Why is airline ticket pricing so complicated?
Answer – The airline industry has changed drastically over the past few years. Competitive pressures have forced carriers to continually seek ways to become profitable in the face of increased competition and demanding shareholders who want to see a solid return on their investment. Yield management strategies employed by the airlines take into account that certain travelers are not at all price-sensitive when it comes to travel and will pay just about anything to get where they have to go. At the other end of the spectrum is the traveler who may be on a fixed budget and can be more flexible with their schedule and class of seating if it means a lower fare. In between these two scenarios is a spectrum of hundreds of different fares, with many variables factored into the equation. These variables might include time of travel, lead-time in booking travel, Saturday night stays, direct or non-stop service offerings, refundable versus non-refundable tickets, and much more. Coupled with that
