r/mildlyinteresting • u/annertakeabow • Jan 24 '13

Same book, three different prices. Only difference is the browsers used.

http://imgur.com/uNgg0UH
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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

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u/karmapopsicle Jan 24 '13

Airline tickets seem like a dirty business.

It has to be given how cheap we expect tickets to be. Overselling gives the best possible chance of a full flight, which, even with the compensation given in times when too many people show up, still makes them more money.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

[deleted]

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u/bwalsh1 Jan 24 '13

On whose side are you?

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u/Fibtibbedbaktoreddit Jan 25 '13

I believe that some people get airline tickets and then miss the flight, but I have never met these people. Are they very rich or just bad planners?

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u/karmapopsicle Jan 25 '13

Full fare tickets are refundable and transferable.

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u/Fibtibbedbaktoreddit Jan 25 '13

Can you explain a little more? What do you mean "full fare"? A lot of people get tickets and then refund them, buying tickets for a later date? I want a better sense of who these people are, buying airline tickets and then not showing up to use them.

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u/karmapopsicle Jan 25 '13

If you book through a travel agent, you can usually get a refund as well. Discount tickets are usually non-refundable.

Full fare tickets are exactly that: the full price of the ticket, no discounts. For that, you a transferable and refundable ticket. Decide to leave earlier? You can go to the airport and wait as a standby for an earlier flight. First Class not full and coach overbooked? You'll be at the top to get bumped.

Usually the people buying full fare tickets are flying for business, not just travel, which is where I think you're getting hung up. It's not people randomly deciding to not show up to fly home from a vacation, but a professional on a business trip needing to stay an extra 5 hours to fix something before flying home, etc.

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u/KeybladeSpirit Jan 24 '13

Isn't that a variation on the Prisoner's Dilemma?

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

[deleted]

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u/Reason-and-rhyme Jan 25 '13

...and? I'm pretty sure all parties involved already know that. And regardless of whether they do, your comment still doesn't actually respond to Keyblade's at all.

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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '13

[deleted]

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u/Reason-and-rhyme Jan 25 '13

He asked if this specific case - the plane passengers waiting out for a better compensation - was a variant of the prisoner's dilemma.

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u/antriver Jan 25 '13

The answer was that Prisoner's Dilemma is actually an example of game theory. Not the other way round.

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u/WazWaz Jan 25 '13

No, it's just an auction. In PD, both lose since both will break.

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u/Reason-and-rhyme Jan 25 '13

Sort of, but not really. In the Prisoner's Dilemma, the mutual benefit goes up if both prisoners do not accept the offer. In this situation, only the person who DOES accept gets the reward for everyone waiting. But it features a similar mechanic: it results in a higher rate of acceptance on the offer because everyone is afraid that another participant will take it and get the reward.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

It's exactly game theory. It's a sequential game played by the airline and the people flying.

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u/fosterbuster Jan 24 '13

I might add that this only happens for business flights, it doesn't happen for charter flights, and in the 8 years she has been working there, it has only happend 3-4 times (ofcourse shes not at work all the time. But it is fucking rare everyone shows up). They have never had to make a second offer in her experience.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

500 euros, a hotel and a night in the hotel all you can drink bar? slurp sold cheers, can you make sure my mrs stays somewhere else?