

mymiles2go

Join Date: Jan 2002

Location: Once Seattle...then DC....now PMI.

Posts: 4,061

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mweiss:
Thanks for your help in this endeavor. The links to past discussions were especially helpful, though I'm looking for a bit more data than they were.</font>

I would - as B747 suggested - pursue the IATA folks. If you call around at any phone numbers you find on thier website, you might be able to find someone sympathetic to your cause (academic) and might be able to either loan you or let you have stuff.

Also, some travel agents may have limited info.

Feb 3, 2004 | 9:09 am

#10

ozstamps

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jun 2000

Location: Sunny SYDNEY!

Programs: UA Million Miler. (1.9M) Virgin Platinum. HH Diamond + SPG Gold

Posts: 32,351

I met a FlyerTalker recently (well many times actually!) who IIRC compiles this historical data for a living in the USA.

Whether he is able to share it I have no idea.

I'll email him this thread, and he can contact you direct if he is able.

Good luck.