Do flight prices with smaller airlines / airports tend to only go up?
Tunstallstoven
Posts: 997 Forumite
Hi all
Having recently moved house, for the first time ever I'm looking to fly from a smaller airport (most likely Cardiff, but maybe Bristol or Birmingham). In the past I've always used Stansted and Luton.
I usually keep an eye on prices and strike when I feel they're at a good point. With the likes of Easy Jet and Ryanair at the larger airports, the flights go up and down.
However, the flights at Cardiff with airlines such as KLM just keep going up! I'm starting to wonder (and panic) as to whether they are ever going to go down! They're really expensive now and whilst I'd prefer to wait for a drop I also don't want to risk further increases with no drops.
I appreciate this is a common situation when it comes to flights, as well as when to buy foreign currency etc. So I don't expect anyone can forecast what will happen. But from a more general point of view, do the smaller airlines/airports drop their prices less that the bigger ones?
Cheers
Having recently moved house, for the first time ever I'm looking to fly from a smaller airport (most likely Cardiff, but maybe Bristol or Birmingham). In the past I've always used Stansted and Luton.
I usually keep an eye on prices and strike when I feel they're at a good point. With the likes of Easy Jet and Ryanair at the larger airports, the flights go up and down.
However, the flights at Cardiff with airlines such as KLM just keep going up! I'm starting to wonder (and panic) as to whether they are ever going to go down! They're really expensive now and whilst I'd prefer to wait for a drop I also don't want to risk further increases with no drops.
I appreciate this is a common situation when it comes to flights, as well as when to buy foreign currency etc. So I don't expect anyone can forecast what will happen. But from a more general point of view, do the smaller airlines/airports drop their prices less that the bigger ones?
Cheers
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Comments
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It doesn't have much to do with the size of the airpline or airport (KLM is hardly a small airline) although if there's less competition from a particular airport that can obviously affect the price. Prices fluctuate with KLM as well although if you're getting close to departure it is unlikely they will come down.0
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Airline revenue management is largely automated with algorithms analysing a number of factors in real time.
That said it largely comes down to supply and demand. And Stansted/Luton have far more supply than Birmingham, which has more supply than Bristol, which has more supply than Cardiff etc.
You can get bargains and good fares at all airports though. You say KLM from Cardiff so I’ll make a quick assumption you mean long haul. Cardiff only has one direct long haul flight (Doha). On top of that, KLM IS the only real network carrier operating to a hub; so without much competition KLM may find they can charge a bit more from
Cardiff.
Going back on that though, it doesn’t mean fares won’t fluctuate, as nobody understands exactly how the airline revenue management works.0 -
That's why I always use nordvpn (o whatever vpn) when I'm looking for flight tickets o accommodation, cause the more you look it, the higher price gets.0
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Thanks for the helpful replies.
To clarify, I'm flying to Prague (with a change at Amsterdam). And I'll be flying out on August 6th so still a while to go yet. In fact, looking at EveryWhere's link "45 days to go" is the cheapest time to book on average so I'm still within that.That's why I always use nordvpn (o whatever vpn) when I'm looking for flight tickets o accommodation, cause the more you look it, the higher price gets.
That's something I've heard about, not just with flights but also with buying many things on the net. But I've never looked into it deeply and so never known how true it is. Anecdotal stories I've heard would certainly suggest there's something in it. So I'll check up on that. But if it is something you/anyone else knows much about, perhaps you could tell me whether using an Incognito/Private window in my browser makes any difference? How about a different device in the house? Or does none of that make a difference because it is still the same VPN? Something I lmow very little about, as you can probably tell!0 -
Thanks for the helpful replies.
To clarify, I'm flying to Prague (with a change at Amsterdam). And I'll be flying out on August 6th so still a while to go yet. In fact, looking at EveryWhere's link "45 days to go" is the cheapest time to book on average so I'm still within that.
That's something I've heard about, not just with flights but also with buying many things on the net. But I've never looked into it deeply and so never known how true it is. Anecdotal stories I've heard would certainly suggest there's something in it. So I'll check up on that. But if it is something you/anyone else knows much about, perhaps you could tell me whether using an Incognito/Private window in my browser makes any difference? How about a different device in the house? Or does none of that make a difference because it is still the same VPN? Something I lmow very little about, as you can probably tell!
Clear your cookies before making your purchase or download a new unused browser to make your booking.0 -
In fact, looking at EveryWhere's link "45 days to go" is the cheapest time to book on average so I'm still within that.
It doesn't really work like that and 45 days out is pretty close to departure considering flights are put on sale 11 months out. You don't say when your return date but you can fly out on August 6 (from Cardiff) and return on some dates for less than £200 which I'd consider pretty good. You're not going to get substantially cheaper with KLM. You can safely disregard all the nonsense about using a VPN or clearing cookies, it will have no effect on the price.0 -
You don't say when your return date
I think that might be part of the problem... I'm looking to return on the Sunday afternoon / evening (11th Aug), and I guess that must be a very popular return time. At the moment, it seems flights are over £300 including package
I should have been more organised!0 -
I recently found out that using vpn you can save money on flight tickets. Sadly can not add the link but as I read in the article from tipsfromgeeks.com, it says that when you use vpn as you'd be in the location you are going, the price might be cheaper. I haven't tried it, although thinking to buy a nordvpn.0
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