The belief that airlines raise ticket prices based on repeated searches is more myth than fact. Experts indicate there is no credible evidence that travel websites track individual searches to inflate fares. Instead, fluctuations in ticket prices stem from market demand and continual adjustments made by airlines and booking sites. With systems analyzing vast numbers of flight combinations, prices can change numerous times daily, demonstrating that it is not the user's search patterns but rather market dynamics that influence fare changes.
"There is a common misconception that repeated search behavior will lead to not just a different, but higher outcome," explains Katy Nastro, travel expert at Going. This is why people are often told to clear their cache or cookies or to use an incognito browser. However, that's more travel myth than truth-something that's stuck around thanks to anecdotal frustration and online hearsay. Per the pro, "There is no credible data source that suggests repeated searching is tracked and therefore manipulated to higher pricing."
According to Sophia Lin, director of product management for travel and local at Google Search, "Ticket prices are constantly changing and being updated across different data providers, even from second to second. And every day, our systems are computing an enormous number of possible ticket combinations for trips around the world."
Nastro offers a similar perspective, explaining that travelers are "seeing the market move in real time." And if anyone would know, it's Nastro and her team, who "run hundreds of searches a day, if not thousands by the end of the week."
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