Recently, I researched a trip from Los Angeles to Atlanta and back. Checking fares several months in advance revealed a decent fare but because plans were not set, no reservation was made. About three to four weeks prior to departure, another search was made and showed prices were RISING, even though the economy was in turmoil and air fares everywhere were dropping like rain from a thundercloud. A booking was hurriedly made but I continued to check fares and surprisingly, they continued UP instead of down as I expected.
However, the general consensus was that air fares were going on sale almost weekly and some airlines were offering trips to Europe for less than what it cost to go non-stop to Atlanta. Travel experts were suggesting that waiting until the last minute usually would result in better fares, so what gives with the higher prices I saw?
The easy answer is ROUTE. Certain routes between certain cities have less competition than other routes and while you could fly from San Francisco to New York and back for $220, LA -Atlanta was $350 or more. One would think that SF-NY or LA-NY would be a highly competitive route but you must remember that smaller and newer airlines have increased the competition on those routes and the airlines have been in a price war. A certain airline newcomer based out of Detroit has ridiculous fares to many cities - like $19-$49 Detroit to Orlando or even from LA to Detroit. But Detroit is not a high traffic route, so any newcomers only serve to slice the available revenue more ways instead of creating new revenues. Las Vegas used to be a revenue maker for airlines but the addition of one discounter has slashed fares to sometimes under $50 one way.
Another reason the Atlanta fares were so high was that the trip desired was non-stop. There were other lower fares but they all involved layovers of anywhere between one to three hours or plane switches in strange airports. To go no-stop cost more because there were fewer seats available. Understanding this would have required a booking should be done fairly early, unless the fares were ridiculously high. Waiting until the last week would have cost double the original fare. This is why not only doing research is required to find the lowest fares but knowing the dynamics of the routes and the competition involved makes all the difference.
David C. Reynolds is an author and longtime veteran of the hotel and travel business who offers common sense, money saving travel tips and advice. If you would like a good resource for finding you the lowest rate on a hotel, visit http://www.cheaphotelforyou.com For airline flights discount strategies, go to http://www.travelsecretsandguide.com
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