When is an airfare sale not an airfare sale?
So when is that hot airfare sale really not quite as hot as it seems? When the airline bumps up their prices for a few days, then lowers them back down to the regular price a few days later, but calls that return to tbe regular price a “seat sale” instead.
AirTran announced a system-wide summer airfare sale Monday evening. FareCompare.com’s airfare deal alerts technology counts this as the 3rd time in past month.
Summer airfare sales are normally few and far between, prompting FareCompare.com to investigate this airfare sale information carefully. The investigation revealed AirTran has been raising prices for a few days and then lowering them back and declaring an airfare sale.
Don’t get FareCompare.com wrong, we love the low prices at AirTran, it is the marketing spin that is irritating and misleading. It conjures up images of the never ending “Going Out of Business Sale”.
For example, AirTran has 8 non-stop flights a day between Atlanta & Chicago (Midway).
A quick look at the FareCompare.com history graph for AirTran 14-day advance purchase fares between Atlanta & Chicago exposes this dubious marketing practice. We think the great every day prices at AirTran don’t need this type of spin (and it keeps us up late at night trying to figure out what they are up to).
