Oasis fans are angry but dynamic pricing benefits consumers too | Larry Elliott

The price mechanism is an effective if brutal route to cheap flights abroad and, Labour hopes, affordable housing

Fans of Oasis received a lesson in how capitalism works when the first tickets for the band's reunion concerts went on sale. People queued for hours only to find that the price had rocketed from what they imagined would be 148.50 to 355.20 by the time it came to pay.

This was due to dynamic pricing, under which businesses adjust their prices flexibly based on current market conditions. Airlines, hotels and taxi companies all use this model.