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Why Do Airfares Change?
by Rebecca Bliefernich on November 18, 2009 |
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That's the million dollar question! Fares change because the airlines control them - it's a free market system. For example, I booked 4 tickets yesterday afternoon for a client heading down to Lima, Peru. The fare was valid and according to the electronic message I had 2 days to run the tickets. The client spent last night and today confirming with all the family members for the trip dates and then called me to pay for the reservations. When I went into the reservation the airlines had invalidated the fare, offered another fare, for about $1100 more! And this is for travel next July - it's frustrating to try and explain this to a client, because as an agency we have absolutely no control over retail fares. So we're back to planning process - I'll search again for her and hope that the airline fare increase will be followed by a decrease soon. Luckily we have plenty of time to shop for the July 2010 vacation.
The point I am making is if you find a good fare on a schedule you know will work for you - don't wait a day or two to confirm it. Buy it - that's the only way to lock in a ticket price. One word of caution - once you buy it that ticket is non-refundable and non-transferable (you can't give it to someone else to use or sell it). You can change the dates and the city pairs for a fee, and move the money to another ticket under the original name of the traveler - that's all.
Pay attention to the advance purchase rules. From Portland, it's a 14 day advance purchase market to fly to most cities this side of the Rockies. On the other side of those mountains it's usually a 21 day advance purchase to get the best fares. That doesn't mean the fare will be available, the plane could be sold out on the schedule you want. It just means that if you're planning to go to Phoenix in early March (not during Spring Break) you should consider buying your ticket in mid-February or sooner. If you plan on seeing our nations capitol during summer break, you have to plan a month in advance to get the best fare. Savvy travelers know the rules to get the best fares!
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