It's called revenue management. And it's not that the price went up that much in the last year, but that you're not seeing the more heavily discounted rates right now.

There are people out there whose job it is to manage a set of routes. They are looking at how many seats there are going from point A to point B, what kind of competition is there for the same routes from other airlines and their current pricing, what kind of demand and is there for their own seats (and how the demand is segmented based on prices differerent people are willing to pay).

The objective is to have the plane take off without an empty seat, having denied boarding to no one, and to have everyone paying the published rate for that category (e.g. first class, business, fully refundable coach, and non-refundable coach). About denied boarding - because a given percentage won't show for the flight, you overbook it, anticipating wash (we've seen that in triathlons). If you can't sell every seat at it's highest price, then you start offering some of the seats at discounted prices; once again the objective is to provide the littlest discounts as possible, to maximize your profits (or mimimize your losses!)

So, in your case, not seeing the lower rates may be because of less competing airlines in the same market (reduced supply & pricing pressures), fewer overall flights (reduced supply), more people traveling (increased demand), etc. You have to choose - with 2 months left, do you bite the bullet and buy now, even though the price may drop in the next week or two, or do you hold off, hoping more discounted rates will appear, although gambling that neither 1) the discounted rates you see now will disappear, leaving only higher rates, and 2) your desired flights don't sell out.

Welcome to the game...

There's also the subjects of buying fully refundable vs. non-refundable but changable with a fee vs. non-refundable/non-changable tickets, choosing less-desirable flight times, checking alternative airlines or departure/arrival cities, non-stop vs. direct vs. 1 or more plane changes, etc. All of these also affect what you get for pricing. But that's a whole separate conversation.

do you think once I bought my ticket, I can go in the plane and ask everyone how much they paid for their ticket?
from what you are saying, it should be interesting!

thanks for the info anyway.

I'm finding out the same is true for flights to most of Europe. Trying to go to long course duathlon world's in Denmark.....but it's getting expensive :-/

I emailed travelocity and they told me that it seems most carriers will not have their traditional june discounts...sucks...
maybe I will ask my wife to "ship me" as UPS...may be cheaper...

Dude, be careful posting yourself. Can't remeber which Velvet Underground song it was, but some guy sent himself to his ex-girlfriend and it ended in tears. Fore-warned is fore-armed or something.

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"Language most shows a man: Speak, that I may see thee. It springs out of the most retired and inmost parts of us, and is the image of the parents of it, the mind. No glass so mirrors a man's form or likeness so true as his speech." - Ben Jonson, Timber, or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter.

Flying to Strasbourg (from UK), I initially tried Ryanair (Cheap rate budget airline) but they had to close down the route once it became apparent that the only way they could offer such cheap flights was that the airports were giving them huge subsidies to use smaller airports (Charlois, Carcassonnes etc sp??) and BA were fuming about it.

Anyway that is all a bit OT! Eventually going Air France but spoke to them about the price hikes from last year (Nice flights in June and Sept) and they pretty much re-iterated what has been said here - no June discounts, don't expect as low prices this year.

Francois - hope that you have had good flexibilty work to get through the flight in UPS packing crate - may effect your bike position - mind you having seen the photos on Graam, you obviously have Romainian gymnast felx!

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"That which we achieve too easily, we esteem too lightly "Thomas Paine

Signed up for IM Austria this summer AFTER I found a good deal on tix. I went to priceline.com and wound up entering in my home city to Frankfurt as opposed to trying to get directly into Klagenfurt. Direct flight there, one layover on the way back, 2 tickets $1100 total.

There are deals out there.....good luck!

I heard that if you don't shower for 3 weeks you can get the price from last year : )

 
Great news ;/
I am about to buy 4 ticks. It is always
more expensive in the summer but I have
never paid >$1k. (I did spend nearly $900
three or four years ago.) Send me a note if
you find a decent fare. Last year Aer Lingus
was ~$725 to BXL.

i once flew from Los Angeles - some other airport - Zurich. I was on my way home and paid $600 for my ticket that was valid for 12 month. The person that was sitting next to me paid $1800 for a RT ticket from "some other airport" to Zurich. I thought that was kind of interesting.

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�The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.� -Michelangelo

MoodBoost Drink : Mood Support + Energy.

got something for $800.