[Nicholasp27]

there is a lot of logic to airline pricing

every seat is sold at different prices...their goal is to maximize the average price per seat

some people will pay more and some less; they give lower prices on the internet and through expedia, etc to gain the sales of people who would otherwise go elsewhere or not fly if they can't get it for that price; they charge more for people who don't care about shopping around to get the best price; many people will fly with an airline just for frequent flyer miles even if it costs them double the price of another airline!

people who book 1-way tickets, book at the last minute, book at the airport, etc are less worried about price and shopping around than people who book online where they research prices and book in advance (or use priceline, etc for last-minute)

it's similiar to a hotel

u go to the lobby and ask for a room for the night; they say $88. u then go to their free lobby computer and go to hotels.com and book the room for the night for $45

many people will just take the $88 price; the people who are more price sensitive will book it for $45 on hotels.com...so they segment the market into those who will pay face value and those who won't and they get sales from both while making more than if they just charged the low price to everyone


fyi: many 'refurb' items aren't even refurbished...they are brand new but they allow them to sell to people who otherwise are priced outta the market at the retail price; so they get the retail price from most customers and then get extra sales and profit by selling 'refurbed' units to those who care enough about the extra $20 to buy a refurbished unit