Adjusting Fare Algorithms

 This came up in discussion this week .. the algorithms are classic approaches.  But the algorithms are adaptive, so I would expect them to be continually adjusted. And if they are maintaining them, as I always suggest .... 

COVID-19 Wrecked the Algorithms That Set Airfares, but They Won't Stay Dumb

The Wall Street Journal, Jon Sindreau, May 17, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic crippled the reliability of algorithms used to set air fares based on historical data and has accelerated a hybrid model that combines historical and live data. Before the pandemic, airlines used the algorithms to predict how strong ticket demand would be on a particular day and time, or exactly when people will fly to visit relatives before a holiday. Corporate travel constitutes a large share of airline profits, with business fliers avoiding Tuesdays and Wednesdays, favoring short trips over week-long ones, and booking late. The pandemic undermined historical demand patterns while cancellations undercut live data, causing the algorithms to post absurd prices. Overall, the pandemic has stress-tested useful advancements to the algorithms, like assigning greater weight to recent booking numbers, and applying online searches to forecast when and where demand will manifest.  ... '

Airlines to Ask Contact Information

Expected, likely useful.  A firm requirement?   Will it get the usual pushback on privacy?

Airlines plan to ask passengers for contact-tracing details

In this Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, file photo, travelers wear face coverings as they queue up at the north security checkpoint in the main terminal of Denver International Airport, in Denver. Major U.S. airlines say they will ask passengers on flights to the United States for information that public health officials could use for COVID-19 contact tracing. The trade group Airlines for America said Friday, Feb. 19, that the carriers will turn over the information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

The U.S. airline industry is pledging to expand the practice of asking passengers on flights to the United States for information that public health officials could use for contact tracing during the pandemic.

An industry trade group said Friday that the carriers would turn over the information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which could use it to contact passengers who might be exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.

Delta and United have been doing that since December. On Friday, an industry trade group said that American, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian will also ask passengers to make their names, phone numbers, email and physical addresses available to the CDC.  ... "

UPS Now has the First Drone Airline

Been following supply chains as supported by drones for some time, this seems to be an evolution.

UPS Now Runs the First Official Drone Airline in Wired

The FAA has granted a Part 135 certification for the logistics giant's drone business, propelling the little fliers closer to a commercial future.

America’s newest airline will never cram you into a too-tight seat. It won’t charge too much money for too-terrible food. It won’t strand you on the tarmac without explanation. Actually, it won’t carry you anywhere at all—but it might someday carry your stuff. Today, UPS announced that its drone service is the first of its kind to be recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration as a commercial airline.  .... "

Delta Biometric Atlanta Terminal

Thought this was only in China, but its here now.    A needed use for security.

Here’s a look at Delta’s all-seeing, face-scanning, biometric airline terminal    By Melissa Locker in Fast Company

Delta Air Lines promised it would open the country’s first all-biometric terminal before the end of the year, and it has delivered. Starting December 1, customers flying Delta through the Atlanta airport’s Terminal F will be able to use facial recognition technology “from curb to gate” as a way to make it easier to fly through the airport.

For the biometric terminal, Delta worked with the Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration to let travelers check in, drop bags, pass through TSA checkpoints, and board their flights–all using facial recognition systems powered by in-terminal cameras to verify their identity. The airline already lets some customers use their fingerprint as a boarding pass. ....  "