About 30 years ago, I remember we used to buy tickets directly from the airline at the airport on the same day as the flight, and they were super cheap.
Now, I can’t seem to find those kinds of deals anymore. In fact, I’ve noticed the opposite – the earlier you book, the cheaper it is, but last-minute tickets from the same airline are really expensive.
Is this how it works nowadays? Has the old trick of getting cheap tickets by buying at the airline office on the day of departure disappeared? I know the risk back then was there might not be any seats available, so no flight, but it was worth it.
As far as the airline is concerned, same-day tickets are only purchased by those who really must fly that day. They’ll always be the most expensive. Only specific flights or destinations may have a day-of decline in the miles required to purchase a ticket. And seldom.
These days, only underbooked flights that run the danger of canceling receive ticket reductions.
And on the day of the event, you won’t find those. Underbooked flights are typically (IME) canceled weeks or at least days in advance so that everyone may be rebooked on the remaining flights.
Last-minute airfares are becoming quite costly due to the rise in online shopping. Using free monitoring programs like Google Flights, you may verify it for yourself. Flights are usually at their lowest seven to eight weeks before to the travel date, and they only get more expensive after that.
1 Like
Within two weeks of the date, flight prices are at their highest. Since they know you need that trip and will pay whatever they charge, the day of travel is likely the most costly.