AIRLINE TICKET PRICES VARY BY COUNTRY

Since airlines no longer have to follow precise pricing rules, the prices of airline tickets have changed enormously. The factors are as diverse as they are varied: the distance travelled, the type of class, the price of fuel, taxes, local regulations, demand, dates… This price fluctuation allows companies to maximize their income, but greatly complicates things for us buyers. Especially since their pricing policy varies from country to country.

Not long ago, I did a test with a friend living in Hong-Kong, and we realized that a Paris-Hong-Kong plane ticket cost 720€ from Paris, and that this same plane ticket (same flight, same date) cost €630 from Hong Kong. In fact, companies have well-rehearsed strategies. They know that from Paris, it is mainly businessmen who go to Hong Kong, and that from Hong Kong, it is mainly tourists who go to Paris. As a result, they adapt their prices according to the means of their customers.

Some concrete examples

By pushing my research a little further, I discovered that this was far from being an isolated case. With Norwegian, it’s even worse, since from France, the price of a flight was displayed at 150€, and from Singapore, it was displayed at 150SGD, or 97€! As a result, it was much more worth it to book from the Singapore site. It’s really a strange way to confuse buyers, to keep the same amount but change the currency.