airfares - do they know I'm looking?

[dtbach]

The kids wanted to go on a cruise next winter break from college, so I found a decent one leaving on 6 Jan 2018.

Started to look for some flights down and the first look 5 days ago was around $282 round trip. I had no clue so I passed on it thinking I'd do some more checking later.

Now the best I can do is $418!! Come on, it's been 5 days. I swear they are tracking me because costs are going up every darn time I look.

Do I have to wipe off my cookies or something? Or is it too far out? Maybe wait until Sept/Oct to look again?

 

[ivinsfan]

Perhaps you just checked the price of a single ticket the first time and are searching for multiple tickets today. that could be an issue.

Or there was an airfare sale but as far out as Jan that doesn't seem very likely.

 

[SoReady]

Try using your "ingognito" window. In Chrome click on the upper right 3 dots and look for Ingognito window selection. This may help.

 

[Meadbh]

Of course they know you're looking! After all, your microwave is spying on you.

 

[travelover]

I ran into this on SW Air and my suspicions were incorrect. The rates do jump all over the place. Also, single ticket vs a group of seats can make a big difference if most seats are sold. They only have so many seats available at the low price.

 

[audreyh1]

I've tested this. And my conclusion is that no, they are not.

I do most of my searches via Google Flights anyway. So a given airline is not privy to my interaction anyway.

Costs do vary depending on the day of the week that you search, as well as availability. And yes, 5 days (plus what day of the week) can make a difference.

Personally, I don't bother buying my domestic tickets until about 1 month out. Maybe a little more if certain flights looks to be getting full. 21 days and the cheapest seats may disappear, sooner if the route is popular.

For something as far out as your plans, you have time to wait for an airfare sale. Google flights will track flight prices for you, as will Yapta Price Alert.

Also, google flights can show you a calendar and give you a hint as to which days are the cheapest to leave and return/length of trip.

Google flights doesn't show southwest airlines flights.

 

[marko]

Having flown over 4 million miles on one airline I do know this happens if you use the airline's website.

Just recently I was going back and forth on a set of flights on the airline website. I logged in and out a few times over a 15-20 minute period. The prices jumped by quite a bit and one flight suddenly had no seats at all.

Knowing how the game is played I then called the airline, explained that I had just seen a price for $X but now it's gone. "Oh, it must be some glitch because I see the price you originally saw here and I can give it to you for that price"

+1 on using Chrome Incognito or G-Flights as a screener.

 

[Red Badger]

21 Days

I've tested this. And my conclusion is that no, they are not.

I do most of my searches via Google Flights anyway. So a given airline is not privy to my interaction anyway.

Costs do vary depending on the day of the week that you search, as well as availability. And yes, 5 days (plus what day of the week) can make a difference.

Personally, I don't bother buying my domestic tickets until about 1 month out. Maybe a little more if certain flights looks to be getting full. 21 days and the cheapest seats may disappear, sooner if the route is popular.

For something as far out as your plans, you have time to wait for an airfare sale. Google flights will track flight prices for you, as will Yapta Price Alert.

Also, google flights can show you a calendar and give you a hint as to which days are the cheapest to leave and return/length of trip.

Google flights doesn't show southwest airlines flights.

audreyh1 is correct. As a million miler (former) road warrior, I can assure you that the fares will bounce all over the place until around 21 days out - then they go in one direction - up. If you can use flexible days combined with a price tracker, you might be best served to jump if you see prices you like (sort of). Also agree with the comment about limited cheap seats - you may want to book at least 4-8 weeks out for a large group. Alternately, you can look at splitting the "team" across a couple different flights (but if crap happens, things can get complicated).

Most major airlines use pricing managers to drive margin /revenue. Ergo, the shenanigans you observed. The are the wonderful folks that over-sell coach seats. When this happens, elite status flyers get kicked up front, and/or lowest status, cheapest flyers get kicked to the curb until the next flight (with, perhaps, some modest compensation).

Good luck!

 

[Sunset]

Yes the prices jump all over the place, based on competition, number of planes flying that route, folks who already bought tickets, wether folks are putting tickets on hold, or tickets exprire off of hold.
And finally they do track your computer, and once they are sure your are looking for a specific flight/time/travel you never get the cheapest rate because they know you will buy.

Use an anonymous brower, use multiple browsers, or clear your cache and cookies. Search for all sorts of days/destinations so they don't know which is true or relevant, and use third party sites like google/expedia/kayak as well.

 

[audreyh1]

I have just as often seen prices go down over several weeks. Watching a flight tracker that shows a graph of the price each day price on a specific flight can be very enlightening.

I have also checked on a different "fresh" device when price seemed to increase suspiciously and never suddenly seen the original cheaper price as many people claim. But it's easy enough to check for yourself - clear your cookies, or go to a different computer or device.

A 2014 CheapAir article mentions 49 days ahead was optimal for domestic flight prices as well as discussing the browser cookie concern:
https://www.cheapair.com/blog/trave...s-can-a-flight-price-really-change-135-times/

 

[brett]

We use itmatrix because it is incognito and it provides the fare code as well as the price.

