New Website has Computer Predicting Supply and Demand

A new website, www.farecast.com, has been created that has the computer “predict” the supply and demand of airfare tickets. An algorithm was created so the computer can actually keep track of the supply and demand of tickets, which in turn shows if the price of the tickets will increase, or decrease over time. This allows consumers to keep track of when the tickets will be cheapest and the best time to buy them. The website is the newest of these “prediction websites” that keep track of the supply and demand of certain goods. Another site created this year was, Zillow.com, for keeping track of real estate. So as I read this article I thought of the following questions: Does this create a problem for the market for the certain good? Do you think that people who would be willing to pay more for the tickets will now payless because they can see when the price will be lower? (I know I would). Also, the suppliers are definitely affected. Do you think they are they affected in negative or positive way? These websites definitely affect the market, because the suppliers may not make as much money as they would if consumers were unable to predict the future prices of the tickets. Also, the author of the article also points out that there really is no way to see if the website is accurate besides seeing if it pans out. I’m curious to see what everyone thinks.