What the heck happened to my airfare price.....

[Toto2Kansas]

I was looking to book a last minute cruise for the end of this month a few weeks ago. I found perfect non-stop flights for a very reasonable amount on our preferred air carrier. I put the cruise on hold, and immediately went to book the airfare. Within a few minutes, the airfare had almost doubled in price.

 

I cancelled the hold on the stateroom and watched for the following few days, the price did nothing but continue to go up, so decided to skip the last minute good deal on the cruise.

 

Airfare is one of those things that can be low, take a huge jump, and possibly even lower again later on (if there are seats still available). When you see a good airfare rate that is too good to pass up, you have to grab it, if not, it could be gone within minutes. Supply and demand comes into play. ;)

Best of luck next time!

[Tommy2tone]

.....yesterday I was looking at my airfare for my August B2Bs from New York (LGA) to New Orleans (MSY). I found non-stop flights on Delta for $219 per person. I just went on-line to book it now and Delta no longer has the flight (non-stop), it is now listed under Northwest. I know they are merging which is no big deal, but now the price jumped to $359!

 

I don't need to hear "the early bird catches the worm", but a price jump of $140 per person seems a bit unrealistic.

 

Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on this.

 

:confused:

 

wasiii

Hi I work for SWA just checked the flights and your price $89, to $119 from LGA to MSY flying on 08/30/09, oh yea I still havn't changed my cruise yet, you still might see me on the trip. As far as people trying to figure out the pricing on airfare, yes it is maintance, fuel, customer service and supply and demand, and other resources that the public doesn't relize that goes into a business. Still can your drive from LGA to MSY for $89?? Don't think so. See ya on the cruise. Tommy

Tommy

[wasiii]

Hi I work for SWA just checked the flights and your price $89, to $119 from LGA to MSY flying on 08/30/09, oh yea I still havn't changed my cruise yet, you still might see me on the trip. As far as people trying to figure out the pricing on airfare, yes it is maintance, fuel, customer service and supply and demand, and other resources that the public doesn't relize that goes into a business. Still can your drive from LGA to MSY for $89?? Don't think so. See ya on the cruise. Tommy

Tommy

 

.....I had looked at SW for flights. The problem was they were not nonstops and the flight home on 8.31 was what made it too much money (we are staying until the next day).

 

Glad you didn't change your cruise yet. Sorry I took you off the list. I'll add you back in now.

 

;)

 

wasiii

[wasiii]

.....for the price of the flight to come down:

 

You selected these flights:

 

DepartsArrivesStopsTravel TimeFlights & Cabin (Class) New York-La Guardia, NY (LGA) to New Orleans, LA (MSY) on Wed, 26 Aug 200911:45am

LGA2:07pm

MSYNonstop3 hr 22 minDelta 4124

Airbus A319

operated by Northwest Airlines

In-Flight Services

Coach (T)

View Seats

 

 

 

New Orleans, LA (MSY) to New York-La Guardia, NY (LGA) on Sun, 06 Sep 20092:54pm

MSY7:00pm

LGANonstop3 hr 06 minDelta 4332

Airbus A319

operated by Northwest Airlines

In-Flight Services

Coach (T)

View Seats

 

 

 

 

 

Would you rather switch to ? Switch to for more per passenger (includes taxes/fees) NOTE: seating is not available for flight(s) -

 

 

 

Price per passenger:$188.00 (USD) Taxes/Fees:$21.20 (USD) Subtotal per Passenger:$209.20 (USD) Total for all passengers (2):$418.40 (USD)

View change & cancellation policies.

This ticket is refundable. Fees may apply.

This ticket is non-refundable.

 

Now I just have to wait and see whether or not Carnival will still cancel the 4-day cruises from New Orleans and turn the 5-day ones into 7 days.

 

I figure the Swine Flu will not be a factor in August, but I just saw some more possible cases pop up in my local paper. So who knows when the travel advisory to Mexico will be lifted.

 

:confused:

 

wasiii

[arlsvera]

FlyerTalker - how did you get the inventory information? Very impressive and very helpful! I am having a similar issue on Jet Blue. Last Saturday, the flight from Dulles to FLL was $220. I knew it was a good deal, but I needed to confirm with my traveling companions if it was ok for me to book it for them. By the time they got back to me (Tuesday, I think) it was up to $284. I logged back on (minutes after they said book it at $284), and the price had gone up to $309! Now I'm in limbo - not sure to grab the $309, or wait for a drop.

 

The exact flights are these... 11/21/09, Jet Blue, IAD - FLL, 8:05 a.m. - 10:41 a.m. Return flight 11/28/09, Jet Blue 2:05 - 4:39 or 3:30 - 6:00.

 

Our other alternataive would be Spirt Air out of National...11/21/09, DCA - FLL, 7:10 - 9:40, returning 11/28/09, FLL - DCA, 1:29 - 3:39.

 

I would REALLY appreciate your help in knowing the availability of the cheaper flights. I had assumed the price increase was due to the forecasts for higher oil prices. Maybe I was wrong. THANKS!!

