Home
>
Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
>
Topic
Foodlovers Foodtalk Forum
Airline dynamic pricing
Posted by TPANDAV
Airline dynamic pricing October 12, 2019 07:05AM |
Registered: 12 years ago Posts: 3,422 |
I am perplexed. I'm trying to organise a trip to London.
I checked an itinerary on line with Qantas on Friday morning (Auckland/Melbourne/Singapore/London/Singapore/Melbourne/Auckland) and the total cost including taxes was $8362 pp.
On Friday afternoon a travel agent came up with the same itinerary for $9298.
I checked again this morning on line with Qantas and the cost was $9166.
How can the cost have risen so much in less than 24 hours?
I checked an itinerary on line with Qantas on Friday morning (Auckland/Melbourne/Singapore/London/Singapore/Melbourne/Auckland) and the total cost including taxes was $8362 pp.
On Friday afternoon a travel agent came up with the same itinerary for $9298.
I checked again this morning on line with Qantas and the cost was $9166.
How can the cost have risen so much in less than 24 hours?
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 12, 2019 10:34PM |
Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 607 |
I have been travelling from one end of NZ to the other quite a bit over the last 3 years with Jetstar and have often experienced this same phenomenon whereby fares keep increasing every time you return to the website, even if it's just the next day.
It's interesting that each time you go back to their site ''cookies' have recorded your last enquiry. I've often wondered if the fare is automatically increased at the same time prompting you to make the booking before it increases even further.
Try using another computer and see if you get the same result.
That said, aircraft loading is very complex - I remember once doing an exercise in one of my accounting papers at university - and it could be that the fare has genuinely increased in that time in response to other bookings, freight bookings, fuel costs etc. In your case, being a multi-stop fare, it may just be one leg that has increased.
Regards,
Barbara Anne
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2019 01:25AM by Barbara Anne.
It's interesting that each time you go back to their site ''cookies' have recorded your last enquiry. I've often wondered if the fare is automatically increased at the same time prompting you to make the booking before it increases even further.
Try using another computer and see if you get the same result.
That said, aircraft loading is very complex - I remember once doing an exercise in one of my accounting papers at university - and it could be that the fare has genuinely increased in that time in response to other bookings, freight bookings, fuel costs etc. In your case, being a multi-stop fare, it may just be one leg that has increased.
Regards,
Barbara Anne
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2019 01:25AM by Barbara Anne.
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 12, 2019 10:41PM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 7,844 |
I once read in a tech article that airline ticketing programmes 'remember' the IP address from which a person searches for prices and that when you return to make an actual booking, the price has increased. I have also read that if you do your initial search using the incongnito facility of your browser, that your IP address cannot be tracked and therefore you can do your search then go back under your 'open' browser and make the booking for the price originally quoted.
Long story short, I tried this when booking my trip to Singapore next February. It didn't work. I did all my searching using the incognito facility, made my choice of airline and dates, etc. I got up, made a cup of coffee and came back to my computer and using my normal browser started the booking process. Got to the place where the price is displayed and it was $1000 more than it was 30 minutes ago. I contacted the airline and told them how disappointed I was and the answer was "That is just one of the gambles you take when you don't book a good price immediately. Prices change according to demand." This was in April 2019 for travel in February 2020. Was there such demand for a seat that far in advance, in such a short time??? Out of sheer cussedness I booked the same flight through another airline.
Long story short, I tried this when booking my trip to Singapore next February. It didn't work. I did all my searching using the incognito facility, made my choice of airline and dates, etc. I got up, made a cup of coffee and came back to my computer and using my normal browser started the booking process. Got to the place where the price is displayed and it was $1000 more than it was 30 minutes ago. I contacted the airline and told them how disappointed I was and the answer was "That is just one of the gambles you take when you don't book a good price immediately. Prices change according to demand." This was in April 2019 for travel in February 2020. Was there such demand for a seat that far in advance, in such a short time??? Out of sheer cussedness I booked the same flight through another airline.
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 14, 2019 03:41AM |
Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 799 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 14, 2019 07:50AM |
Registered: 12 years ago Posts: 3,422 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 14, 2019 11:02AM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 7,920 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 14, 2019 10:15PM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 7,844 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 14, 2019 11:24PM |
Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 1,979 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 14, 2019 11:26PM |
Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 1,979 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 03:05AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 5,388 |
Jenna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh Irene..... any advice from on the inside?
Jenna, I was going to contribute but didn't want to appear to be blowing my own trumpet (who else would blow my trumpet with my germs is an unknown).. .anyway back to Travel.
The beauty of using a travel agent is that we use a totally separate reservation system, where we can access airfares, confirm them and then the airline will give us a ticketing time limit, which is when payment is due (this does not apply to your RyanAir and the multitude of cheaper online European and some Asian based airlines)
So if someone wants the current European Earlybirds on sale - some airlines will give me 72 hours from confirmation to issue a ticket, some 7 days (not just working days) etc etc. Every airline has different policies on the ticketing deadline and also it can vary with the airfare on sale). The Chinese airlines are the worst for ticketing deadlines, as it can be a matter of 4 or 5 hours if close to departure date. So what I am quoting is actually confirmed, apart from ticket taxes which are based on currency exchange rates, which change daily - ie overnight I had a $23 increase in ticket taxes from Singapore Airlines - which is ridiculous but can't be helped, the customer has paid, so I personally wear that increase.
