For airlines travelling to China: Demand is different depending on whether it is close to Chinese New Year or not. Chinese people travel far from their homes to work and every Chinese New Year they return home to celebrate. There are going to be so much more demand then than most other months. As the demand changes but supply remains relatively constant, the price must change to accommodate.
I wasn't making the argument that prices should remain static regardless of demand, day of the week, or any other factor.
My point was that the airlines have created a pricing system so opaque that it can actually become a deterrent to travel. Why do people sitting next to each other on the same flight pay wildly different fares?
It's the same with clothing. Demand for fashion is extremely fickle, but the supply is relatively fixed- the stores order their inventory ahead of time and what they don't sell they have to put on clearance, send to TJMaxx, etc. And like flights, that trendy four-button blazer has a "shelf-life."
