中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 A new study says the best time to buy plane tickets is on the weekend |
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One economist has good news for bargain hunters: According to his data, you don’t have to sacrifice a good night’s sleep in order to get a cheap airplane ticket. That’s because tickets purchased on weekends are actually about 5 percent cheaper than those bought during the week. "What we find is that when you look at otherwise very similar tickets, the tickets that were purchased on the weekends are about 5 percent lower," Texas A&M University economist Steven Puller told 1200 WOAI. Published in the latest issue of the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Puller’s data flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which suggests that if you want the best deal, you should purchase a ticket on a Tuesday or Wednesday, specifically at around 1 am. "Your typical purchaser on the weekends is going to be more price sensitive, and airlines might realize that and lower their fares," Puller told the station. Still, some conventional wisdom did hold up in the study. For example, you’re still better off purchasing your ticket several weeks in advance, rather than waiting until the last minute for a good deal. However, there are some caveats to the findings. Most prominently, Puller says the findings apply only to tickets purchased for locations that are not considered prime vacation destinations. That’s because there is less market competition from business travelers during the week, which would typically drive the price down, according to his findings. Puller’s data is also strictly based on nonstop, round-trip flights. So, if you’re trying to find a great deal on Christmas flights, you’re still largely on your own. (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Source: Yahoo) |
一位經濟學家給愛淘便宜貨的人帶來了福音。根據他的研究數據，你不必為了買一張廉價機票而熬夜犧牲你寶貴的睡眠時間。因為周末購買的機票價格實際上比平時便宜5%左右。 美國德州農工大學的經濟學家史蒂芬?普勒在接受1200WOAI廣播電臺采訪時說：“我們發現，比較類似機票后可以看出，周末購買的機票價格比平時低5%左右。” 普勒的研究報告發表在最新一期的《經濟行為與組織》雜志上，他的數據和傳統觀點大相徑庭。傳統觀點認為，如果你想買到最優惠的機票，你應該在周二或周三購買，而且最好在凌晨一點左右。 普勒告訴電臺的記者說：“喜歡在周末購買機票的人對價格更加敏感，航空公司也許意識到了這一點，特意調低了票價。” 不過，這一研究報告也支持一些傳統的觀點。例如，二者都認為，提前幾周買機票還是比拖到最后一刻買票要劃算。 然而，這一研究結果還是存在一些限制條件。最突出的一個限制條件是，據普勒說，該研究結果只適用于購買前往非熱門度假地的機票。因為他的研究發現，非工作日購買機票的話，所面臨的來自商務旅客的市場競爭就不會那么激烈，這通常都會拉低票價。 普勒是嚴格地參照直達往返航班的數據得出結果的。所以，如果你想買到最優惠的圣誕節機票，很大程度上你還是得依賴自己的判斷。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 實習生徐凌晨 編輯：陳丹妮） |
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Vocabulary: fly in the face of: 完全違反，與……大相徑庭 caveat: 警告，告誡，附加說明 |
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