Why Airfares Vary From Site To Site
Our friend Arthur Frommer, spoke yesterday on his blog about a question we’re also frequently asked. His readers, like ours, are often unable to replicate a fare that we’ve researched and know is available. Arthur gave his good thoughts behind the discrepancies and points to the provisional nature of air fares typically presented on the meta-search sites.
Here are my thoughts:
Meta-search companies, like Kayak, Momondo and others, do not generally show fares available “now,” but rather fares that were recently found. That is true for example when looking at a fare calendar.
Only after you input specific dates, or sometimes when your search is turned over to the provider who is paying the meta-search company, will currently available pricing be presented. Because initial pricing is looking back at what someone last paid, it can vary a lot from site to site. Final pricing for your trip can also sometimes be significantly different than what you first see, even staying on the same site.
I recently spoke with the CEO of one of the meta-search companies, who explained that the reason they do it this way is two-fold. First, the cost to perform the actual fare and availability search is relatively high. It can be up to $1 per search. Second, presenting past fares is far faster and less expensive for them.
Suggestions:
Always go beyond the fare calendar to check specific dates and flights and determine actual pricing.
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I think posting airline prices that were in the past is false advertising. I’m so sick of seeing, \$$$\ round trip to Hawaii, and checking my dates and seeing that the price quoted is 2/3 of what I’d actually have to pay. Most of the time I don’t look at them. Qantas is pretty good for their flights to Australia from the west coast of the US.
@Chris — so I am sitting here in a coffee shop reading the San Jose Mercury Times Travel section and it’s full of advertised prices for airline tickets, cruises, hotels. Do you think each and every one of them is still going to be available when I call them tomorrow morning?
What’s annoying is one-way fares that are advertised with the fine-print disclaimer of requiring roundtrip purchase. Or taxes and fees and surcharges that are not included.
@Jeff — who gets the fee ($1 or so) for a fare search, the airlines or some intermediary or both? Seems rather excessive.
Thanks for comments Chris and Oliver.
I’m used to how OTA’s price, and have been traveling between Hawaii and the mainland for so long that it is second nature. So I don’t find it obfuscating, but understand how it seems that way.
As for the fare search, Oliver, I’ll check into it. I’m sure they’re paying ITA to do the search, but that may not be who gets all of it.
Aloha, Jeff
I was thinking – and that can be dangerous :0)
But, it seems I read here somewhere that the airlines keep track of ’searches’ for certain flights and then price accordingly. If that is so – wouldn’t we just be hurting ourselves to search too early or too often – and especially if we sign up for multiple search sites who automatically search and keep us posted on current fares – like Kayak, FareCompare, AirfareWatchdog, etc? If ‘I’ check a few times and ‘they’ check MANY times – aren’t we shooting ourselves in the foot? Woudn’t that automatically signal interest in those particular flight segments and dates – therefore raising the fares?
I may be wrong here – but, I WAS JUST THINKING………
Any ideas on this anyone?
Hi Colleen,
You’re absolutely correct on that. It is good to be reminded that the airlines are the masters of supply and demand pricing.
Thanks and aloha,
Jeff
Well Jeff, I have now deleted my auto searches and notifications on those earlier mentioned sites and will only search ‘a tiny bit’ in comparison to how I have been searching – just to get a ‘base fare.’
The best fares and the ones I actually purchased have been those emailed to me directly from the airline websites, now that I think of it. I do sign up for several airline emails, (Hawaiian, United, AA, etc.) A person must be careful about looking around too much on airline sites as well.
It is sure difficult finding the proper balance and getting that great fare to Hawaii. So far, we have been very fortunate to find RT fares from StL the last 3 times we went (2 in early Dec. and 1 in late Jan/early Feb) in the $500 -$550 pp range. And these were fares that came from airline emails or just looking at their general ’sale fares’ email which required no real search at all.
So, perhaps, once or twice to get the ‘base fare’ in the general time frame you are planning your visit – then watch your airline emails. When that sale fare shows up – pounce.
This has been our strategy and so far it has worked very well. I will not sign up for those other search sites any longer. Why take the chance of spoiling the chance for a perfectly good ’sale fare?’ Maybe there is a ‘method to the madness’ :0)
Just MHO………