Best Time to Buy an Airline Ticket?

[Enema Bandit's Dad]

When would the best time be to buy a ticket with either Virgin or Jetstar if I want to travel mid September? It's $332 today between the Gold Coast and Melbourne. Does it get cheaper closer to the day?

[Ultralights]

from my experience the price varies by the hour! though it seams to be cheaper during working hours. with Virgin (i refuse to fly Jetstar ever again) i have found the prices remain fairly static up until 2 days before departure

[Pass-A-Frozo]

Theoretically speaking the price of a ticket at the last minute should go up. The risk of the airline not selling the ticket increases, so the return they expect increases. It would also be assumed that you are rather inflexible with when you travel if you are booking at the last minute. The inflexible party loses.

[Icarus2001]

Well that theory is just bloody silly. Sorry. The airline is obviously less flexible because they have to fly that seat from A to B whether it is empty or full, whereas the customer/client can make a choice to buy or not.
As for the return on a seat! That is why there so many god damn prices in the first place, yield management. Once you have sold say 30% of the seats at a "high" price you can afford to sell say 20% at a "low" price.

[Pass-A-Frozo]

Try getting a cheap seat 7 months before travel. Then try booking a "cheap" seat the day before travel. Give it a try on your favourite airline website and see what you get.

[QNH1013.2]

The earlier the cheaper... they only go up with time.

$330'ish is that one way? If so that IS very expensive indeed.

I paid $140 one way only a month ago for the same leg. Perhaps that's school holidays or something which has boosted the price.

[Aussie]

Yeah ya right Frozo, the earlier the cheaper!

Book ahead mate!

Aussie

[Brian Abraham]

BUYING PAINT FROM A HARDWARE STORE

Customer: Hi. How much is your paint?
Clerk: We have regular quality for $12 a gallon and premium for $18. How
many gallons would you like?
Customer: Five gallons of regular quality, please.
Clerk: Great. That will be $60 plus tax.

BUYING PAINT FROM AN AIRLINE

Customer: Hi, how much is your paint?
Clerk: Well, sir, that all depends.
Customer: Depends on what?
Clerk: Actually, a lot of things.
Customer: How about giving me an average price?
Clerk: Wow, that's too hard a question. The lowest price is $9 a gallon,
and we have 150 different prices up to $200 a gallon.
Customer: What's the difference in the paint?
Clerk: Oh, there isn't any difference; it's all the same paint.
Customer: Well, then, I'd like some of that $9 paint.
Clerk: Well, first I need to ask you a few questions. When do you intend
to use it?
Customer: I want to paint tomorrow, on my day off.
Clerk: Sir, the paint for tomorrow is the $200 paint.
Customer: What? When would I have to paint in order to get the $9 version?
Clerk: That would be in three weeks, but you will also have to agree to
start painting before Friday of that week and continue painting until at
least Sunday.
Customer: You've got to be kidding!
Clerk: Sir, we don't kid around here. Of course, I'll have to check to see
if we have any of that paint available before I can sell it to you.
Customer: What do you mean check to see if you can sell it to me? You have
shelves full of that stuff; I can see it right there.
Clerk: Just because you can see it doesn't mean that we have it. It may be
the same paint, but we sell only a certain number of gallons on any
given weekend. Oh, and by the way, the price just went to $12.
Customer: You mean the price went up while we were talking!
Clerk: Yes, sir. You see, we change prices and rules thousands of times a
day, and since you haven't actually walked out of the store with your
paint yet, we just decided to change. Unless you want the same thing to
happen again, I would suggest that you get on with your purchase. How
many gallons do you want?
Customer: I don't know exactly. Maybe five gallons. Maybe I should buy six
gallons just to make sure I have enough.
Clerk: Oh, no, sir, you can't do that. If you buy the paint and then don't
use it, you will be liable for penalties and possible confiscation
of the paint you already have.
Customer: What?
Clerk: That's right. We can sell you enough paint to do your kitchen,
bathroom, hall and north bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do
the bedroom, you will be in violation of our tariffs.
Customer: But what does it matter to you whether I use all the paint? I
already paid you for it!
Clerk: Sir, there's no point in getting upset; that's just the way it is.
We make plans based upon the idea that you will use all the paint, and
when you don't, it just causes us all sorts of problems.
Customer: This is crazy! I suppose something terrible will happen if I
don't keep painting until after Saturday night!
Clerk: Yes, sir, it will.
Customer: Well, that does it! I'm going somewhere else to buy my paint.
Clerk: That won't do you any good, sir. We all have the same rules. Thanks
for painting with our airline.

