Farecast Blog

By: John Rauser - Farecast Fareologist

As the final game of the ALCS series played out last Sunday, you could have guessed the result by looking at our search logs. When the Red Sox clinched the series, going up 11-2 in the bottom of the 8th, we saw a big jump in the number of people looking for tickets from Boston to Denver on October 26, and no one was looking to head to Denver from Cleveland.

So what is the increased demand doing to prices? Well, there are a lot of Boston fans looking to fly on Friday the 26th to watch games 3-5 in Denver on the 27th through the 29th, and prices are rising accordingly. Below is an animation showing Boston to Denver prices we’ve observed over the last three days.

On the day of game seven, prices for October 26 departures were just like any other day. Very early in the morning on Monday, the day after the Red Sox won, the price had increased by $100. Earlier today, as the availability of cheaper fares dwindled, the price had gone up another $80-100. As I write, the price has gone up even further, with tickets costing in excess of $600.

Of course, a ticket to the game is also going to cost you. You can easily spend over $5,000 for a seat, but saving a couple hundred bucks on airfare makes a serious dent in the price for nosebleed seats, which seem to be running $600-800. For baseball fans itching to see a World Series game, this seems like something useful to keep in mind for the future: book your airfare the instant your team clinches the pennant.