When you go online to book an airline ticket, the web site often shows you a list of different flights to choose from. All of them will show a price, but some of them have a little addition, such as “5 seats left” or “2 left from”. What does that really mean?
I remember when someone I knew told me how surprised they were when they saw 1 seat remaining, booked their ticket, and yet their friend was able to get a ticket on the same flight booked at a later date.
Airlines Saying Things Differently
A quick sample of five airlines shows that each one does it differently. For example, American Airlines will use the text “3 seats left” underneath the price, as you can see below.
Irish Airlines Uncover The 5 Seats Left Chicanery
Aer Lingus uses the text “5 fares left” rather than “5 seats left” which indicates that there are five tickets available at the price displayed on screen.
Overall Thoughts
As you can see, “5 seats left” doesn’t actually mean there are just five seats remaining on the aeroplane. The real reason behind it is to spur you into making a purchase decision. “Oh no, the price will go up soon, I’d better buy now!” – that’s the thought it is trying to inspire.
I generally pay close attention to this, as I know from long experience that on the routes I fly, the price will usually always increase once the X number of seats has been sold.
What do you think of this? Is this a good indicator that you pay attention to, or total subterfuge and shenanigans from airlines that should know better? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!
I’ve always presumed that the airline booking sites are similar to those for theaters. The airline sites have an allocation of seats per flight, craft and airline. When those are gone they are gone unless they have an option to pick up more seats.So 1 seat left means we have only one more to sell unless we can go back to the well for more.
Yes, I think it’s hoped people will think that way really, to get them to buy. Thanks for the comment!
It is nice to fly when you have good service and the flights are comfortable, makes the overall trip better from start to finish.
Naturally!
Our experience is that the language means X seats left at that specific price.
One thing to watch out for is on some airlines (Delta for example), if they say “2 left” and you try and book 3 you will probably get a higher price for all three. To get the lower price for the first two, you need to book the first two separately. After booking the first 2 at the lower price, you can go back and book the 3rd at a higher price (the new “X left at this price.”.
My wife and I have “beat the system” on occasion when there is only “1 left” by simultaneously booking tickets using our separate accounts. If we do that, however, we then need to contact the airline to have our itineraries linked — otherwise we can get rebooked on different flights if there is a cancellation of our initial flight.
This simultaneous booking approach doesn’t always work as on occasion one of us will get a “that fare is no available” message.
That is very good advice, when it comes to two left and you need more than two. It will always charge you the higher price, I’ve found. It’s an interesting quirk that probably catches a lot of people out. I don’t think I would go so far as to try to book simultaneously when there is one seat available though. Having to have the itineraries linked is a bit of a palaver that most could do without. Great thinking out of the box though and it must be excellent when it works! Thanks for the comment!