Skift Take
At first, U.S. airlines tried to keep prices steady for summer travel and beyond. But now that's going away. Most airlines are offering cheap fares on many routes through the end of their schedules.
During good times, airlines brag about revenue management systems, promising they can capture every bit of revenue by measuring each traveler's willingness to pay. Often, humans become near bystanders, told to let the artificial intelligence work its magic.
But sometimes top executives realize bookings aren't tracking what they expect, and they overrule the machine, dumping cheap tickets. It's happening in the United States now, on a nearly unprecedented level.
"The freakout has happened," said Marietta Landon, a former revenue manager at Alaska Airlines. "No more advance purchase requirements, no change and cancel fees, and unprecedented low fares — although these things seem necessary because of this extreme situation."
After holding out hope business and leisure travelers would return in summer or late this year and only discounting flights this spring, U.S. airlines seem to have given up, selling cheap fares through next February. A search of fares in key markets shows that while airlines may be avoiding deep discounts on premium class travel for late this year and next, and as well as economy class seats around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday, most other flights are cheaper than they have been in years.
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