诸如 Delta 等航空公司正日益采用人工智慧来取代传统的人类分析师与静态的定价规则，例如当航班机舱载客率达到 25% 时自动涨价 20% 的规定。取而代之的是，航空公司正利用第三方的 AI 平台来处理数十个即时变数——包含油价波动、市场竞争以及航班取消率——以制定动态且精确的票价，这有效地消除了过去精打细算的旅客所喜爱寻找并利用的票价漏洞。

由总部位于以色列的 Fetcherr 与总部位于亚特兰大的 Volantio 等新创公司所开发的科技，透过在机票售出后甚至进一步为航空公司撷取收益增长，展现了这种趋势。当航班需求激增时，其 AI 系统会提供计划弹性的旅客改搭较冷门航班的选项，并以座位升等等诱因促使乘客接受报价。航空公司接著会将该座位以更高的价格转售给另一位寻找最后一刻航班的乘客。

那么这对您的下一次假期意味著什么？这可能好坏参半——但分析师表示，乘客应做好票价整体呈现上升趋势的准备。在繁忙且需求极高的航线上，那些幸运的超低价座位将变得更加难以寻获。尽管如此，仍然有一线希望：如果您拥有搭乘离峰航班并大幅提前预订的弹性，这项科技实际上可能对您有利。否则，无论是现在或是在 AI 驱动的未来，您能做的最佳策略就是提早预订。

Airlines like Delta are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence to replace traditional human analysts and static pricing rules, such as automatic 20% price increases when a flight's cabin capacity reaches 25%. Instead, carriers are utilizing third-party AI platforms to process dozens of real-time variables—including oil price fluctuations, market competition, and flight cancellation rates—to establish dynamic and precise ticket pricing, effectively eliminating the pricing loopholes that penny-pinching travelers loved to hunt down and exploit.

Technologies developed by startups such as Israel-based Fetcherr and Atlanta-based Volantio demonstrate this trend by extracting revenue gains for airlines even after a seat has been purchased. When flight demand surges, their AI systems offer travelers with flexible plans the option to switch to less popular flights, providing enticements like a seat upgrade to take the bid. The airline then resells the original seat at a higher price to another passenger looking for a last-minute flight.

So what does this mean for your next vacation? It can be a mixed bag—but analysts state that passengers should prepare for fares to generally exhibit an upward trend. On busy, highly sought-after routes, those lucky bottom-dollar seats will be much harder to find. Still, there is a silver lining: if you have the flexibility to fly off-peak and book significantly in advance, the technology might actually work in your favor. Otherwise, the best strategy you can adopt—now and into the AI-driven future—is to book early.