Prices will be based on demand & I'm guessing that the price is automatically adjusted - i.e. big demand = big increase.

I bet all the other carriers are doing the same.

Wouldn't see it as taking advantage - all carriers will get what they can for seats.

Flight prices change day by day, when the cheaper booking class is sold, the next price is offered. As your flight is next month, its probably just the normal fare base we are seeing there.

For example, a discount economy ticket may be £350, which is non changeable, non refundable. But the next fare base could be £950, which allows changes, upgrades and refunds. But both are still in the economy cabin.

Charter flights all tend to be around the same price, depending on tour operator.

I agree with Clubworld and think it's probably just the normal fare base rather than them taking advantage.

My children had booked on xl to barbados i got flight this morning at 09:00 for £399 they have specail offer on until 23rd september.

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And, just to make this absolutely clear....

THEY ARE NOT putting up their prices because of the XL collapse. That's not how it works.

What is happening is that their existing (i.e., unchanged because of this XL collapse) allocation of cheap fares/seats is selling out precisely because of the increased demand which has arisen.

This is how airline prices work (actual numbers are just for example, not real figures).

Suppose they have 400 seats on a given flight.

They price 100 of them at £200

100 at £300

100 at £400

50 at £500

and the last 50 at £800.

If you are one of the first 100 to book, you get your seats for £200.

As more and more people book, the allocation of lower fares gets used up. If you are one of the last 50 to book, you pay £800.

Clearly, the uptake of the lower fares will happen more quickly if there is suddenly a large number of people (i.e. those let down by XL) seeking alternative flights.

That does NOT represent a profiteering fare rise; the £800 fare was always there.

I agree with SCAN - last year when we booked our holiday (with Virgin flights), an hour later our friends rang to book exactly the same holiday - the flights had gone up by £100 each!

Somehow, the agent joined their booking with ours and managed to secure their flights as the same price as ours!

SCAN is correct.

this is fluid pricing and it is what has helped us have cheaper fares these last 10 years or so. So it is normal and to be expected.

You can get cheap tickets at the lastminute on flights that don't have many seats sold. But, the collapse of first Zoom them XL has mopped up much of this spare capacity. And the Zoom pax have had the jump on the XL ones and rebooked already perhaps.

Normally I would agree with the way price increases work but I'm afraid I have to disagree with some past posts about increases following XL situation.

Yesterday morning I almost booked flights on line with Virgin Hols for December 09 but wanted to ask them a question first. I phoned but eventually gave up as holding on for ages as they were so busy due to XL.

Went back in to book last night and the price had already gone up. I checked other dates and it was the same for every single flight around that time.

So I'm with Sparky - book quickly before they go up again!