How often is first class cheaper than main cabin select?
 

Was browsing flights this morning, and I noticed that First Class was cheaper than main cabin select. Does that happen a lot?

See attached... Normally I would consider LAS-SFO to be too short for first class, but I'm considering it, given how slight the increase in fare difference is here!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...06.43%20AM.png

It seems to be a more frequent occurrence around the industry, i.e., a more premium cabin may be cheaper for a non-refundable/restricted fare than a lesser cabin for a completely refundable fare.

Makes sense to me - the airline keeps your $ at that point (even if you make changes) and the passenger doesn't have to worry about upgrade lottery.

Yeah but why would it be cheaper than the "instant upgrade to main cabin select" fares?

My first thought is that there are some company policies that prohibit booking into a premium fare class, even if the fare is cheaper. The "instant upgrade" class may book into a permissible bucket for various company policies.

The old "exploit corporate bureaucracy trick."

I do see this happen often. Thankfully I can just document "cheaper than coach" and book the fare.

There are no "tricks" here. There's just supply and demand. The yield management people and/or algorithm are offering fare buckets that maximize the revenue for the flight.

On a San Francisco to Las Vegas flight, which is largely a leisure route, the pricing suggests that fare flexibility is worth more than a bigger seat for an hour. That makes a lot of sense to me.

What would be irrational is if the refundable first fare were cheaper than any of the main cabin fares. I bet that never happens.

In conclusion, per the OP,

The algorithm appears to be working. ;-)

F Cheapest Fare on several Virgin trips
 

Every time I flew ANC to SFO last year First Class was the cheapest fare available on Virgin. I repeatedly called reservations in disbelief....and they assured me it happens on occasion, and to enjoy the upgraded seat...

First cheaper than coach or coach premium, when all classes were available. Blew my mind. Still does.

I flew First several times on that 5 hour flight for under $400! (While folks sitting in coach had paid the same fare or even more.)

Right now!

They have a sale until tomorrow of 50% off F if you fly from July 4 to July 7.

The code is 50FIRST

Just got 3 RT seats from LAX-SFO to head up there for the 4th of July weekend and the price was roughly the same as economy and waaaay cheaper than MCS.

Sale ends tomorrow.