Latest news with #pricing
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Solo travelers secretly charged up to 70% more by these major US airlines
American Airlines, Delta and United are all quietly charging solo travelers more than those in groups, it's been revealed. In some cases, solo travelers are reportedly paying up to 70 percent more. Travel sites Thrifty Traveler and View From The Wing discovered that the carriers, the three biggest in the US, have been using this pricing tactic on select domestic routes. Thrifty Traveler's Kyle Potter wrote: "While it's not widespread – you won't see it on each and every route – it's real and undeniable." Researchers inputted flights with all three airlines, changed the number of passengers, then watched fares drop instantly. The Independent was able to replicate two of the price changes. We discovered, as Thrifty Travel did, that it's possible to reduce the cost of a flight from Charlotte to Fort Myers with American Airlines by $149, from $482 to $333, by booking for two people instead of one. And on Google Flights we saw a solo travel fare for an American flight from Chicago O'Hare one-way to Lexington in Kentucky fall by 50 percent, from $215 to $107, when the number of travelers was doubled to two. Discounts for bulk buys are triggered in lots of consumer environments, from supermarkets to rail travel, but many travelers will be surprised to see this pricing strategy used by airlines, especially in an under-the-radar fashion. The discounts aren't made explicit when booking. Rhys Jones, Aviation Editor at described the practice as "unfair". He told The Independent: "Unlike hotel rooms, where you can share to save money, you can't share a plane seat and therefore the practice of charging solo travelers more can seem particularly unfair, especially as single people already often pay more versus those who are coupled up. "Unfortunately, airlines will always try and sell tickets for the maximum price they can charge whilst also filling aircraft, and whilst someone who is traveling for business might not blink an eye, another traveling alone on holiday might not have the same means." However, Gilbert Ott, frequent flier and Founder of travel site remarked that travelers should essentially grin and bear it, especially in the age of AI, which could see the advent of more intense "personalized pricing". He told The Independent: "People must wrap their heads around the concept that seats are commodities and just like all other goods, bulk discounts often apply. When we buy a six-pack of beer from the supermarket, we get a discount, for example. "We've seen countless airlines offer companion fares, with discounts buying for two. I get that it can be frustrating, and as a frequent solo and not-solo traveler, I win some and I lose some. "We'll see more personalized pricing as airlines leverage AI."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Boss of pizza chain admits prices are too high
When customers complained to a pizza chain that it was too expensive, you'd think the boss would fight back. But Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza, agreed, and yesterday he slashed prices and simplified the menu to win back diners. The chain, known for its oblong pies and bold branding, has dropped the price of its pizzas with unlimited toppings from to a flat $12. That's a drop from the previous $12.99 for specialty pies, plus $1.50 for each topping — or $13.99 for a build-your-own option that only included a few free toppings before extra charges kicked in. 'The restaurant industry has been nickeling and diming customers for years - including us,' Burns told 'We are stopping that. This is a permanent pricing strategy.' 'Previously one of our pies that was listed at $12.99 is significantly more expensive once you add additional toppings at $1.50 each. So in reality a $12.99 American Honey with, say mushrooms, was $14.49.' Knots, drinks, and cookies also got cheaper. Besides lowering prices, &pizza, which has stores in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, announced its plans to begin franchising in March. Customers who walk into a store may notice its knots side option costing $6. Before the changes, the chain's knots were offered at various prices typically ranging between $5.99 and $6.49. 'Our knot pricing was also all over the place and I couldn't tell you a good reason why — so now they are all $6,' Burns told Their cookies are now available to purchase for $1, a 50 percent decrease from its original price. 'We were selling them for $3.49, and 'selling' was a loose term, because nobody's buying a cookie for $3.49,' the CEO revealed. The company opted to expand its price decreases for both beverages and food. While keeping the $3.49 Coca-Cola price tag, &pizza decided to bring other canned sodas down to $2. Besides price dips, &pizza introduced a $7 half cheese pie and a drink combo meal, designed to increase foot traffic. Founded in 2012, &pizza aims to have 300 units by 2030. Its popularity in the East has inspired the chain to look into franchising locations in the DMV and Mid-Atlantic regions. 'The ampersand stands for unity and bringing communities together, and we feel like in order to do that, the owner of those restaurants has to live in those communities,' Burns told QSR . 'So if we're going to develop in El Paso, Texas, or Tallahassee, Florida, or Charlotte, North Carolina, the person should live in that market because they know the people, they know the area.' Burns credited the chain's franchising process as one of the reasons why they explored the possibility of price drops. 