[Di_Vosh]

GOLD :ok:

(and so true :( )

[Animalclub]

An airline seat is one of the most perishable items around. One would think that the closer to travel date Yield Management would be pleased to get DOC's out of a paying customer. Something about marginal costing perhaps.

[Brian Abraham]

A seat is certainly a perishable commodity but I wonder if all the effort and people employed in yield management and the time spent by travel agents in chasing the "best fare" is all counter productive. Its said that no two people on an aircraft paid the same price. With rare exception you have to say that airlines are doing a poor job with yield management if the financial results are any guide. What businesses sell their product at a price less than it costs to produce which is what airlines seem to engage in. Public transport aside that is. Two days ago priced an economy seat from Melbourne to Zurich return with a stopover in Doha and the results were,
BA web site $(Oz) 3,773
EK web site $(Oz) 12,279 (and no its not a miss print. I guess they must be beating customers off with sticks to price it so high compared to their competitors - maybe why they cant wait for the 380)
Local travel agent $(Oz) 2,175
Is it too simplistic to say for a given aircraft on a given route we price each seat at X dollars assuming a certain load factor with a profit margin of Y% built in? Seems to work for shipping, bus and aircraft freight.

[Enema Bandit's Dad]

Well today it was $328 return with Jetstar as against $408 for Virgin.

[gaunty]

Well gaunty paid $50 odd bucks more than mrs gaunty for exactly the same fare/flight and seat next door to her, QF BNE-PER because he couldn't make up his mind for a cuplla days due to some biz committments.

No biggy, but I looked next day just out of interest and it would have been over $200 had I not booked when I did. As it turned out we changed itinerary to via MEL for a stopover on a different day anyway.
Still dirt cheap even including the "change" surcharges and if you are flexible on your flight times, still plenty of empty rows and legroom.

Just what did Australian and Ansett do with all that serious money they used to charge?............nah dont go there.

And it was to BNE to greet my first grandchild to the world. Chloe Anne. Not biased mind you, but the very cutest little girl in the world.:)

[Fliegenmong]

EBD - Just back from a jaunt down to Syd with Mrs Fliegs (from Gold Coast) the difference being we bought tkts way back in May - $39 each way, of which I don't know 9 bucks is probably taxes etc etc. Can jag some really cheap ones sometimes if you can book way out - keep an eye out for specials etc. - this was with Jetstar.

Oh and by the way we returned to Gold Coast aboard 'QG' I think it was, THERE IS ADVERTISING ON THE OVERHEAD BINS!!!! AND ON THE TRAY TABLES!!! Shame I don't eat pizza from the chain that was advertised, as I cannot boycott their product - but will certainly boycott Jokestar at every possible opportunity. I have not encountered this before, and it is tacky in the extreme! Ok OK - It's what you get with 39 dollar tkts sure, I understand that, dsoesn't mean I'm not allowed to say how vulgar the concept is though does it
Rant off

[king oath]

Back to the original post.

QF used to run a couple of flights per day MEL to Gold coast including a morning 767, which was usually chocka.

Then to spoon feed the newly set up Jet* they gave the entire route to them. Pulled out entirely. This was part of of QFs propping up the newcomer, along with a number of other routes. Just ask Tasmanians.

So the prices on this route may be a bit higher than some others as the competition is less.

Virgin must be laughing all the way to the bank. Their only competion is Jet* so they can pitch the fares at a nice level and be assured of good loads. Who in their right mind would want to travel on Jet*.

[Ultralights]

i remember a few months ago, checking the J* site and the VB site at the same time for a flight from Syd the Harvey Bay, J8 quoted $79 one way. VB $98.... i looked at the J* page quoting $79, then looked at the VB site, went back to the J* page, refreshed it and the price went to $89!!!!!!

i actually wondered if J* had a random number generator in the site to throw up random prices!
even though VB is usually $20 dearer each way than J*on the routes i usually travel, its VB all the way..

[tlf]

Just what did Australian and Ansett do with all that serious money they used to charge?............nah dont go there.



Paid serious wages perhaps to trustworthy people who wouldn't steal from your baggage or add packages of drugs to it?