does via use pricing buckets?

[yarrow]

just got another e-mail from via for 50% over the summer (if you buy by 5/7). it seems they are quite often having a promotion such as this and when they aren't there are usually half off offers in their "express deals". does via use pricing buckets like amtrak or is it full price vs whatever half off deal you can find?

 

[Anderson]

My understanding is that you have peak-season and off-season pricing, and within that they use "full fare" (re/ex), "discount" (re/ex with fee), and "supersaver" (non-re/ex) fares to manage things

 

[CHamilton]

Via Rail adopts airline pricing model

VIA Rail Canada has started pricing seats the same way airlines do -- and it's starting to pay off.


Train fares used to be almost as standard as train schedules, with predictable discounts for booking a month or a week in advance or on a weekday.
Lately train fares look a whole lot different, with VIA Rail offering $127 last-minute return fares between Montreal and Toronto, taxes in.
...
That’s because VIA has ripped a page from the airline handbook when it comes to setting fares. Now they’re handled like airline ticket sales – some tickets go high, some tickets go low, depending on the month, the day, even the hour of travel.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Via Rail adopts airline pricing model

VIA Rail Canada has started pricing seats the same way airlines do -- and it's starting to pay off.


That’s because VIA has ripped a page from the airline handbook when it comes to setting fares. Now they’re handled like airline ticket sales – some tickets go high, some tickets go low, depending on the month, the day, even the hour of travel.

VIA started this pricing a year ago and it's increased travel on the core Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal routes by 10%.

Funny……VIA didn’t have to “rip a page from the airline handbook” all they had to do was look to their predecessor!

CN used a similar fare structure 50 years ago…..”Red, White & Blue Fares" Red being the cheapest off-peak fare day and Blue the most expensive……usually a Friday or Sunday when most travelled. It drove discretionary travel to say a Tuesday or Wednesday when few travelled to free up space on the busiest days.

Later on the fare structure was further refined for corridor travel: Red being “off-peak hours” and Blue, the morning and late afternoon “business-peak” hours.

 

[OBS]

Hard to find logic in this... My brothers and I are traveling rt MTR to Sennetterre (sp) in early August. They both purchased discount economy web only fare r/t for $190 with $40 per leg cancel/exchange fee. When I went to book, the web only fare was sold out, so I had to purchase regular economy fare, which was $190 rt with $20 per leg cancellation/exchange....interesting...