Qantas flight change

[ian]

may I beg to differ?

as far as I know the core software behind Qantas's (and for that matter Virgin's) booking engines is the same as that used by US airlines, so both countries have similar flight "rules"

[kiwigeo]

may I beg to differ?

as far as I know the core software behind Qantas's (and for that matter Virgin's) booking engines is the same as that used by US airlines, so both countries have similar flight "rules"

It's nothing to do with the booking software......how cheap airline can offer a seat depends more on the size of the market (=population) and how strong competition is from other airlines serving the same route.

[ian]

starting to get way off topic ...

have you ever investigated the cost of an air ticket and tracked over two or three days how the fare changes day to day and hour to hour?
It's not uncommon for an airline to track your IP address and modify their offers based on your search history.
Something is going on when a simultaneous query from a different IP address will be offered a different fare.

[Pearo]

starting to get way off topic ...

have you ever investigated the cost of an air ticket and tracked over two or three days how the fare changes day to day and hour to hour?
It's not uncommon for an airline to track your IP address and modify their offers based on your search history.
Something is going on when a simultaneous query from a different IP address will be offered a different fare.

Never seen that before, but I have seen the price change a lot over several days and hours based on the same IP address. Also seen the same effect happen when trying to upgrade to business on frequent flyer points.

[chris0375]

starting to get way off topic ...

have you ever investigated the cost of an air ticket and tracked over two or three days how the fare changes day to day and hour to hour?
It's not uncommon for an airline to track your IP address and modify their offers based on your search history.
Something is going on when a simultaneous query from a different IP address will be offered a different fare.

Has this actually been proven beyond reasonable doubt?

[kiwigeo]

starting to get way off topic ...

have you ever investigated the cost of an air ticket and tracked over two or three days how the fare changes day to day and hour to hour?
It's not uncommon for an airline to track your IP address and modify their offers based on your search history.
Something is going on when a simultaneous query from a different IP address will be offered a different fare.

Fare structures are different depending on airline and country.

Yes I have noticed (Australian domestic) fares change over the period of days and even hours......I do alot more flying than the average punter in my job and I frequently have to change bookings to the same destination. The fares generally become more expensive the closer you get to the day/time of departure.

[kiwigeo]

Never seen that before, but I have seen the price change a lot over several days and hours based on the same IP address. Also seen the same effect happen when trying to upgrade to business on frequent flyer points.

If youre changing a flyer point ticket then of course they can track you...youre doing your change via a Frequent Flyer site which has a log in and a record of your details. Tracking via IP address......I dont see how this can be going on as I believe (correct me if Im wrong) that most individuals get dynamic IPs assigned by their ISP. Businesses may use static IP addresses for the purposes of running VPNs and email systems.

[chris0375]

If youre changing a flyer point ticket then of course they can track you...youre doing your change via a Frequent Flyer site which has a log in and a record of your details. Tracking via IP address......I dont see how this can be going on as I believe (correct me if Im wrong) that most individuals get dynamic IPs assigned by their ISP. Businesses may use static IP addresses for the purposes of running VPNs and email systems.

Use cookies?

[kiwigeo]

Use cookies?

True

[chambezio]

I originally posted to have a whinge about how unfair the Airline strategies are! I have only been on half a dozen flights in my whole life. The last time was in 1988. So I am not familiar with what goes on. The Flights organised for our trip to Tassie was a gift from my kids. If I could have changed the flights I could have spent more time looking about for a couple more days. I would have been happy to pay a charge for the change but I am not prepared to be ripped off!

I read some where that there was the same set up in America (charging a whole lot more for changes to flights) that the government stepped in and made the airlines change the system to a fairer cheaper alternative. I can't see it happening here.

[ian]

Has this actually been proven beyond reasonable doubt?

yep

As you mentioned above, it is probably cookies rather than IP address, but I've sat beside my wife and booked a ticket at a price my wife (who was the one tracking the pricing) couldn't get.