Consumer group Choice report say airlines’ ‘five seats left’ warnings are ‘misleading, dubious’

YOU’RE buying a ticket and then the airline claims there’s only “five seats left”. But is that really true?

IT HAPPENS all the time. You’re tossing up whether to buy an airfare when you notice a warning with an important message. It says there’s only “five seats left”.

Is it really true?

Consumer group Choice reviewed booking processes on the Qantas, Virgin Australia and Expedia websites and found consumers were being fed “dubious” messages to pressure them to make a purchase.

“Just because they say there’s a few seats left doesn’t mean it’s true,” Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey told news.com.au.

Mr Godfrey said the warnings create an illusion of urgency designed to pressure you to make a purchase.

WHY ARE CHEAP FLIGHTS SO FLEETING? CHOICE TAKE A LOOK

There’s a lot of seats on this plane, but apparently only a few left. Picture: Thinkstock

With all three companies, the warnings refer to the number of tickets available at that particular price — not the number of tickets left on the plane.

“There may be a few seats left at that particular time at that particular price, but it doesn’t have anything to do with how many seats are left in the plane or in that ticket class,” he said.

Mr Godfrey said cheaper seats the next row over could become available a few minutes later. “Therefore ‘three seats left’ and the like is misleading at best and technically untrue from the ticket buyer’s perspective,” he said.

FLYING FIRST CLASS: THE SURPRISING TRUTH

Picture: News Corp Australia

Airlines insist the information is useful.

A Qantas spokeswoman said: “The ‘five seats or less at this price’ advice on our website is designed to give customers a better sense of how full the flight is.

“The alternative is that they come back 24 hours later to actually book and are frustrated that the price has increased significantly as the aircraft fills up.”

A Virgin representative said its warnings are aimed at “helping future travel planning”.

Expedia Australia New Zealand managing director Georg Ruebensal said all prices and flight information displayed on the website are based on information supplied to them.

“We place a high value on customer feedback and have extensive tools in place to monitor it and this is not something we receive concerned feedback about,” he said.

BUT HOW DO THEY FIGURE OUT THE FARES?

It’s a great question. Picture: Thinkstock

The exact formula airlines use to figure out the cost of a ticket at any given moment is murky.

“(It) appears to be somewhat of a dark art with fares changing at any time according to a formula known only to the airline,” Mr Godfrey said.

The Choice study found ticket prices could change dramatically in a matter of hours.

Consumers could buy a return Virgin airfare from Sydney to Los Angeles for $3682 at 11.41am and $2707 at 2.33pm with a warning that there were “two seats left”. That’s a saving of $975.

Few things are more enjoyable than getting tickets, right? Picture: Thinkstock

Airline industry sources told news.com.au most carriers operate on a “fare ladder” where the cheapest tickets are sold first and the price gradually increases as the aircraft fills up.

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman told news.com.au a number of factors influence the cost of a ticket, including seasonal demand, market dynamics, weather events and exchange rates.

Expedia’s Georg Ruebensal revealed that while economy seats may all look the same to consumers, the reality is they are very different.

“Airlines have multiple ticket code types within a single flight and cabin — seat 25F may be a T class, seat 25A may be a W class, and seat 25D may be an X class — and they release new tickets to the public on an ongoing basis, depending on demand,” he said.

We always knew an exit row seat was worth a little more.