[greatam]

FlyerTalker - how did you get the inventory information? Very impressive and very helpful!

 

I would REALLY appreciate your help in knowing the availability of the cheaper flights. I had assumed the price increase was due to the forecasts for higher oil prices. Maybe I was wrong. THANKS!!

 

I'm not Flyertalker, but here's the answer. EXPERTFLYER.com. Paid subscription service-$5.00 per month for the basic subscription. You can purchase for just the month or get a yearly subscription for $99.00. Take the time to LEARN how to use the system. It is a VERY valuable travel resource.

 

As to whether the flight price will come back down-?????. No one knows.

 

BUT IF you tried to book more than one or two tickets at the same time, you may have gotten the higher price BECAUSE there were only a couple of tickets at the lower price and the booking engine will automatically default to the fare class that has the correct amount of tickets you input available.

 

Example: You see a price of $200.00. You need 5 tickets. You input 5 tickets into the booking engine. BUT there are only 2 tickets available for $200 each. So the booking engine will AUTOMATICALLY look for 5 tickets in the same fare class. That will be a higher fare class BECAUSE there are NOT 5 tickets available at the cheap price. You MAY have to book the tickets in 1's and 2's (play around with the system and see what you get). Purchasing tickets in 1's and 2's is like dollar cost averaging the stock market. Some will be cheap, some will be more expensive. But overall, the price will be LESS than trying to buy all 5 at one time.

 

Hope this wasn't too convoluted to understand.

[FlyerTalker]

Quick answer - I get my information from ExpertFlyer. $5 per month or $99 per year. Worth every penny of it. If only flying once a year, buy a month to get the info you need. Also, it gives me info on day of departure, so I can see if I might be able to volunteer for a VDB (aka "bump") when I have flexibility in my schedule.

[FlyerTalker]

I don't want to be always looking up flights, but for this time:

 

Outbound

B6 305 Y4 SC E4 K4 H4 Q4 B4 L4 VC RC MC OC

Return

B6 310 Y4 SC E4 K4 H4 QC BC LC VC RC MC OC

B6 312 Y4 SC E4 K4 H4 Q4 BC LC VC RC MC OC

 

The "cheap seats" are gone on the outbound for O/M/R and V classes. The returns are even worse, with the L/B and Q gone on 310, and L/B gone on 312. Which means that 312 will be a cheaper return than 310. And that 305 will be less than either of the returns.

 

On Spirit outbound:

NK 807 J4 AC Y4 B4 H4 Q4 M4 K4 L4 V4 TC RC

Return

NK 394 J4 AC Y4 B4 H4 Q4 M4 K4 LC VC TC RC

 

Again, the "cheap seats" are gone. Note that airlines do NOT use the same letter classes across the industry with a few exceptions (F/C/J/Y) so you can't compare a B6 "R" with a NK "R". And the letters link up to various fare rules and prices.

 

You are flying at high demand times so the likelihood of getting inventory back into those buckets (especially when many are sold out) is slim, IMO. The "price drop" you are hoping for would be as a result of inventory being allocated to the lower buckets, not that overall fares would drop. Remember, the price you pay is a result of the combination of the published fares along with the actual inventory in those buckets for the date/flight you select.

 

One thing to learn from all of this....don't depend on getting an OK from other people for air travel purchases. You lost out because of that delay. My suggestion: Either have a designated "purchaser" who has all the parameters upfront and is empowered to buy for all OR every man for themselves and you meet at the other end. Consulting in mid-stream and waiting for an OK is the worst, IMO. Of course, social dynamics comes into play, but you have to recognize that has its financial costs.

[arlsvera]

FlyerTalker (and greatam)- thank you for posting all those details! I do understand that that was probably a pain to copy all those numbers. It's very overwhelming to a lay person like me, but I certainly got your point. Thank you! You have opened my eyes to the complexity of airline reservations. I went ahead an booked our very expensive flights and won't look back!!

[FlyerTalker]

Actually, not a pain, and happy to help out. I just don't want it to become where everyone asks about every flight they are planning to take, or wants to research 30 different options. That's why the $5 for EF is a small investment in getting a ton of information, especially compared to the total cost of your flights. For example, in addition to the inventory numbers, you also get direct access to all the fares/rules for any city pair and airline you enter.

 

Yes, it can be overwhelming, as it is a new way of looking at purchases for many people. Pricing changes and people think "the fare went up". What actually happened in most cases was the fares all stayed the same....what changed was the availability for the lower priced buckets. You have to separate the concepts of fares (relatively stable, though they do get changed) versus price (dependent on inventory for each specific flight).

[arlsvera]

FlyerTalker - thanks for the lesson! For my future needs, I'll pay that $5! Does that site tell you when they are going to open up the schedules? It would make sense that if you booked on the day they opened up reservations, you'd get the cheapest fare. I will be prepared next time!!

[Globaliser]

It would make sense that if you booked on the day they opened up reservations, you'd get the cheapest fare.

