Airline pricing

Using the “flexibility” option on Travelocity.com, where one sees the cheapest ticket regardless of the date, I find that the cheapest ticket to Bermuda is $540.

However, one can fly to Moscow for $488. Huh?

Weeeellll…do you live in Leningrad?

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Try Orbitz if you’re looking for cheap tickets. I have yet to find lower rates than them.

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Anyway, yeah… airlines are weird. My friend Ost’s wife works for Delta and you wouldn’t believe half of the crap she tells me about what goes on with their pricing.

The Practical Nomad, by Edward Hasbrouck, is an excellent travel book with a couple of chapters on the hows and whys of airline pricing.

That said, I’ve read the book twice and I still don’t really understand the system, but good luck.

Albert Einstein was working on the theory of relativity late one night. In the wee hours of the morning, he fell asleep, and in a dream, God came to visit him.

God said, “Albert, I see that you’re working pretty hard, and you’re a generally good guy. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Albert said, “Well, God, I’m trying to hammer out this theory of general relativity, but it’s pretty hard. Can you offer any pointers?”

God replied, “Hoo boy, that’s a tough one. Well, we could go into that, but it’d take a long time. Is there maybe something else I could explain?”

Albert pondered a moment and said, “Well, yeah, now that you mention it. Can you explain the logic behind airline fares?”

God hesitated for a second and said, “Let’s talk about relativity.”

(Yes, yes, yes, Einstein did his work before commercial airlines existed. Quitcherbitchin’ and appreciate it for the weak joke it is.)