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Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

thriftytraveler.com

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Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#31

Post by darth_avocado »

Aurornis wrote: post #2

I never would have understood this as a young, single person. Now that I have a family there are several times per year where we price out the cost of a solo ticket for one parent, the price of taking one or two kids, or the cost of all of us going for something. Having a quantity discount would absolutely tip the scales for us for certain trips. People will look at this as penalizing single travelers and want everyo…

We as a society already penalize people without families:

1. Higher taxes and fewer deductions 2. Higher workplace performance expectations 3. Higher costs in every aspect of life 4. Fewer options eat out, expensive solo tickets at events etc.

This is just one more example in a long list of examples of how being by yourself is penalized in the society.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#32

Post by hellisothers »

n8cpdx wrote: post #20
Aurornis wrote: post #2

I never would have understood this as a young, single person. Now that I have a family there are several times per year where we price out the cost of a solo ticket for one parent, the price of taking one or two kids, or the cost of all of us going for something. Having a quantity discount would absolutely tip the scales for us for certain trips. People will look at this as penalizing single travelers and want everyo…

Traveling solo is already brutal because hotels and Airbnbs are priced on the assumption of two travelers. Traveling solo essentially costs double automatically because of lodging, and it kind of sucks there’s a double whammy with airfare where, unlike lodging, the penalty doesn’t actually make any sense. I guess as a family be grateful that all hotel rooms come with a 50% (or more) discount per traveler?

How are 2 travelers priced in? If I rent a 4 passenger car are 4 people priced in?

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#33

Post by geverett »

Tbh this makes perfect sense. As someone who worked in airline revenue management for 11 years, it always seemed a little odd that the sales tactics people use everywhere else - group discounts, BOGO, etc - weren't being used by airlines (yes, group bookings could often get discounts, but usually for much larger groups).

What's remarkable here is that airlines waited this long to do it. Sad news for me as a usually solo traveler who prizes flexibility, but I understand airlines wanting to prioritize groups and more locked-in fares.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#34

Post by AlotOfReading »

n8cpdx wrote: post #20
Aurornis wrote: post #2

I never would have understood this as a young, single person. Now that I have a family there are several times per year where we price out the cost of a solo ticket for one parent, the price of taking one or two kids, or the cost of all of us going for something. Having a quantity discount would absolutely tip the scales for us for certain trips. People will look at this as penalizing single travelers and want everyo…

Traveling solo is already brutal because hotels and Airbnbs are priced on the assumption of two travelers. Traveling solo essentially costs double automatically because of lodging, and it kind of sucks there’s a double whammy with airfare where, unlike lodging, the penalty doesn’t actually make any sense. I guess as a family be grateful that all hotel rooms come with a 50% (or more) discount per traveler?

Some countries (e.g. Japan) charge per person in non-Western hotels. Even then, you may get different prices for a solo traveler because the lower overall price means they need to increase the per person rate to make enough margin with their fixed costs.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#35

Post by ghaff »

kenjackson wrote: post #26
paulgb wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of what makes it seem shady here is that airline ticket prices are pretty opaque. If they advertised it as a group discount, it would be received differently.

Airline pricing in general is pretty opaque. Not hospital pricing opaque, but still pretty opaque. It's one of the few things we regularly purchase where the price changes almost daily (both up and down). For example, bus and train tickets are pretty much the same price each day for the same route. For airlines, I'll often check the price on some future night to see if it is cheaper or not.

Distance train at least may (or may not depending on location/country) be quite a bit cheaper for advance purchase but maybe doesn't fluctuate as much day to day.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#36

Post by munificent »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #16
layble wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The business traveler who is less price sensitive and almost always books a solo itinerary.

It's a shame this is so far down the page (at least for me, at this moment) because I'm fairly certain you are exactly right.

It's also literally in the article itself:

"It's just another way for airlines to continue 'segmenting' their customers, charging business travelers paying with a corporate card more while offering a better deal to families on the exact same flight."

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#37

Post by darth_avocado »

muppetman wrote: post #13

I love how the author thinks they've discovered something super secret, when they have in fact just learnt about "Group Discounts". Author will lose their mind when they buy 10+ of the same thing from AliExpress.

2 isn’t exactly what you’d think of when you think of “Group discounts”.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#38

Post by toast0 »

eduction wrote: post #4

I would guess this is about middle seats. No one wants them but if you’re part of 2+ party you’re much more likely to take one. The alternative is two aisles side by side but those are tricky to get as the plane fills up.

I thought everybody booked aisle and window and left the middle unbooked. If you get lucky, you have an extra seat; if not, the middle seat will almost always be willing to swap for one of the other two and you can still sit together.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#39

Post by kubectl_h »

lordfrito wrote: post #3

Apparently the article author hasn't heard about the concept of a "group discount"

If you read the article than you'd understand it's about degree of discount to which two or more passengers are receiving. In some cases two tickets is almost as cheap as one ticket. If these prices converge it would actually make sense to buy two tickets for one traveler if you value comfort and can afford it.

Re: Airlines are charging solo passengers higher fares than groups

#40

Post by 1776smithadam »

hellisothers wrote: post #32
n8cpdx wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Traveling solo is already brutal because hotels and Airbnbs are priced on the assumption of two travelers. Traveling solo essentially costs double automatically because of lodging, and it kind of sucks there’s a double whammy with airfare where, unlike lodging, the penalty doesn’t actually make any sense. I guess as a family be grateful that all hotel rooms come with a 50% (or more) discount per traveler?

How are 2 travelers priced in? If I rent a 4 passenger car are 4 people priced in?

Would a van cost more to rent then a sedan?
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