Unfortunately, this is a fallacy. You do not necessarily get the cheapest fares by booking on the day that reservations open. The airfare market does not work on a first come, first served basis. There is no virtue in booking really, really early. Often, only relatively expensive fares are available at that time, and the cheaper fares are either introduced later or appear during sales. This is often controlled by (lack of) availability in the cheapest booking classes. There is no fixed number of seats sold in the cheapest booking classes, and it's not a case of them being there when reservations open, selling out and never coming back. Those cheap seats come and go. There is not necessarily any rhyme or reason to this, except that as a general rule, the fares will tend to go up quite sharply as you near the date of travel.

[G'ma]

.....yesterday I was looking at my airfare for my August B2Bs from New York (LGA) to New Orleans (MSY). I found non-stop flights on Delta for $219 per person. I just went on-line to book it now and Delta no longer has the flight (non-stop), it is now listed under Northwest. I know they are merging which is no big deal, but now the price jumped to $359!

 

I don't need to hear "the early bird catches the worm", but a price jump of $140 per person seems a bit unrealistic.

 

Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on this.

 

:confused:

 

 

wasiii

 

The airlines have ovr 50,000 fare and schedule changes a day, worldwide. Fares can and do change from minute to minute.

 

The trick is to buy as soon as you see a fare you can live with.

[UtterCaro]

Second the previous post on B6 credits. Nowadays you never know...take advantage of the credit while you know it's good, unless you fly B6 frequently.

 

This thread has been so informative, and you regulars so helpful. I really appreciate it. Can you explain to an infrequent flyer what the B6 means?

 

Caro

[Globaliser]

Can you explain to an infrequent flyer what the B6 means?

It's the two-character IATA code for JetBlue.

 

Most airlines have two-character code. (They all used to be two letters until they basically ran out of usable combinations.) They also have three-letter IACO codes. JetBlue's is JBU. But most of the time passengers will only need to know the IATA code, as that's what appears on tickets and display screens (although airports in the US seem seldom to display the codes at all).

 

Similarly, most commonly-used airports have two codes. There's a three letter IATA code, and a four-letter ICAO code. Many more airfields have ICAO codes than have IATA codes, because many airfields have no scheduled service that warrants the allocation of an IATA code.

 

One of the best easy-to-use sites for searching for codes is http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk - although it is not always quite complete or quite up to date. Another one that's quite good, but more geeky, is the Great Circle Mapper, which is also good for looking up distances between cities or airports.

[UtterCaro]

It's the two-character IATA code for JetBlue.

 

Most airlines have two-character code. (They all used to be two letters until they basically ran out of usable combinations.) They also have three-letter IACO codes. JetBlue's is JBU. But most of the time passengers will only need to know the IATA code, as that's what appears on tickets and display screens (although airports in the US seem seldom to display the codes at all).

 

Similarly, most commonly-used airports have two codes. There's a three letter IATA code, and a four-letter ICAO code. Many more airfields have ICAO codes than have IATA codes, because many airfields have no scheduled service that warrants the allocation of an IATA code.

 

One of the best easy-to-use sites for searching for codes is http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk - although it is not always quite complete or quite up to date. Another one that's quite good, but more geeky, is the Great Circle Mapper, which is also good for looking up distances between cities or airports.

 

Thank you so much, Globaliser. Off to play with my new decoder rings. :D

 

Caro

[wasiii]

.....R/T airfare for 2, from LGA->MSY for $418.40. So I saved $20 from when I started this post.

 

I didn't think that $700 fare would last too long.

 

:D

 

wasiii

 

Thanks again to all you 'Cruise Air' experts and I do mean that as a compliment. I learned a whole bunch in this thread that I found out I was completely wrong about how I thought things played out.

 

Thanks again and keep up the good work!

[FlyerTalker]

To Wasiii and UtterCaro (and others):

 

You are very welcome. Glad that the info helped you to becoming a more informed consumer. FWIW, the airline codes are heavily used overseas, where you see the codes on the monitor (such as a Lufthansa flight as LH502 and Swiss as LX, or Thai as TG and the like) without the airline names. Here in the USA, they show up on tickets and itineraries but not so much on monitors (though you do see it at gates for codeshare displays sometimes).

 

Keep those good questions coming....the more you know, the less you will feel like the system is taking advantage of you - and the more you can take advantage of your knowledge to be a step ahead of the rest of the pack.

[Cruisin Kay D]

Looking for 1 way air after a transatlantic cruise next spring. Cruise ends in Rome but we want to do several days of touring around Italy, so we aren't definite as to what day to fly back to US, and we are flexible in WHERE we fly FROM and also flexible in WHERE we fly to. Does this website you use offer much flexibility in this type of searching.

 

only GOOD deal I've found so far is on Air Berlin from Milan, Zurich or Munich -- through Dusseldorf -- to Miami, but this company does not fly overseas every day. Strangely enough, Air Berlin flys to only 4 US cities: NY, LA, Miami and you'd never guess the 4th: Ft. Myers. Have been wondering what the story is on that company going to that city!!!