Fares higher 6 months out?

[AmtrakBlue]

From my experience, there is no pattern to the hares. I have seen them change several times in a day. I've also seen different fares for the same accommodations on the same train. On the Texas Eagle, if you look at sleepers on train 422, you might see a different fare than train 22.

I've observed much the same as you have. And the following shows, I think, the incongruity you noted between the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited:

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I defy anyone to explain that one by invoking buckets, yield management or any other mumbo jumbo. One explanation I can understand is a blind (and possibly rabid) monkey is picking fares for Amtrak. While I know full well that's not really how fares are set - it may as well be as far as I can see.

Perhaps 422 is nearly sold out and 2 is not. You can see the coach seats on 422 are already sold out, so the sleeper may be also.

 

[SarahZ]

Predicting Amtrak fares is akin to predicting the weather in the Midwest.

 

[Ryan]

In the sense that if you have an understanding of how the process works and access to the appropriate data, you can make a reasonably accurate go at it, sure.

Unfortunately, the processes and data aren't public knowledge, so to us outside observers it looks sufficiently like magic to be indistinguishable.

 

[SarahZ]

In the sense that if you have an understanding of how the process works and access to the appropriate data, you can make a reasonably accurate go at it, sure.

Unfortunately, the processes and data aren't public knowledge, so to us outside observers it looks sufficiently like magic to be indistinguishable.

I just meant that it's wildly unpredictable most of the time.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Penn and Teller are Amtrak's Consultants on Fares and Yield Management as well as their Accounting Systems.

They call it "Smoke and Mirrors!"

 

[GG-1]

Penn and Teller are Amtrak's Consultants on Fares and Yield Management as well as their Accounting Systems.

They call it "Smoke and Mirrors!"

Sorry Jim, Penn and Teller do not use "Smoke and Mirrors". They are, however, masters of miss direction.

Aloha

 

[niemi24s]

You can see the coach seats on 422 are already sold out, so the sleeper may be also.

Coach seats on 422 are not already sold out. There is still some unknown quantity available at the Flexible rate. You may have been misled by the "None Left" in the Saver and Value coach fare spaces. As a matter of fact there are never any Saver or Value coach fares available on 422 - no matter how far out into the future you check. And the only explanation for that incongruity is...uh...well...er...gadzooks, I can't seem to come up with one!

But when you use Amsnag to check fares from LAX to TUS, that incongruity explains the oddly vast difference between the Coach fares on 422 and 2 as seen here:

 

[Ryan]

As a matter of fact there are never any Saver or Value coach fares available on 422 - no matter how far out into the future you check. And the only explanation for that incongruity is...uh...well...er...gadzooks, I can't seem to come up with one!

Also perfectly logical. No reason to clutter up the through car that runs LAX-CHI with a short distance traveller that can be perfectly served in a 02xx car.

 

[niemi24s]

Thanks Ryan. Guess I wasn't thinking that far (down the tracks) ahead. :blush:

[Edit] Ding! But wait!! It looks like they will indeed allow you to clutter up the through car (ride 422) if you pay the higher Flexible rate. If so, that'd be a way for the bourgeoisie to distance themselves from the proletariat.