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A Flight Curiosity

Posted by (Ohio) on

There have been a few threads recently and many not so recently about the best time to buy airline tickets. I, personally tend to buy early. The longest I will wait is 6 months prior to the trip. My experience has been that the price of my ticket goes up fairly steadily after my purchase date. I am not worried about it dropping because with Delta, I could get a credit for my old tickets, put it toward the lower price and apply the credit to my next trip.

So I was curious and checked my current flights pricing. I have a multi-city ticket to and from Europe in May. I paid $2400 for Premium Select. The website is saying that the International segments are sold out for Premium Select. The ticket for the same journey in Main Cabin is now $2500. But when I look at the seat maps, most of the Premium Select cabin shows availale seating. I could change my seats without any problem.

I just can't believe that people are paying for a higher cabin and not choosing their seats.
What do you think?

Posted by
23626 posts

If I could logically understand the US airlines pricing structure and timing I would not be wasting my time and advice on a free web site like this one. Instead I would have my own web site and change maybe a hundred dollars for access. Your guesses are as good as mine. Have fun but don't waste too many brain cells on this question.

Posted by
28 posts

I found the same when booking a flight for October with Delta. I ended up getting r/t refundable premium economy (into Paris and of out Nice) from Houston for a little over $2,000! Regulary economy was $2500. I don't get it.

Posted by
2267 posts

Seat maps are never a good indicator of available inventory. Even in the premium cabins.

Posted by
3114 posts

I don't know what the logic is, but for some reason it's always worked well for us to book nearly a year in advance, or as early as practicable. Airline first followed by hotel/B&B, and then everything else. It makes a huge difference if you are flexible with flight dates. I mean, incredible variations.

Posted by
1043 posts

I always buy very soon after the window opens for flights. My friends who are meeting me in Athens almost hesitated to buy so early but on my advice brought in September for a June 2023 trip. New Orleans to Athens round trip on AA main cabin for $1130. Those tickets are now $1900 to $2,300. On three tickets that is a huge saving.

Posted by
4071 posts

I’m waiting for a huge chunk of Visa Travel Rewards points to hit my account & then I’ll transfer them to Delta. I’m planning a mid September visit to Germany. I had wanted Premium Select on Delta but the points requirement doesn’t justify the product type so I’ll do Delta Comfort & choose my seats. When I flew in Delta Select this past October, I picked my seats when I got my tix.

Posted by
11875 posts

If I could logically understand the US airlines pricing structure and timing I would not be wasting my time and advice on a free web site like this one. Instead I would have my own web site and change maybe a hundred dollars for access

Would it not be better to just figure out the winning lotto numbers and not bother with collecting a $100 at a time?

Do not expect to see airfares plunging anytime soon. Delta pilots just a got contract new with a 34% increase, by 2026.

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