ABSTRACT
Many frequent flyers pride themselves on buying airline tickets with considerable sophistication and stretching their "loyalty program" points to the maximum extent possible. Business travelers had great difficulty meeting the restrictions, which allowed carriers to offer such discounts without much dilution of existing revenue. Consumers had become accustomed to newly enacted fees, such as those on checked baggage and other restrictions. For the first 60 years of commercial flight in the US, most airlines had relatively small "tariff" departments to handle pricing issues. In general, carriers changed their fares infrequently, thereby limiting their need for staff devoted solely to pricing. To raise or lower fares, carriers needed to apply for and receive permission from the federal government. Airline prices apply to specific combinations of origins and destinations, often called city pairs or markets. Personnel in airline yield management departments that manage prices must navigate a variety of difficult ethical issues.
