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The airlines use complex management software to calculate and post millions of different prices for their flights. These airfares can change literally from one minute to the next. They have adopted this practice in an effort to maximize revenues by offering discounts to spur sales on flights with empty seats and, conversely, raising fares to charge the highest prices possible on popular flights.

In the end, the passengers on any given flight may have paid wildly different prices for their seats aboard the same airplane’s perfectly legal practice for the airlines, but a constant source of frustration for consumers. For the most part, the airlines are not required to re-ticket you at the lower price if the remaining seats on your flight go on sale after you have already purchased your ticket (and, if they do, you will probably pay a $75—$100 re-ticketing fee in the process). If you have purchased a full-fare ticket that is, an airline ticket bought at the full retail price, with no discounts at all-then you will face few restrictions on its use. You can return it for a cash refund, trade it for another ticket, or even use it in many cases to switch to a different airline (at its face value). Most full-fare tickets are sold to business travelers and last-minute leisure travelers who are booking trips a few hours or days before departure, after all of the typical advance-purchase discount periods (such as seven-day, fourteen-day, and twenty-one-day advance-purchase fares) have expired.

Tickets purchased at a discount usually carry significant restrictions. They may be non-refundable (you cannot get your money back if you change your mind about the flight), non-transferable (you cannot give the ticket with your name on it to another person so that they can take your place), or both. As a very general rule of thumb, the earlier you purchase your ticket, the more likely it is to carry restrictions, whereas many last-minute tickets require you to pay the full fare with no ticketing restrictions.

If you are absolutely sure that your travel dates or plans will not change, then buying a discounted ticket that carries restrictions makes good sense. Further, in many cases, you may be able to take a credit for your restricted ticket if you change your travel plans by paying the airline a change fee of $25 to $100.

If you must purchase a last-minute airline ticket because of the illness or death of a friend or family member, many airlines offer restricted tickets with bereavement fares that can help you avoid paying the full fare. Bereavement policies vary widely among the airlines, so you should check with your travel agent or the airline for complete details. However, be prepared to prove with a letter from the funeral home, a funeral announcement, or (unfortunately) a copy of the death cer1ificate—that you are flying because a loved one has died.

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