For travellers, the magic number is 8
August 23rd 2010 04:13
It is a fact of modern life that every person on board any given aeroplane paid a different price for their ticket.
This is a result of modern marketing practice which sees airlines offering discounts for advance bookings. The earlier you book, the cheaper the seat. Every nanosecond you hesitate, the price jumps. A family emergency necessitating a last-minute travel decision means a significant revision of the airline’s quarterly profit projection.
So it is with joy that we see that two Japan-based economists have studied this numbers game and have come up with a simple formula to help you choose the best time to book your plane ticket.
The formula is this: ?A = gUG min(k - g, (1 - g)(1 - r)), where ? is a variable which … okay, that is not so simple.
Breaking it down, the answer is eight – next time you wish to fly, book eight weeks before lift-off.
Also, do it later in the day rather than earlier.
The researchers, Makoto Watanabe and Marc Möller, said any earlier than eight weeks and the risk of needing to change your travel date outweighs the savings advantage. Any later than eight weeks, and watch the price rise quickly.
The discrepancy between times is probably due to business types preferring to book trips during work hours and budget holiday types preferring to book from home in the evenings, the researchers said.
news.com.au
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