Do Flight Prices Actually Rise When You Search More? The Expert Verdict
You've likely experienced this frustrating scenario: you search for flights for a family holiday, find a reasonable fare, but when you return to book the next day, the price has mysteriously increased. This common travel dilemma has led many to wonder whether airlines and booking sites are tracking their searches and deliberately hiking prices. Our investigation reveals the surprising truth behind this persistent belief.
The Persistent Myth of Search-Based Price Hikes
For years, travellers have suspected that repeatedly searching for the same route triggers price increases. The theory suggests that airlines and travel websites use cookies to identify interested customers and raise fares to pressure them into booking. However, according to industry experts, this widespread assumption is fundamentally incorrect.
Nicole Kerr, CEO of ground transport platform Mozio, provides clarity: 'Despite many travel experts advising consumers to browse for flights in incognito mode and disregard past searches and cookies, the cost of a flight won't increase based on your search history.' She emphasises that the primary driver of price fluctuations is real-time changes based on demand and availability, not individual browsing patterns.
Understanding Dynamic Pricing: The Real Culprit
The actual mechanism behind changing flight prices is dynamic pricing, a standard industry practice where ticket costs adjust rapidly according to demand. When many people seek tickets for a particular route and date, prices naturally rise. Conversely, when demand decreases, fares typically fall. This system operates across the entire market rather than targeting individual travellers.
Dynamic pricing explained: This strategy involves rapid price adjustments for products (in this case, flight tickets) based entirely on current demand levels. High demand equals higher prices, while lower demand results in reduced fares. Airlines employ sophisticated algorithms to implement this approach continuously.
The Truth About Cookies and Incognito Browsing
Cookies are small text files containing data like usernames and passwords that websites download to your device. They help build a profile of user preferences and browsing habits over time. However, do they actually make flights more expensive?
Laura Lindsay, Skyscanner's global communications director, states unequivocally: 'The flight prices we display are unbiased, and we put obligations on our partners to ensure that flights are available at the prices they send us.' She confirms that while airlines use complex algorithms for pricing, the determining factor remains simple supply and demand dynamics.
Using incognito or private browsing modes doesn't provide the price advantage many believe it does. The consensus among experts is that this approach makes little practical difference to the fares you see.
Effective Strategies for Finding Better Flight Deals
Rather than worrying about search history, travellers should focus on proven techniques for securing better prices:
- Set up price alerts: Many travel websites allow you to create notifications for specific routes, alerting you when prices drop.
- Use flexible date searches: Aggregator sites typically offer tools to view fares across entire months, helping identify the cheapest travel windows.
- Consider alternative airports: As Nicole Kerr suggests, sometimes switching airports can yield significant savings. For example, comparing Paris Charles de Gaulle with Paris Beauvais might reveal substantial price differences.
- Explore the 'everywhere' option: Laura Lindsay recommends using Skyscanner's 'everywhere' destination tab alongside the 'whole month' view to discover unexpectedly affordable destinations.
The Bottom Line for Savvy Travellers
The evidence clearly shows that repeated searches don't cause flight or holiday package prices to increase. Instead, price changes result from genuine market forces: dynamic pricing responding to real-time demand and availability. While some operators collect data to inform their pricing strategies, this isn't targeted at individual users based on their search history.
For those seeking the best deals, the most effective approach involves using price monitoring tools, maintaining flexibility with dates and airports, and understanding that fare fluctuations reflect broader market conditions rather than personal browsing behaviour. By focusing on these practical strategies rather than worrying about search myths, travellers can make more informed booking decisions and potentially secure better value for their journeys.
