Continuous Pricing

A pricing method where an airline sets prices flexibly by demand rather than from fixed fare classes. Instead of offering a limited set of predefined fare buckets, the airline can generate a much finer range of prices tailored to real-time conditions. This is a more granular evolution of dynamic pricing, and is increasingly enabled by NDC distribution.

Traditional airline pricing relies on a limited number of booking classes, each with a fixed price point, so fares move in steps — for example, from USD 300 to USD 360 when one class sells out. Continuous pricing removes these steps and allows the airline to offer any price in between, such as USD 327, based on current demand. This is made possible by modern offer management systems and distribution standards such as NDC, which allow airlines to create offers dynamically rather than select them from filed fares.

For corporate travel, continuous pricing has several implications. Negotiated discounts may increasingly be defined as a percentage off the current price rather than as fixed corporate fares, and benchmarking becomes more complex, as prices no longer follow predictable steps. This makes real-time comparison across airlines and channels even more important, along with reporting that captures the actual price paid for each trip. Fare classes still matter, however, as they continue to define fare rules and loyalty accrual.

Tumodo's approach is to show companies real, current prices in one place. Flights from 500+ airlines are compared in a single search, at the same prices as on airline websites and without hidden markups. Corporate airline contracts can be uploaded to the platform so negotiated discounts apply automatically, and analytics by route and department help companies see how the prices they pay change over time.