The price for a flight from Montreal has exploded in less than 24 hours due to the conflict that will soon force the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
As an example, Wednesday morning, a direct flight to Barcelona cost an average of $ 420 on the Air Transat site.
The same flight with the same plane went to $ 2475, just over six times the price of the day before.
The Moscow Côté travel advisor explains that for a few years, costs have been adjusted according to supply and demand, such as transport with Uber.
“This is called dynamic pricing. Companies automatically calculate the price based on the request there is, then he can go up, he can go down, ”he confirms.
They taste it
Many travelers have contacted The newspaper To testify that they tasted this medicine.
A father had to spend $ 3,000 to buy two new plane tickets, otherwise he lost the $ 10,000 that a cruise in Europe cost him.
He explains that it is a “dream trip” that he chose to do with his daughter and which required several years of savings.
The traveler also deplores the cost increase at Air Transat. In his case, the price of tickets for an adult and a child to Barcelona increased from $ 450 to $ 800 then to $ 1800 and finally to $ 3,000 in a very short time.
“This kind of behavior is simply scandalous”, plague the man, who asked not to be appointed for fear of reprisals.
Traffic increase
“We note an increase in traffic on our website from users looking for flight options,” emphasizes Air Transat in a response to the Journal. In addition, our center records a notable increase in incoming calls. ”
Air Transat also evaluated the possibility of adjusting its schedules for the next few days, still depending on the evolution of the conflict at the competitor.
“However, if adjustments are made, they will be minor, because we are in summer peak periods and the availability of our devices is very limited,” it is said.
Porter Airlines, which also offers Montreal flights abroad, has also confirmed “an increase in short -term reservations”, possibly attributable to the uncertainty of certain Air Canada customers.