Around the World /Circle Pacific Input and expertise

[Passport Premiere]

Greetings All

We stumbled upon Australianfrequentflyer.com after we were referenced by one of the sites pre existing members. Glad to be a part of it. As premium cabin fares originated in Australia are among the highest on the planet, we look forward to acting as a resource on how offshore origination can reduce travel costs. Our posts and responses are not meant to be commercial in nature, but our experience may help you now or down the road.

If you have a question on Circle Pacific tickets or Around the World tickets please feel free to ask. If you are contemplating an Around the World or Circle Pacific ticket purchase originating offshore can reduce costs and provide several additional perks.

If you want to know how, just ask....

Look forward to being part of the growth of Australianfrequntflyer.com

Your friends at Passport Premiere

 

[juddles]

... Our posts and responses are not meant to be commercial in nature....If you are contemplating an Around the World or Circle Pacific ticket purchase originating offshore can reduce costs and provide several additional perks.
....
Your friends at Passport Premiere

Are you offering discounts/freebies/etc?

 

[Passport Premiere]

Are you offering discounts/freebies/etc?

Thanks for the e-mail. We are here to coach on ways to set up a trip for maximum value. If an end supplier wants to offer discounts/freebies then great, but that is not the role of Passport Premiere.

Travel, in particular premium class air travel, is a trade and not a static purchase The public is programed to believe that pricing gets higher and higher as the departure date approaches. While retail pricing may increase, this price hikes are only justified by a market willing to pay the premium. When there is an absence of buyers at elevated fare levels,prices can fall and fall hard just like other commodities (i.e. oil, gold, etc) When pricing drops, smart buyers quickly rush in to buy and support the product returning pricing to its previous level or even higher as demand is now established. In 2012, despite the equity market rally carriers have had difficulty in maintainin the fare premiums.

Passport Premiere helps to indentify routes that are likely for downward fare movements, as well as setting up complex multi continent itineraies for maximum value. This particular post was for Around the World fares which can be half just be starting in another country.

Hope this helps

Max Bennett
Pasport Premiere Support

 

[juddles]

... While retail pricing may increase, this price hikes are only justified by a market willing to pay the premium. When there is an absence of buyers at elevated fare levels,prices can fall and fall hard just like other commodities (i.e. oil, gold, etc) When pricing drops, smart buyers quickly rush in to buy ....

Although I agree with some of your thoughts (I think) regarding a possible false impresion that last-minute fares are always more expensive, you lost me with the gold comment. You are comparing the purchase of gold, possibly the most universal and equal commodity on the planet, with airfares?? The price you pay for an ounce of gold is almost identical between a South African village in the jungle and in New York.

 

[Passport Premiere]

No problem and thanks for the input

Our point is that gold is a commodity. Like gold, airline seats are also commodities. Not on all routes, but several, carriers create fares that increase in value as the departure date approaches. It assumes that someone planning on short notice is so desperate for their service they will pay almost anything. In reality, the value of the airline seat is actually decreasing as the likelihood of sale diminishes each day a seat for a particular flight is unsold. The current fare system , designed light-years ago ,was designed to mask this reality. Ultimately, the traveler dictates the price and not the carrier. While there is a wide variance in airfares from route to route, fares are set based on what the carrier believes the market will withstand and not based on cost. When fares are priced too high, they can and do come . On some routes, fares may be high to you but others may be buying in supporting the market the carrier is trying to establish.

So like gold, even at AUD 1598 an ounce, if buyers dry up it would likely prompt selling driving pricing downward. Fares are no different. When the market doesn't buy in, fares also come down. Some travelers are under the false impression that fares are fixed and when you buy that ticket today for travel in June, it protects you from further increases. While this is true, it doesn't mean that fares won't come down after you buy If you are the only one that bought in at a particular fare level today on a half empty plane, the carrier may offer additional discounts as the departure date approaches to move the unsold inventory.

There are exceptions , like Cathay Pacific First Class. For the most part, Cathay uses its First Class to compete with private aviation and prices it as such. When competitors move their First Class pricing, Cathay usually does not follow keeping its F class product out of the commodity class.


Hope this helps. Feedback always welcome

Max Bennett
Passport Premiere Support

 

[juddles]

Again, I enjoy your logic. But leave gold out of it. You are trying to compare a commodity with huge variance in value with an extremely stable one. Actually, the most stable.

 

[Passport Premiere]

Again, I enjoy your logic. But leave gold out of it. You are trying to compare a commodity with huge variance in value with an extremely stable one. Actually, the most stable.

Thanks for the note, and you correctly use the term 'value' rather than 'pricing. This is the very core of the argument. While gold can be (and will be ) subject to price swings with momentum the value for the buyer/ holder is clear. It is easy to identify the demand for the metal, the historical price trends and the current technicals that would suggest either further upside or downside. With air travel, the carriers try and hold all the cards listing prices without revealing the technicals to substantiate the fare. However, this data is available on current demand, the 12 month low and high fare offered and the 50 day moving average. Smart travelers just need to look before pressing the BUY BUTTON to validate the value in their purchase.