Air passengers may pay 8 times as much as their seatmates, study finds

[unhappycamper]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-passengers-may-pay-eight-times-more-20140807-story.html



Airline passengers can pay as much as two to eight times as much as other passengers in the same cabin section, a study found.

Air passengers may pay 8 times as much as their seatmates, study finds
By Hugo Martin
8.10.2014

On a recent vacation trip to Canada, Gina Kano couldn’t help thinking that she probably paid more for her ticket than other passengers on the plane.

“And there is no way to know why,” the marketing executive from Los Angeles said. “Is it just luck? When there is no logical reason, it’s very annoying.”

A new study has confirmed what Kano and many airline travelers have long suspected: On any given flight, passengers can pay twice as much as others in the same cabin section, and even as high as eight times more.

The study, based on millions of air fares analyzed by the travel-planning site Hopper.com, looked a several domestic flights taken in early May, including a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Las Vegas. On that flight, one-way fares ranged from less than $200 to more than $1,600 for coach seats.

[pipoman]

1. I take my time and buy my tickets at least 30 days in advance

If someone buys their ticket at the terminal the day of the flight, it wouldn't surprise me if they pay way more. I have found late night/early morning purchases are less than during business hours. I attribute this to the volume of business travelers who buy during peak times while on the clock and not as price conscious or willing to shop around because they aren't the one's paying for the ticket.