'We've had dozens of discovery days with potential franchisees, and across each a common question has been 'can we reduce pricing?' Or 'your pricing structure is too high.' So we listened,' Burns explained. There are no plans to open restaurants on the West Coast anytime soon, but the process itself has been moving faster than expected. 'It just shows that there's passion for the brand. We feel we're different than normal fast-casual pizza, but we hope that the people out there see that potential to grow their personal wealth,' the CEO added. &pizza's cost decrease comes after restaurant chains hiked prices for reasons such as inflation and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The financial strains have also taken a toll on business owners, including a Pizza Hut franchisee who put 127 restaurants up for sale last year . A &pizza competitor, Pizza Hut has suffered financial hits over the years and its same store sales shrank by 2 percent in the first three months of 2025. Several fast casual restaurants who weren't at risk of closures were found to have significantly raised prices over the last 5 years. Experts discovered that Waffle House increased prices by 96 percent . Its competition has also been financially strong, including CAVA, a Mediterranean 'Chipotle' set to open between 62 and 66 US locations this year.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Boss of giant pizza chain admits prices are too high: 'We just felt we were nickel and diming people'
When customers complained to a pizza chain that it was too expensive, you'd think the boss would fight back. But Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza, agreed, and yesterday he slashed prices and simplified the menu to win back diners. The chain, known for its oblong pies and bold branding, has dropped the price of its pizzas with unlimited toppings from to a flat $12. That's a drop from the previous $12.99 for specialty pies, plus $1.50 for each topping — or $13.99 for a build-your-own option that only included a few free toppings before extra charges kicked in. 'The restaurant industry has been nickeling and diming customers for years - including us,' Burns told 'We are stopping that. This is a permanent pricing strategy.' 'Previously one of our pies that was listed at $12.99 is significantly more expensive once you add additional toppings at $1.50 each. So in reality a $12.99 American Honey with, say mushrooms, was $14.49.' Knots, drinks, and cookies also got cheaper. Besides lowering prices, &pizza, which has stores in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, announced its plans to begin franchising in March. The restaurant chain lowered the prices months after announcing its plans to start franchising Customers who walk into a store may notice its knots side option costing $6. Before the changes, the chain's knots were offered at various prices typically ranging between $5.99 and $6.49. 'Our knot pricing was also all over the place and I couldn't tell you a good reason why — so now they are all $6,' Burns told Their cookies are now available to purchase for $1, a 50 percent decrease from its original price. 'We were selling them for $3.49, and 'selling' was a loose term, because nobody's buying a cookie for $3.49,' the CEO revealed. The company opted to expand its price decreases for both beverages and food. While keeping the $3.49 Coca-Cola price tag, &pizza decided to bring other canned sodas down to $2. Besides price dips, &pizza introduced a $7 half cheese pie and a drink combo meal, designed to increase foot traffic. Founded in 2012, &pizza aims to have 300 units by 2030. Its popularity in the East has inspired the chain to look into franchising locations in the DMV and Mid-Atlantic regions. 'The ampersand stands for unity and bringing communities together, and we feel like in order to do that, the owner of those restaurants has to live in those communities,' Burns told QSR. 'So if we're going to develop in El Paso, Texas, or Tallahassee, Florida, or Charlotte, North Carolina, the person should live in that market because they know the people, they know the area.' Burns credited the chain's franchising process as one of the reasons why they explored the possibility of price drops. 'We've had dozens of discovery days with potential franchisees, and across each a common question has been 'can we reduce pricing?' Or 'your pricing structure is too high.' So we listened,' Burns explained. There are no plans to open restaurants on the West Coast anytime soon, but the process itself has been moving faster than expected. 'It just shows that there's passion for the brand. We feel we're different than normal fast-casual pizza, but we hope that the people out there see that potential to grow their personal wealth,' the CEO added. &pizza's cost decrease comes after restaurant chains hiked prices for reasons such as inflation and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The financial strains have also taken a toll on business owners, including a Pizza Hut franchisee who put 127 restaurants up for sale last year. A &pizza competitor, Pizza Hut has suffered financial hits over the years and its same store sales shrank by 2 percent in the first three months of 2025. Several fast casual restaurants who weren't at risk of closures were found to have significantly raised prices over the last 5 years. Experts discovered that Waffle House increased prices by 96 percent. Its competition has also been financially strong, including CAVA, a Mediterranean 'Chipotle' set to open between 62 and 66 US locations this year.
