On Tue, 3 May 2005 13:05:39 -0700, David Hale <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Actually, the airlines use rather complex revenue
>models to set fares. Our resident LNG might even be
>familiar with the models. Essentially, the goal is to
>maximize revenue for each flight.

Of the follow-ups I've seen thus far, through our resident Ding-Dong,
that your remark comes closest to the mark of reality.  No, I don't
know the models, but I do know that's why they TRY to do, though
rather unsuccessfully, I might add.


Our resident Ding Dong, who knows as much about airfare pricing
or flying as he does about physics and physiology spouts his
theories without any factual support, just like he said he can
maintain NEUTRAL BUOYANCY throughout a dive by a mere shift in
his "breathing pattern" without adding or releasing any air from
his BCD, even though the air in the TANK changes more than 5 lbs
in weight, from full to near empty.

He was STILL singing that tune in rec.scuba this year, when he
had been thoroughly trashed by George Irvine and his techdiver
boys, as well as everyone who knows anything about PHYSICS,
lung capacity, and neutral buoyancy.  :-)


>Of course, this economic model results in considerable
>confusion among the airline customers....

Not to mention the airline "economicsts" who point in all directions
if you line them end-to-end, just as other economists.  :-)


The current price inrease and pricing is DEFINITELY not related to
the price of oil/gas in any significant way!  If anything, it's
related to the fact that the major airlines are all going BROKE
long before the oil prices went up!

United, Delta, AA, CO, and other major domestic airlines are LOSING
to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars every quarter!  They are trying
everything to bring in a few bucks in an attempt to save their own
asses.

Here's a case I reported three years ago to the rec.travel.air group
about the "crazy pricing" that on the SAME DAY, on flights differing
by as little as 2 hours!  This was my post in January 2002:

=====================
> The price of a roundtrip ticket can change RADICALLY even for travel
> on the SAME days of departure and return!

> For a 1/20/02 flight from ATL to Honolulu (HNL), returning on 1/25,
> both itineraries in COACH class:

> The roundtrip (including tax) is $341.69 if you depart at 7:30 am
> and return at 7:40 pm.

> The roundtrip (including tax) is $1,012.86 if you depart at 8:50 am
> and return at 6:30 pm.

> What a difference a couple of HOURS make!

This is a follow-up to show what a difference a couple of DAYS make.

At the time of that post, the $341.69 fare appeared to be the lowest
among major airlines serving ATL:  Delta and AA.

When I looked yesterday, the fare for that identical flight on CO
($341.69) had gone up to $1,828.09, and is the cheapest flight for
those days on CO!!   There must have been a very limited number of
tickets at that price, and my post might have sent a few to purchase
at that price (including myself <BG>) to have driven up the price
to that incredible $1,828.09, with departure date nearly two weeks
away!

Surprised at my discovery in getting some actual prices to illustrate
my point in the 1/3/02 post, I purchased ATL/HNL tickets at CO with
different departure/return dates (from the ones cited) this month,
for $309.88 each.   Those identical flights NOW go for the same
$1,828.09 or higher.
=====================

Well, I actually bought TWO roundtrip tickets for myself for the
two-week stay because the Frequent Flyer Miles I get for one roundtrip
was MUCH greater in value than the $309 for the ticket!

So, I came back after 1 week, to meet Sue in Atlanta and flew back for
the second week, even though going back to ATL was entirely unnecessary
for me to do except to get the FFMs.  :-)

That was also the trip ALL our luggage was stolen while we were
returning to the HNL airport, and it took us almost two years to
replace most of what we lost by our Home Insurance which dished out
over $14K in replacement costs.  But that's another story.


You've got to be a VERY FREQUENT FLYER who books ALL his own flights
to know many/any of these trivia in the airline industry.

It's a case of REALITY in CRAZY PRICING, not an arm-chair
theorizing of the solution of an optimization problem when the
arm-chair theorists don't have half of the parameters and relevant
variables, let alone their actual EFFECTS.


So ... there are still a couple of old lurkers.  :-)

Mark (Goldsmith) ... have fun in the Caymans.

I cancelled my April booking of a FREE First Class roundrip
ATL/San Juan flight for 60K Continental FF miles on a DELTA
flight (for cruise cancellation), after I almosted booked a
Continental ATL/San Juan flight in COACH for 70K CO FFMs,
for the same dates, with worse schedules.


la Poisson, but you can call me da Flying Guarnard now.