Why are there cheap flights, and why are there relatively expensive ones?

This was asked by House lawmakers on Thursday, Sep. 4, as they flagged during the Department of Transportation (DOTr) budget hearing what seemed to be the inconsistent pricing of airplane tickets both domestic and international.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) explained that there was actually nothing irregular with it, as it was just the nature of the "dynamic pricing system". CAB, an attached agency of the DOTr, says the system is prevalent in the global aviation industry.

"Lahat po ay sumusunod dyan... Meron pong bentahe 'yang practice na 'yan, at 'yan po ang dahilan bakit naging democratized ang air travel sa Pilipinas at marami na pong Pilipinong pwedeng magbyahe (All other airline operators do that... There's actually an advantage to that practice. And that's the reason why air travel has become democratized in the Philippines, and many Filipinos are now able to travel)," CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said during the hearing held by the Committee on Appropriations.

According to Arcilla, the dynamic pricing system is a system where airline operators sell airplane tickets at "low, medium, and expensive" prices.

That way, airline operators manage to fill the aircraft, which consequently lower the unit cost of airplanes as they fly.

"Lahat po ng pag aaral ay iisa po ang tinutukoy: 'Yung sistema na ito ay sya ang dahilan kung bakit 60 million na po ang pasahero sa Pilipinas sa loob ng isang taon, at bigla po itong lumundag kung saan noong araw napakaliit, unti lang po nakakalipad (All studies have concluded that such system is the reason why there 60 million passengers in the Philippines are able to fly every year. And that is a huge jump from the very small number of people who could fly before)," Arcilla said.

What CAB actually monitors is whether or not only two percent of the tickets sold is expensive and the 98 percent is affordable.

"'Yan po ay pinapayagan hindi lamang po sa Pilipinas kundi sa buong mundo dahil ang nagiging resulta po nyan, bumababa, napupuno ang eroplano, bumababa po ang cost per seat, marami na pong nakakalipad (This is being practiced not only in the Philippines but worldwide, because the result is that planes get filled, the cost per seat goes down, and more people are able to fly)," he said.

That's actually the reason why CAB advises travelers to book their tickets in advance and enjoy chepaer seats, Arcilla said.