Skift
3 days ago
- Business
- Skift
4 Ways Airlines Can Win With Real-Time Retailing
Legacy pricing systems are holding airlines back from delivering the level of personalization, revenue optimization, and cross-channel consistency that modern travelers expect. IBS Software's forward-looking approach offers a clear path to higher revenue and improved traveler experiences. This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. In a world where e-commerce platforms can instantly tailor pricing and promotions to every shopper, it seems almost unthinkable that many airlines still operate with pricing systems built in the 1970s. Today's travelers expect the same level of speed, personalization, and seamlessness they experience with top e-commerce platforms — and airlines that can't deliver risk falling behind. This disconnect is even more striking given that ancillary revenue hit a record $118 billion in 2023, according to Skift Research, highlighting how crucial it has become for airlines to dynamically price and personalize offers in real time. Yet many still rely on outdated technology that limits both revenue potential and customer engagement. Why Legacy Systems Hold Airlines Back 'The problem with older systems is that they're bulky and slow,' said Ben Simmons, VP and regional head of Europe and Africa at IBS Software. 'They weren't built for the speed and flexibility today's market demands. Our real-time pricing tools, powered by AI, are leaner, more responsive, and more cost-effective. They help airlines respond instantly to demand and deliver smarter offers to their customers.' A new video from IBS Software illustrates what this next generation of airline retailing could look like — faster, more personalized, and better connected across channels. That vision is at the core of IBS Software's new airline retailing manifesto. SkiftX sat down with Simmons to explore its four guiding principles, developed to help airlines move beyond legacy systems and adopt a more dynamic, customer-centric approach. 1. Real-Time Pricing Unlocks Revenue Potential Traditional airline pricing models are slow and inflexible, making it difficult for carriers to respond quickly to shifts in demand or competitive pressures. Although the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) updates fares several times a day, this cadence still falls short of the speed and adaptability seen in industries like e-commerce. By contrast, AI-driven, real-time pricing empowers airlines to optimize revenue by instantly adjusting fares in response to traveler behavior and changing market conditions. According to Simmons, this evolution isn't just about updating prices faster — it's about rethinking what's being sold altogether: 'You're not just pushing a seat anymore. You're offering a seat, a meal, a premium experience — priced dynamically based on real demand.' In this model, airline sales become full-service retailing opportunities, where the focus shifts from simply selling tickets to curating and monetizing the entire traveler experience. IBS Software's approach leverages dynamic pricing to enable limitless price points, tailored in real time to each customer's journey. Airlines no longer need to rely on opening and closing fare classes — instead, they can intelligently price products at the moment of decision, aligning perfectly with fluctuating demand. But optimizing revenue is just one side of the equation. Delivering the right offer to the right traveler at the right time requires real-time personalization. 2. Personalization Must Be Instant, Not Predefined Sending the same 'exclusive' offer to every traveler falls short of true personalization. AI-driven retailing changes the game by enabling airlines to create real-time, customized offers based on individual factors like customer intent, loyalty status, and purchase history. This capability is critical as airlines shift from broad, one-size-fits-all promotions to targeted, dynamically bundled fares and ancillaries. 'For example, a mother flying with her infant might see very different bundles than a solo business traveler booking just two days before departure,' Simmons said. 'This is real-time personalization in action, as shown in our retailing video — smart technology that helps airlines deliver more relevant, timely offers to every customer.' These micro-moments of relevance allow airlines to evolve from reactive selling to proactive engagement — boosting loyalty, increasing conversion rates, and enhancing the overall passenger experience. With AI, every touchpoint becomes an opportunity to reflect the traveler's immediate needs and intent. But to maximize the value of tailored offers, airlines must go a step further — ensuring that what's offered is not only personalized but also available and packaged in ways that meet real-time demand. 3. Real-Time Stock and Bundling Prevents Revenue Loss While seat inventory is often managed dynamically, many ancillaries — such as baggage fees, premium seating, and upgrades — are still governed by outdated, manual systems. This disconnect limits revenue potential. However, airlines adopting modern pricing strategies through NDC (New Distribution Capability) can unlock significant gains. According to Skift Research, this approach can generate an additional $5.30 per passenger — translating to approximately $500 million in extra revenue for Lufthansa and $1 billion for American Airlines. 