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Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

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Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#121

Post by gizzlon »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #71
Someone1234 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That wasn't their point. In most of the world if a product's price tag says X then you pay exactly X at the register (e.g. £2 sandwich costs exactly £2 in cash, you hand then exactly £2 and leave). In the US that is not the case. Almost everything has a "hidden fee." You go buy a $2 sandwich but pay $2 + 6% ($2.12), if you get food in a restaurant you pay $price + 15-20%, an advertised $30/month cell phone plan is ac…

It's far from "a hidden fee." You simply have to know the rules. In some states, there is sales tax. In others, none. Sales tax may or may not be applied to clothing depending on state. Sales tax may or may not be applied to food, or only some kinds of food (e.g., alcohol always taxed), or only to food above a certain threshold. All in all there's nothing hidden about sales tax. It shouldn't be a surprise that people…

> It's far from "a hidden fee." You simply have to know the rules

But that's the same thing! If people don't know or understand the rules, the fee is hidden to them. You could say that people have should educate themselves, and my reply would be that there's infinite amount of complexity that could be added to the pricing if needed: "Oh, on cloudy Wednesdays, when Jupiter shines and the Yen is down.. it's 2$ extra"

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#122

Post by phantom784 »

geverett wrote: post #90

I've always thought it was ridiculous that people would go to a site like Expedia or Kayak, type in a date and destination, and just hope that they get the cheapest fare. As this article explains so well, prices are fluctuating constantly and the chances that you'll be lucky enough to be searching for the flight at the optimal time are close to nil. Most flight search engines now let you set up alerts to track prices…

Just installed it. Is there a way to set multiple home airports? There's a bunch of airports near me that I'd drive to if a good flight were available.

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#123

Post by goatforce5 »

Fuzzwah wrote: post #111
earlz wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not 100% sure it is "legal", but I had the pleasure of flying on southwest with them half-singing half-joking throughout the mandatory safety stuff.. it was a pretty hilarious change of pace. Unfortunately, Southwest, though fairly cheap for where I go, has 2 stops minimum no matter what where as everywhere else can make it 1 stop

Had a similar experience on Southwest when flying from Phoenix to Vegas. I initially cringed as the attendant started talking on the the mic and making a joke, as any world weary traveler probably would. I soon found myself laughing as the rest of the crew joined in with mimes and singing and call backs. It was definitely one of the best flight experiences I've ever had.

My most fun safety announcement was on Alaska Air when the flight steward came on an said something like "This is a very exciting flight, as it's the very first flight for our two pilots." (Everyone starts getting nervous at this point.) "Captain John and Captain Jane, please stand up and wave to your passengers" at which point two (unaccompanied, perhaps) kids stand up with huge grins and wave to the other passengers.

It was a good way to get the attention of everyone before we could all go back to ignoring the rest of the safety instructions.

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#124

Post by vitriolix »

jcfiala wrote: post #43
zrail wrote: post #26

Southwest, as far as I can tell, doesn't change rates once they've published. Three rate tiers, optional early check-in to get a better boarding order position, and free baggage. The most striking difference is that, in general, the flight attendants are happy . They smile. They joke around. Sometimes they sing songs. I was on a flight a few months ago where the entire plane played a game because it was someone's bir…

As a parent, I fly Southwest so that I can take advantage of the two free checked-in bags you get per ticket. Not having to wrestle several overfull bags of clothes on and off of the plane makes Southwest a great bargain for my piece of mind.

That and the fact that they do family preboarding which really makes everyone happier (no screaming crazy kids in the lobby) and probably increases boarding throughput (no backup while moms wrestle carseats into window seats)

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#125

Post by otterley »

drblast wrote: post #99
saosebastiao wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Additionally, they have the best leg room of any economy class that I've ever experienced.

SW is great for all the reasons mentioned, but Jet Blue's leg room is amazing. I'll only fly either of those two airlines if I have a choice.

Enjoy your JetBlue legroom while it lasts!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/jetblue-to-add-bag-fees-reduce-l...

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#126

Post by mb_72 »

geverett wrote: post #90

I've always thought it was ridiculous that people would go to a site like Expedia or Kayak, type in a date and destination, and just hope that they get the cheapest fare. As this article explains so well, prices are fluctuating constantly and the chances that you'll be lucky enough to be searching for the flight at the optimal time are close to nil. Most flight search engines now let you set up alerts to track prices…

Installed it - it crashes each and every time I search for a destination, find the destination, then tap on the selected destination name.

