[Rick Lee]

I know they're getting more expensive because of fuel prices and how the airlines buy futures. I'm trying to find a good deal on a flight to Frankfurt or Duesseldorf around Memorial Day. They're around $1400 through Kayak on a few airlines. Yet, US Airways has specials all day long for $279 each way plus taxes, probably around $700 total. The catch is that the trip has to be completed in the next 30 days. I'm sorely tempted to push my luck and wait until about the first week of May and hope these kinds of deals are still around. My travel dates are very flexible. But why is booking 2-3 mos. in advance twice as expensive as booking a few days in advance? How does this business model work?