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Airplane tickets should be sold Dutch auction style

YVR to YYZ tomorrow with no bags looks like it's about $800.

Google Flights says prices are best 1-4 months in advance. Looking in the next four months, the best prices for the same flight options are about $90. That's 89% cheaper.

That's fine for the airline, because they know that the more urgent a trip is, the more someone is willing to pay for it. They can still gamble a bit on how high to push things while still ending up with full plane. It's evident that the goal is to fill the plane with the most expensive seats possible, even if they start out with cheap seats.

As the buyer, you are forced to plan ahead and if you did/could not, you have to scrutinise what you consider to be valuable.

A Dutch-style auction involves the seller picking a high price, higher than they'd ever expect to sell for, and then slowly lowering the selling price on a schedule until someone is willing to buy it. This is how flowers are sold by growers to distributers quickly and efficiently.

The usual scenario we're used to for flights and many other things is that the less money you have, the quicker you need to be.

  • The rich can be lazy. They also might use their wealth to easily score cheap seats.
  • The poor must be quick.
  • The people who need a certain flight must be either quick or rich.
  • The people who are flexible still must be quick if they want to not get gouged.

The Dutch auction flips this all on its head without causing problems for the seller.

  • The rich can be picky and weigh their need against the cost.
  • The poor can weigh their need against the cost.
  • The people who need a certain flight can weigh their need against the cost.
  • The people who are flexible can weig—just kidding. They get rewarded with cheap tickets.

The Dutch auction flips urgency into strategy. Everyone gets to play the same game, but patience finally pays. Instead of punishing the broke and flexible, it makes room for them at the table without tanking the airline.

I am: Levi, a dude named ben living north of most Canadians
This is: my digital garden where everything is a working draft