Perishability

Perishability It is often observed that variations occur in airline fares on regular basis. If one books a flight from one city to another and repeat the same procedure in the next week, a little variation in the fare is noticed. The question here arises that why such variation in flight fares occurs when airline and the destination are the same only time is different? This variation of fares is not only found in the airline industry, but also in the hotel and car rental businesses. A comparison of fares for three different time periods has been done to investigate this variation.
Flight from Dubai to Singapore:
Dates
Departure Time
Arrival Time
Fare
Departure Tue 6th March 2012
Return Tue 13th March 2012
7: 45
9: 35
21: 05
13: 00
$ 713
Departure Tue 27th March 2012
Return Tue 3rd April 2012
2: 45
2: 00
14: 05
5: 10
$ 760
Departure Tue 17th April 2012
Return Tue 24th April 2012
9: 35
00: 55
20: 55
6: 00
$ 713
Stay in Taj Hotels Dubai:
Dates
Fare
Check In 6th March 2012
Check Out 13th March 2012
$ 1448. 64
Check In 27th March 2012
Check Out 3rd April 2012
$ 1383. 28
Check In 17th April 2012
Check Out 24th April 2012
$ 1476. 24
Car Rental
Car Rental service in Dubai using the services of the EUROPCAR. Car type is compact and the car under consideration is Toyota Yaris.
Dates
Fare
Pick up 6th March 2012, 12pm
Drop off 13th March 2012, 12pm
$ 218. 63
Pick up 27th March 2012, 12pm
Drop off 3rd April 2012, 12pm
$ 218. 63
Pick up 17th April 2012, 12pm
Drop off 24th April 2012, 12pm
$ 218. 63
Studies suggest that airline tickets are often found a bit cheaper if purchased in the afternoon. It is argued that this happens because of the fact that business people book their seats from their offices in the morning. While those who have to travel for private trips book their seats from home in the afternoon or in the evening. It is also observed that flight timings and load of customers on the companies also have a huge impact on the fares. This was specially noticed in the hotel and airline industry, as during vacations their fares are at their maximum level.
Reference:
Emitares Airline. “ International Flights – Book flights. Emirates Airline. Emirates Global”. Web 12 February 2012.