Why air ticket prices will never be logical for travelers

We publish a free translation of the article Mashable. Original here

Answer without hesitation: how much does a ticket from Moscow to Sochi cost?

Anyone who had to buy tickets, knows that the answer to this seemingly simple question requires a lot of clarification. When do you fly? What time? Only there or back too? Is transplanting possible? Does the airport need any specific? Are you ready to fly to another city nearby? Luggage will be? And so on and so forth.
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“I always took it for granted that the concept of the price of an air ticket does not make sense,” says photographer and blogger Freya Dawson. - You just offer to accept the fact that there is. Today I was going to book a ticket to Senegal, and searched Skyscanner . It turned out £ 700 for a 24-hour flight. Then I checked on Momondo , and it turned out £ 450 and eight hours. ”


“Airlines seem to be taking their prices out of thin air,” echoes Christopher Elliott, author of How To Be on the World's Smartest Traveler blog. “If you try to look for a one-way ticket and round-trip to the same place, the second option will be much cheaper. It is absolutely meaningless for you and for me, but for airlines there is definitely a reason for this. ”

Recently, a group of researchers accurately determined how often the pricing of air tickets is contrary to common sense.

“We collected statistics on 100 of the busiest European airports,” says one of the researchers, Simeon Meyhananelu. The team analyzed 1.4 million fares on 125 airlines using the ITA service from Google, which provides data on airfares without additional taxes and fees.

The purpose of the study was to confirm or deny three "aerial myths."
1. The shorter the flight, the cheaper it is.
2. The cost of a return ticket should be cheaper than when buying two separate tickets.
3. The shorter the transfer, the more expensive the ticket.

So, let's look at how things really are with these and other myths and assumptions about airline tickets.

Myth number 1: The longer the flight, the higher the price.
This is not the case for 24.5% of tariffs.

The radial structure of air travel is important, and often a flight between central transportation hubs, albeit rather distant from each other, will be cheaper than flying along a “beam” from the center to one of the “dead-end” points.
For example, flying between two large centers, such as New York and Los Angeles , will often be cheaper than traveling to much closer to New York, but not the “hub” Nashville .

Between the two big hubs, there are many airlines that operate several flights a day. This increases competition and reduces prices. In the case of less significant nodes this does not work.

Many travelers know life hacking as hidden-city ticketing, when a passenger purchases a ticket from point A to point B with a transfer at point B, but does not reach the end of the route, leaving the plane to B. This trick sometimes really works - it can save passengers money in about 25% of cases. However (and this is important), the airlines are not welcome and can cancel future bookings and cancel the status and points in loyalty programs, if the passenger is caught using this tactic.

“From the point of view of common sense, it would be illogical to pay more if you plan to leave the plane earlier,” says Elliot. “However, this works with the logic of the airlines. If there is more demand for flights from A to B than from A to B, they will set prices higher. ”

For greater confusion, each airport charges a different fee for its services, which can drastically affect the price of tickets to different cities with the same distance from the passenger.

For example, in New York, La Guardia values ​​its services higher than the other two airports, so the price of the flight will be higher just after landing on its runway.



Myth number 2: Combined flights save money
In 37% of cases, it is cheaper to buy tickets for each direction separately than with one ticket.

Sometimes round-trip tickets are cheaper than one way, but this is not always the case.

It also depends on additional services, starting with baggage fees and ending with food and entertainment on board, which can be avoided by flying back on another flight.

“Some airlines may seem cheap, but when faced with their baggage rates, offers no longer look so profitable,” says Evita Robinson, creator of the Nomadness Travel Tribe website.

In addition to baggage, additional fees may be charged for more legroom, boarding pass printing, seat selection, Wi-Fi and meals.

Myth # 3: Convenience Affects Price
Demand affects the price.

In 7.5% of the surveyed destinations, it turned out that a flight with an overnight stay at the docking airport is more expensive than the transfer option for a couple of hours, that is, the shortest trip time is not necessarily the most expensive.

Trips have different significance for different people, and airlines know it well.

Tariff is based on dynamic pricing. In essence, this means that the seller assigns a different price to different people for the same or similar service. The same principle works when it rains at 2 am and all taxis are busy, and Uber dramatically increases the cost of travel - the passenger pays, because he has no other way out.

Airlines apply this principle to business travelers and those who buy a ticket just before the flight.
Passengers who buy a ticket on the eve of departure, often have no choice but to pay at a higher fare. If you really need to be in place on time - say, emergency family circumstances - the price is not particularly critical for you.

Business travelers will pay more for two reasons. First, they need to be at a meeting at a specific time in a particular city, and they will pay for it. And secondly, by and large they don’t care about their price - the company pays.

Airlines use advanced revenue management systems algorithms, the so-called Yield Management Systems, to determine the highest possible price that can be assigned to the above categories of travelers.

“Revenue management systems allow airlines to determine how much you are willing to pay for the flight, and they are guided by this when pricing airlines,” said Elliot. “The price does not depend on distance, logic, or any other reason that seems reasonable to you.”



Myth number 4: Airlines want to fill each flight with passengers
Airlines only want to maximize profits.

The cost of the flight is fixed long before boarding the plane. The airline already has a plane and staff. They know exactly how much they will spend on fuel. This is about the same cost, whether the plane is full or empty. Accordingly, how big the profit will be depends on how much money the airline can receive from passengers when selling tickets.

If, by raising the price, the company sells fewer places, but increases profits, it will increase it.

Myth number 5: You can not deal with the pricing of air tickets
This is not true.

“This is not just a fixed price for a service,” says Meyhananoglu. - Everything is much more complicated. My advice - just be aware of what is happening. "

“It’s impossible to predict the best time to book,” says Dawson. “It is different for each airline, so it’s best to simply track the dynamics for a few weeks or a couple of months before the time when you plan to book a ticket.”

She also notes that it is worth finding out: perhaps in the country where you are going, there is a low season, and it makes sense to consider a trip at a time when most tourists refuse it - sometimes a rainy time or a hot summer is worth it in the literal sense.

"There are ways to trick the system," says Elliot. - Sometimes airlines make things that look unethical, and it is tempting to answer them with the same coin. But, as my mom used to say, two mistakes will not be fixed. The best weapon is to allow the market to regulate prices. Consumers may consider prices as dishonest and refuse to pay at elevated rates. If you do not fall for the tricks of airlines, in the end, it will end. "