Last year we flew to Asia. Itmatrix displayed the right route and the right cost of $750. Called the airline direct to book. Provided dates, flights, routings, fare codes. Airline had it all except the price...their price was 30 percent more.

Checked Expedia and one other. Same story except the Expedia routing was awful. Finally tried Orbitz. That had the deal, right down to the identical fare codes. So we booked. The tickets and the credit charge was done by the airline that I first called.

 

[JoeWras]

I have also checked on a different "fresh" device when price seemed to increase suspiciously and never suddenly seen the original cheaper price as many people claim. But it's easy enough to check for yourself - clear your cookies, or go to a different computer or device.

Cookies are so 1995. Incognito is so 2005.

You need to VPN to oddball places to change your IP address. I'm convinced they are using IP address as part of their hardball.

 

[kombat]

I've always found it odd that airline travel is so uniquely unequal in its pricing. I bet you could survey every single passenger in a filled-to-capacity 777 and not find two people who paid exactly the same price. Odd, isn't it? Why do we put up with it?

 

[tn3sport]

They do use algorithms based on when business travelers book flights. Highest expected use sometimes yields the highest rates. Same with gas stations. They will up the change the price of gas in the same 24 hour period based on weekend travel, holidays, etc.


Like others have said, use Googleflight or other free tools to find the best time to book.

 

[medved]

Some years ago, I had an interest in airline pricing, maximizing collection and use of miles, some of the Flyertalk tricks, etc. It was amusing and I got some good deals and a lot of free trips. But it was taking too much time so I don't worry about it much these days.

But I will tell you the simplest thing you can do, which is this: When you are searching on an airline website for more than one ticket, search first for one person. Then two. Then three. Up to however many you want. Because if there are, say. only two seats left in the lowest fare bucket, and you search for four seats, the website will not give you the two seats in the lowest fare bucket and then two in the next highest. Instead, it will price all 4 in the higher fare bucket. But you could buy the first two (in my example) in the lower fare bucket and then, in a second purchase, buy the other two. You will have two record locators (and getting them merged is nearly impossible). but who cares. If you are going to do nothing else to save money on airfares, that would be my one suggestion.

My next suggestion would be to use ITA matrix, because it is neutral with respect to airlines. But if you are in the US, check Southwest separately because ITA Matrix does not show Southwest fares.

My third suggestion is if you want to use miles for an international itinerary, call the airline's international desk and be very nice to the agent and ask for his or her help. They can often help put together itineraries that you could not easily construct on your own, especially using a combination of the primary carrier and partner carriers. They don't always have time to look carefully but if you ask nicely they can often be really helpful.

And finally, if you are going to fly a lot and try to use miles effectively, get Expert Flyer. It is worth the money.

 

[Hyperborea]

My next suggestion would be to use ITA matrix, because it is neutral with respect to airlines. But if you are in the US, check Southwest separately because ITA Matrix does not show Southwest fares.

Google owns ITA now and it is incorporated into Google Flights with a much better interface and some nice exploratory options.

 

[audreyh1]

We use itmatrix because it is incognito and it provides the fare code as well as the price.

Last year we flew to Asia. Itmatrix displayed the right route and the right cost of $750. Called the airline direct to book. Provided dates, flights, routings, fare codes. Airline had it all except the price...their price was 30 percent more.

Checked Expedia and one other. Same story except the Expedia routing was awful. Finally tried Orbitz. That had the deal, right down to the identical fare codes. So we booked. The tickets and the credit charge was done by the airline that I first called.

Doesn't Google Flights run on top of Matrix (ITA software by Google)?

 

[brett]

Yes, I think that Google and it matrix use the same database however we usually check both.

We also look carefully at alternative airports and regional discount airlines. Last month we flew from Santiago to Buenos Aires/Montevideo. KLM etc fares were $300. Discount Sky Airlines was $100.

 

[jim584672]

I always read articles that say use Incognito mode for travel related sites.

 

[ikubak]

Of course they know you're looking! After all, your microwave is spying on you.

We got rid of our microwave, even before we heard it could spy on us.

 

[dtbach]

At this point I don't care anymore. I figured out how much it would cost to drive down and back and for the price of airfare, parking, shuttle to/from cruise docks, we can go to Disney for 3 days. The kids said they would do most of the driving so we can do Disney.

Problem solved.

 

[JoeWras]

We just planned our current vacation and changed it to driving only, after initially thinking we were goind to fly. It isn't just the fares, it is the so-called service of air travel driving us away.

Gas is cheap. We have flexibility, and there's plenty to see along the way.

 

[mpeirce]

We just planned our current vacation and changed it to driving only, after initially thinking we were goind to fly. It isn't just the fares, it is the so-called service of air travel driving us away.

Just flew American Airlines between Barcelona and JFK and was shocked to get a pretty tasty lunch on the flight. The chicken was cooked just right and the sauce they put on it was quite good. Both DW and I were surprised. This was in an extra space economy seat.

Oh, and the snack was ice cream. Tasty ice cream.

Weird.