When it comes to airfare, the airlines have all the control. They set the rates and airline passengers have to pay them. However, because of events such as 9-11 and poor economic times, not as many people are flying these days. And the less people flying, the less money an airline makes (and incase you didn't know, it takes a ton of money to run an airline). That's why so many go belly up year after year. So, to try and stay afloat, many airlines are starting to offer dynamically priced fares to help increase profits and keep planes as full as possible.

How Dynamically Priced Fares (DPF) Work

Dynamically priced fares are basically airfare rates that fluctuate in regards to seat availability and departure times. In other words, the airlines alter the price of an air ticket depending on how full a flight is or isn't. If a flight to Italy, for example, is only half full and it's only a week until departure, the airline will lower the price to try and get more passengers on the flight. Even though some passengers aren't paying the original full price for the ticket, at least the airline is making a few bucks.

Dynamically Priced Fares and the Discount Airlines

As the larger airlines are starting to crumble, smaller, more economical discount air carriers are starting to pop up. And with less overhead and very specific travel destinations these discount airlines can stay afloat during tough times and continuously offer travelers cheap flights to select destinations. That's why more and more airlines are starting to dynamically price fares. They want to be able to compete against the discount airlines and the solution to staying competitive is by dynamically pricing fares.

Dynamically Priced Fares and Discount Travel

Because of the Internet and the introduction of dynamic fare pricing, travelers now have more ways to save on their flights and even have the option to create their own discount travel packages online. Prior to the Internet, travelers primarily worked with travel agents and agencies to book all the necessary travel components such as airfare, hotel reservations, and car rentals. In many cases, the travel agency was able to package together many of these components, based on the agency's relationships with the airlines and chain hotel and car rental services, and offer discount travel packages.

However, prior to the emergence of discount airlines and the dynamic fare pricing model, cheap airfare was limited, making discount travel packages not so discounted. And since you had to use a travel agent to book your flight, hotel and tour reservations, and other travel-related items, you also had to pay some sort of service fee, lessening the true "discount of your discount travel package.

Thanks to the Internet and dynamic fare pricing, you don't need a travel agent or agency to find discount travel packages. Today, there are thousands of travel web sites on the web that currently partner with the major and discount airlines, as well as hotel and car rental chains, to offer discount travel packages and airfare to many popular travel destinations around the world. Dynamic fare pricing has, in many cases, significantly lowered the cost to travel by offering great last minute travel deals and discounts, and giving online travel consolidators and services more opportunities to offer amazing discount travel packages to those looking to travel for less.