'In the traditional world, dynamic pricing of ancillaries is virtually non-existent,' Simmons noted. 'We use AI to analyze past behavior and compute the right prices and bundles in real time. One of our airline customers saw a 20 to 25% revenue increase just from dynamically pricing their seat maps.' By combining real-time inventory with dynamic bundling, airlines can move beyond selling individual products and start offering complete travel experiences. This approach not only reduces revenue leakage from mispriced or unavailable ancillaries but also opens the door to new retail categories — from in-flight upgrades to third-party partnerships. Still, even the most well-designed bundles and pricing models can fall short if travelers encounter inconsistent experiences across booking channels. 4. Omnichannel Consistency Builds Competitive Advantage Today's travelers expect seamless and consistent experiences, no matter where they book. But as airlines adopt dynamic pricing through modern API-driven channels, GDS systems that rely on legacy pricing models can struggle to keep up — leading to pricing and content discrepancies. These gaps, often rooted in uneven adoption of NDC standards, result in missed sales opportunities and customer frustration. By adopting real-time, omnichannel retailing strategies, airlines can align pricing and availability across all touchpoints while reducing reliance on costly third-party distribution. Lufthansa, for example, cut its distribution costs from €524 million in 2018 to €302 million in 2022, according to Skift Research. 'Direct channels give airlines better insight into their customers, which makes personalization more effective,' Simmons said. 'That's why having a modern, flexible system matters. It helps airlines deliver the right offers, in the right moment, to drive more value from every interaction.' IBS Software's platform supports this approach by acting as a single source of truth for offers. It ensures consistency in what travelers see while enabling airlines to tailor strategies by channel — strengthening brand trust and unlocking more intelligent, channel-specific pricing and merchandising. The Future of Airline Retailing Is Now While much of the industry is still evaluating what the future of retailing could look like, IBS Software is already making it a reality with a fully integrated, real-time retailing platform. With the IATA Annual General Meeting on the horizon in early June, there's no better moment for airlines to reimagine their retail strategies and take bold steps toward real-time, personalized commerce. 'Don't just observe. Take action,' Simmons said. 'When we show airline executives what's possible, like real-time ancillary sales across partner carriers, it literally blows them away. The old systems are overly complex, expensive, and full of friction. The new world is simply better for both airlines and travelers.' For more information about IBS Software's iRetail solution for airlines, click here. This content was created collaboratively by IBS Software and Skift's branded content studio, SkiftX.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Home Depot claims it won't raise its prices in response to Trump's tariffs
Home Depot has announced that it will not raise prices in response to President Donald Trump 's widespread tariffs. Meanwhile, Walmart announced last week that it would raise its prices because of the tariffs, prompting Trump to lash out. Executive Vice President of Merchandising, Billy Bastek, told the paper that Home Depot considers pricing across its portfolio, hoping to hold most prices steady and possibly take market share from those raising their prices. 'It's a great opportunity for us to take share, and it's a great opportunity for our suppliers to take share as well,' he told The Journal. Suppliers say that retailers, including Walmart and Home Depot, have been arguing for concessions on pricing or that suppliers move their production out of China. Some suppliers to Home Depot have done so. 'We anticipate that 12 months from now, no single country outside the United States will represent more than 10 percent of our purchases,' Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail told the paper. Home Depot's comparable sales in the quarter dipped by 0.3 percent. However, in the U.S., they increased by 0.2 percent. February sales were low because of bad weather. Still, good employment levels and home appreciation have meant that its customer base of mostly homeowners has carried on spending on home improvement, McPhail noted. Chief Executive Ted Decker added that he's waiting for an improvement in consumer confidence. While Home Depot's customers continue to spend on things like painting or yardwork, projects that would need financing appear to have been paused for now. 'While there are literally trillions of dollars of equity available to be tapped in the homes, I think there's still enough macro uncertainty,' Decker told The Journal. As a number of companies have scaled back or suspended their forecasts amid the tariff uncertainty, Walmart and Home Depot have kept their financial forecasts for the fiscal year unchanged.
