www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Early this week I noticed that American Airlines had slightly lowered its fare from WASHINGTON/DULLES to San Jose. This morning, I noticed that DELTA had done the same. In both cases, it wasn't much, around 5% to 10%........but it's a start. Maybe we're beginning to see the effects of falling fuel prices. Lets hope so.

Zebra

Hard to figure out exactly what the airlines strategy is. Have been watching SJO/PHL fares for awhile. About a month ago AA dropped the fare $90.00. Kept watching hoping it would come down some more as it got closer to the date I had to travel. I also keep on eye on how many seats are available so I do not wait until the flight is almost full and have to sit in a middle seat in the back of the plane.

On Thursday AA dropped the fare a whopping $3.00 . Checked the seat availability and decided I better buy my ticket as the MIA/PHL leg was getting pretty full.

Friday morning, just for fun, checked the fare again. It had gone up $62.00 overnight . Glad I acted when I did.

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Alex Levine

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.

Having worked in and around the airline industry for about 30 years, (and my father before me) I can say with confidence that there is no set rhyme or rhythm to how airfares are set. Mostly it is what the market will bear. Airlines compare many factors. Actual costs, load factor (% of seats filled to seats available), total demand, # of flights offered by competition, and of course price charged by competing airlines.
Some instant sales will occur if a large percentage of unsold seats are predicted from a certain city pair. i.e. MIA-SJO. So it is just best to check often and be ready to buy.
And remember that fares usually fall during the off season for travel.
Good luck, have fun and please make sure you seatbacks are in the upright and locked position for takeoff.