Different Prices For Same Airline Seat

An interesting article regarding airlines charging different prices for the same seat.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-09/why-your-airfare-cost-more-than-the-person-sitting-next-to-you/10350700

Perhaps Trivago will come running to the rescue? (joking!)

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@Fred123, sarcasm Trivago?

Did autocorrect fail to insert or intend to say “Expedia”?
All of these travel websites are price takers. They may negotiate special deals, prepurchase fairs or promote a particular airline, routes or travel accommodation.

One of our extended family works with one of the big players. When they travel they book their flights direct with the carrier. If you are looking for value for any travel the tip may be to look for any special deals for when and where you intend to travel.

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It appears that you missed the point of the article, which is about dealing directly with the airlines.

My mention about Trivago was in jest, mocking their hotel comparison TV ads.

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It is sometimes hard to read the intent of some lines in post. Thank you for clarifying your post. I sometimes find to add a smiley or some other identifier to the line helps to make clear the intended humour, sarcasm or other emotive point behind it.

I agree the pricing of seating is a troubling issue and certainly needs to be discussed and even perhaps investigated. I haven’t yet checked on this forum as to whether this has been raised as an issue before specifically but back in December 2016 Choice did raise a “super complaint” about airlines that might also be of interest (CHOICE launches airline super complaint)

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There have been explanations since American Airlines invented the demand-priced model.

This paper could be valuable for those wanting to understand it beyond the ‘$prices in faces’

The simple summary is that there is value is something that exists at the right place and right time. It is called place utility and time utility in economics. More and more businesses understand how to maximise the equations accordingly.

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Streuth - got to page 6 “3. Dynamic Price Discrimination with Price Commitment” and nearly choked on my apple … I think you could have warned ‘some knowledge of math helpful’ :wink:

… and it gets ‘better’ heh heh …

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Was that not obvious when you got there?

Much of it is moderated by the summary conclusions following ‘the maths’, and for those who just like to argue for the sake of arguing, the maths assure a certain level of ‘educated content’ whereby the pretenders can and will be caught out by the practitioners.

s/Sheldon? :laughing:

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Rather. The appendix was the kicker :slight_smile: Not sure if I was dazzled or baffled …

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My boss was trying to book a flight on his desk top.
I went to my desk and the airfare was $ 50 cheaper.
It seems he has a lot of trouble with this. Has anyone else noticed something similar?

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Hi @michele1

Thanks for your question. It is one that has come up before, and I have moved your post to another thread where there has been some discussion about this previously.

One suggested solution that was not covered can be found at Fact or Fiction: Do Airlines Raise Your Ticket Price Based on Your Browser History?. Even more suggestons are at 7 Ways You’re Spending Too Much Money On Online Travel Search Engines

You need to be aware that the travel industry will attempt to sell their products at the highest price they can achieve. They will use means that you will not be aware of unless you have researched. To get the best possible prices, you need to work around their methods.

Bottom line is you have to cross-check any offered fares or products. Use different brand and types of devices, use different browsers, check with cookies and then use in-cognito, etc. to see which way you get the best value for money on what you are looking for.

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@meltam is correct about clearing cookies or using incognito.

Many websites track user behaviour though cookies and if one visits the same website frequently, pricing can increase due to the frequent visit as the website assumes that the person is more likely committed to a purchase. If a potential customer sees prices increasing, it also (psychologically) encourages the potential customer to commit to a purchase before it goes up even more.

Clearing cookies/using incognito means the website assumes that each visit is the first and will offer the best(?) price available.

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