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
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments