Math! Science! History!11 Jul 2025

FLASHCARDS! Why Airline Prices Change After You Search

✈️ Episode Overview

Have you ever searched for a flight, left the tab open, and then gasped when the price jumped just a few hours later? In this Flashcards Friday episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak explores the mystery behind fluctuating airline prices—and reveals that it's not magic, but a powerful blend of mathematics, algorithms, behavioral psychology, and dynamic pricing strategies.

From fare buckets and revenue management to the cookies on your browser, Gabrielle breaks down how airlines control pricing and what you can do to outsmart the system and save money.

🎓 3 Things You'll Learn in This Episode

- How airline pricing algorithms use math and historical data to determine real-time ticket prices.

- Why flight prices often increase after multiple searches and how your browser behavior influences fares.

- Proven strategies and tools for booking smarter and avoiding price spikes.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

Google Flights – Great for tracking price history and alerts

Hopper – App that predicts the best times to buy flights

Skyscanner – Fare comparison across airlines and booking sites

ITA Matrix Airfare Search – Advanced search tool used by travel agents

The Discipline of Revenue Management – For those interested in the math and economics behind pricing algorithms

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com

📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let's Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

If you love Math, Science, History, here's how you can help:
🌟 Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
📢 Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
🔔 Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform

☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal

🛍 Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(235)

The Library of Alexandria: What Really Happened?

After nearly seven years and more than 200 episodes, this is where I say goodbye to Math! Science! History!. The podcast began with my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life and grew into something far bey...

30 Sep 25min

Descartes' Secret Notebook: The Hidden Math Behind Topology

René Descartes is famous for Cogito, ergo sum and his revolutionary approach to philosophy and mathematics. But he also left behind a mysterious 16-page manuscript written in code. In this episode, we...

24 Sep 13min

SCIENCE NEWS TUESDAY: A New Species is Discovered

Scientists have officially identified a new wild cat species in Bolivia and a new snake species from New Guinea—and one of them is named after Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. But these discoveries are ...

22 Sep 12min

GH Hardy, Ramanujan, The Search For Proof And The Discovery Of Truth

GH Hardy was a character. He had qualities that were odd, yet endearing. He was a rigorous mathematician. Yet, when he received a letter from Srinivasa Ramanujan, he changed. He learned a new way of e...

10 Sep 22min

REPOST The Resilience of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

In this episode of Math, Science, History, host Gabrielle Birchak does a repost about Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a 19-year-old prodigy whose curiosity during a two-week sea voyage in 1930 led to a gr...

3 Sep 11min

REPOST: When Women Gather

What happens when women gather? Throughout the eighteenth century, women across Europe began creating intellectual communities where they could discuss science, mathematics, philosophy, politics, lite...

27 Aug 17min

FLASHCARDS! Three Lessons from a Tobacco Engineer on Curiosity and Identity

Your job is what you do, not who you are - and that distinction could change your life. Gabrielle Birchak spotlights the astonishing story of Paul Tannery, a daytime engineer in the French tobacco adm...

21 Aug 8min

Paul Tannery: The Tobacco Engineer Who Changed the History of Math

Paul Tannery didn't begin his career intending to become one of the most influential historians of mathematics. He trained as an engineer at the École Polytechnique and spent much of his professional ...

18 Aug 33min