Personalized air fare deals lower than web fares
Consumers enrolled in Southwest Airlines’ “Ding” program receive special airfare offers, several times a day to their computer, announced by a ‘ding’.
A recent offer received was $122 for a flight from Tampa to Baltimore, which was $36 less than Southwest’s own web site fare.
Airline industry analysts who have been following Southwest’s Ding program since its February launch, see this as the beginning of a shift in the way airlines set fares.
InternetTravelTips.com, has been tracking prices on Ding estimate that fares on Ding were lower than those for comparable flights on other carriers by 17 percent, or about $50 a ticket.
If fare matching similar to Ding are adopted by the industry, while some consumers may be offered lower fares, industry analysts believe some may be offered higher fares, especially business travelers, to raise profits.
Fare matching is an effective way to fill unsold seats quickly, efficiently and by-pass GDS reservation system fees, while the airline communicates directly with customers.
Utilizing their customer travel preference and purchasing profiles, airlines can even identify customers who are willing to pay more for a ticket, and then send them an offer for a more expensive fare.
Other airlines pursuing customized airfare pricing systems include Northwest Airlines, American Airlines.
Charles Kao
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