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#127

Post by npizzolato »

saryant wrote: post #31
michaelochurch wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airlines (Soviet service and morale, capitalistic price fluctuation) are a perfect microcosm of corporate capitalism, which exists to give the worst of both systems (that is, capitalism and socialism) to the masses and the best of both (social safety net/impunity of socialism, extreme upside of capitalism) to a well-connected elite (often called "the 1%", but closer to 0.1%).

Considering airfares are the cheapest they've ever been in the US, I don't know how that's even remotely true. More of "the masses" are able to fly than ever before.

Even if that's true, that would ignore all the new fees for services you used to get for free. Some new fees you now have the pleasure of paying: - Fee to check even one bag. You used to be able to check at least one under a certain size for free. - Fee to pick reasonable seats on many flights. Those isle and window seats are available, and they can be yours for only $10! - Fee to board at a reasonable time. Otherwise you're stuck at group 5, which is really group ~15 after the platinum, executive platinum, star, super star, golden star, etc. groups that go before group 1, which you can pay an extra $10 to join!

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#128

Post by ethomson »

jcfiala wrote: post #43
zrail wrote: post #26

Southwest, as far as I can tell, doesn't change rates once they've published. Three rate tiers, optional early check-in to get a better boarding order position, and free baggage. The most striking difference is that, in general, the flight attendants are happy . They smile. They joke around. Sometimes they sing songs. I was on a flight a few months ago where the entire plane played a game because it was someone's bir…

As a parent, I fly Southwest so that I can take advantage of the two free checked-in bags you get per ticket. Not having to wrestle several overfull bags of clothes on and off of the plane makes Southwest a great bargain for my piece of mind.

You should never have to pay for checked bags: just gate check the bags instead.

This new checked bag pricing has made the (already crowded) overhead compartments even more crowded. If your flight is full, or nearly so, there will not be enough overhead space for the carry-ons and the flight attendants and gate agents will start gate checking bags. Even if there is space, it may be toward the back of the plane, possibly behind one's seat.

This can be a big inconvenience for people who want to carry-on. If your carry-on is several rows behind you, you have to wait for the entire cabin to deplane before you can go back and get your bags. If you're on a tight layover, this can be seriously problematic.

As a result of this madness, the gate agents are always making announcements that they would like to gate check your bags (for free, of course).

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#129

Post by mikeash »

monksy wrote: post #57
jcfiala wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a parent, I fly Southwest so that I can take advantage of the two free checked-in bags you get per ticket. Not having to wrestle several overfull bags of clothes on and off of the plane makes Southwest a great bargain for my piece of mind.

If each kid has a ticket, you can check a bag under their name. Why do you need 2 bags?

I'd guess they're comparing against airlines that charge for all checked bags starting from the first one, rather than airlines that give you one for free.

Re: Air Fares 101 – Why do fares change all the time?

#130

Post by mikeash »

npizzolato wrote: post #127
saryant wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering airfares are the cheapest they've ever been in the US, I don't know how that's even remotely true. More of "the masses" are able to fly than ever before.

Even if that's true, that would ignore all the new fees for services you used to get for free. Some new fees you now have the pleasure of paying: - Fee to check even one bag. You used to be able to check at least one under a certain size for free. - Fee to pick reasonable seats on many flights. Those isle and window seats are available, and they can be yours for only $10! - Fee to board at a reasonable time. Otherwis…

"Fee to check even one bag" means that people traveling with small amounts of luggage can pay less.

"Fee to pick reasonable seats" means that people who prefer a lower price can pay less in exchange for getting worse seats, while people who insist on better seats have to pay.

"Fee to board at a reasonable time" either means that people with more carry-on luggage pay more, or it means that people who don't understand that being on the airplane earlier doesn't make you arrive earlier pay more for no reason. Either way, it's more opportunity for people who want to pay less to do so.

I'm not a big fan of airlines, but I don't see the problem with paying for optional services. Why should each ticket come with a free checked bag? Sure, it's nice when I'm actually checking luggage, but it means I've basically lost out on $25 (or whatever) on those occasions that I don't. Maybe you think, well, I never travel without checking a bag. But lots of people do, and there's no reason they should pay the same price when they don't need the same service.

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