Lorna, you mentioned a booking for February 2020 did not work. I am currently booking travel up to September 2020. For the sale fares the airlines will only allocate a certain number of seats at the sale level or will actually block access to seats at the sales fare level if they know they will easily get bums on seats, ie the European summer. It can easily take me hours to find availability at the sale level. But if I have names as per passports I can hold the seats for what I am quoting, and the customer only has to say yay or nay. If proceeding the ticketing deadline set by the airline will apply. If they don't want to proceed and it's all over Rover, I just cancel the booking.
The above applies to domestic travel as well, but the deadline is a very firm 24 hours exactly from when the booking is confirmed.
And robotics have a major play in the above.
To sum up use a Travel Agent and you get some breathing space to decide.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh Irene..... any advice from on the inside?
Jenna, I was going to contribute but didn't want to appear to be blowing my own trumpet (who else would blow my trumpet with my germs is an unknown).. .anyway back to Travel.
The beauty of using a travel agent is that we use a totally separate reservation system, where we can access airfares, confirm them and then the airline will give us a ticketing time limit, which is when payment is due (this does not apply to your RyanAir and the multitude of cheaper online European and some Asian based airlines)
So if someone wants the current European Earlybirds on sale - some airlines will give me 72 hours from confirmation to issue a ticket, some 7 days (not just working days) etc etc. Every airline has different policies on the ticketing deadline and also it can vary with the airfare on sale). The Chinese airlines are the worst for ticketing deadlines, as it can be a matter of 4 or 5 hours if close to departure date. So what I am quoting is actually confirmed, apart from ticket taxes which are based on currency exchange rates, which change daily - ie overnight I had a $23 increase in ticket taxes from Singapore Airlines - which is ridiculous but can't be helped, the customer has paid, so I personally wear that increase.
Lorna, you mentioned a booking for February 2020 did not work. I am currently booking travel up to September 2020. For the sale fares the airlines will only allocate a certain number of seats at the sale level or will actually block access to seats at the sales fare level if they know they will easily get bums on seats, ie the European summer. It can easily take me hours to find availability at the sale level. But if I have names as per passports I can hold the seats for what I am quoting, and the customer only has to say yay or nay. If proceeding the ticketing deadline set by the airline will apply. If they don't want to proceed and it's all over Rover, I just cancel the booking.
The above applies to domestic travel as well, but the deadline is a very firm 24 hours exactly from when the booking is confirmed.
And robotics have a major play in the above.
To sum up use a Travel Agent and you get some breathing space to decide.
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 05:26AM |
Registered: 12 years ago Posts: 3,422 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 06:59AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 5,388 |
TPANDAV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you Irene! That's the first intelligible
> explanation I've read and now it's clear. I'm
> glad I ended up using an agent and will do so
> again should I be lucky enough to have an
> opportunity.
Thank you. Actually overseas figures are now starting to confirm that people are moving away from the net, and bookings are increasing for Travel Agents, and this will also happen in NZ. Just in my little corner of the world, every year I seem to get busier and busier.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you Irene! That's the first intelligible
> explanation I've read and now it's clear. I'm
> glad I ended up using an agent and will do so
> again should I be lucky enough to have an
> opportunity.
Thank you. Actually overseas figures are now starting to confirm that people are moving away from the net, and bookings are increasing for Travel Agents, and this will also happen in NZ. Just in my little corner of the world, every year I seem to get busier and busier.
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 07:40AM |
Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 799 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 08:15AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 5,388 |
Plates, I do simple trans tasman airfares up to complicated, whether its cruises, tours, rail, etc etc etc. Through all my years I have learnt never judge a book by its cover and a customer may only book a simple trip this time but not the next time.
Using us as an example, last year we replaced our nearly 100 years old roof. But the year prior to that as a tide over we wanted a small job done. I contacted 3 roofers and not one bothered to turn up or have the decency to cancel or say no it's too small. So they missed out on a very expensive job, because they couldn't be bothered with a piffling one (and I know this is bitchy, but I emailed each of those 3 and told them)
Using us as an example, last year we replaced our nearly 100 years old roof. But the year prior to that as a tide over we wanted a small job done. I contacted 3 roofers and not one bothered to turn up or have the decency to cancel or say no it's too small. So they missed out on a very expensive job, because they couldn't be bothered with a piffling one (and I know this is bitchy, but I emailed each of those 3 and told them)
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 09:24PM |
Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 622 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 10:14PM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 195 |
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 15, 2019 10:27PM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 7,844 |
Irene, you misunderstood me. The booking worked fine, and we are very happy with our tickets. What didn't work was the advice that you could use the incognito facility to look now, book later (1 hour in my case). We are trying out the Premium Economy seats on Air NZ and Singapore Airlines. Booking early allowed us to secure my favourite seats, in a 2-4-2 configuration plane. We got 1 window and 1 aisle seat (together) halfway between the bulkhead (where babies and kids are usually seated) and the toilets at the back of the section. Travelling out on Air NZ we are on the left, travelling back on Singapore Airlines, we are on the right.
Re: Airline dynamic pricing October 17, 2019 11:24PM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 5,388 |
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.