Alexis Akira Toda

Alexis Akira Toda

Mathematical economist

Round trip between San Diego and Atlanta

less than 1 minute read

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I often fly between San Diego and Atlanta, usually with Delta (because there are more flight options than Alaska, which also offers direct flights between SAN and ATL). As I was looking to book my next trips, I noticed that flight tickets got much more expensive, often over $600 round-trip with Delta (main cabin). After playing around with various searches, I realized that if I book a round trip from Atlanta instead of from San Diego, the price drops by 25% or more. I am not sure why, but maybe it’s because if I book from Atlanta and the trip is over the weekend, the booking system may classify me as a (price-elastic) leisure traveller. By using Alaska instead of Delta, the price often drops below $300 round-trip. Although I have achieved gold status with Delta, since Alaska is much cheaper and also offers status match, I will likely switch to Alaska.

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