Qantas says UI trial, not algorithm, behind seat price variations

Qantas says it trialled, but did not proceed with, a revised fare search user interface in its mobile app that changed the way seat options were displayed to users.

The airline was called out on discrepancies in the seat options shown between its app and website by mining executive Mark Bennett in a widely shared LinkedIn post last week.

Bennett questioned whether the airline was using customer data or attributes to vary its pricing and seating class options, prompting a response from the airline’s official LinkedIn account.

“We just want to reassure you that qantas.com or the Qantas app does not target pricing for specific customers based off their tier, IP address or any other data point,” the airline wrote, adding that it had asked its digital team “to investigate further.”

A technical explanation offered by Qantas since, in response to questions by iTnews, is that a new user interface was being tested on a limited number of flights, where customers could use a drop-down menu to see fares.

The interface trial is said to have been live over a two-week period but discontinued beyond that.

It was unclear if users that stumbled upon the trial interface via certain flight searches were informed of the new navigation method for exploring seat and fare options.

It's understood the airline was unable to replicate the specific customer issue internally, in part because the trial UI had been withdrawn.

A Qantas spokesperson told iTnews that the airline had “spoken to the customer to apologise for the confusion and for the technical issue he experienced.”

Richard Chirgwin contributed to this story.