Cookie

Have just been checking out airfares for our one-way flight from UK to NS.

First thing that shocked me was that the cheap airlines don't fly to NS after October :scared:

I then went onto Air Canada website and picked the date of 7th Dec for 4 people as an example:

One way fare - 4 x $875 CDN + taxes = $4332 CDN

As if the fare wasn't bad enough, they strangely enough don't have a direct flight to Halifax - has to be either via Toronto/Montreal or Ottawa !!!!!

Return fare - 4 x £446 + taxes = $3112 CDN AND THIS TIME I CAN FLY DIRECT FROM LONDON

I presume that this info maybe widely known and that other people just buy a return ticket and either not use the return ticket, or use a date way in the future and plan a quick trip home and fly one-way back via Zoom or other cheap airline.

Atlantic Xpat

You've hit the nail on the head. Buy a return ticket and don't use the other half. Return tickets 99/100 will be cheaper than one way. AC do fly directly from LHR to Halifax. AC860/861 is the flight number and it goes 7 days a week, no longer stopping in St. John's first.

The budget airlines (Zoom etc) stop flying to NS at the end of Oct IIRC.

Garfielduk

Yes, the Airlines have a crazy pricing system for singles in comparison with returns, why they do that is beyond logic because if you get a return then they have used up a seat until you do a "No show" at the airport whereas with a single they could sell it. Sounds like some British company led the way on that one Maybe it was Network Rail

CDNReturner

Well, that's how I went to the UK in the first place back in 1980. Charter flight and just didn't return.

Cathie

dbd33

Or make the return leg (that you're not going to use) for some time a long way out, then when you want to go to the UK pay the fee to change it to the day you want and then buy another return and use only half of that. "Back to backs" can also be used to work around time of stay, or Saturday stay, requirements on cheap tickets. One problem is that you have to know that you'll want to travel the same route several times but this is a common approach for commuters.

Canada2006

Can you buy an open jaw return at the lower price?

printer

I think they do it to stop us getting a good deal!
If you could book a one way ticket then it can work out cheaper because you might pay £300 going out but can pay $300 coming back. I did look at this with the view that if i could buy my return tickets from say British Airways Canadian website then i could save money but you cannot as you must book through the website of the country you are travelling from but when i looked at buying two singles it was too expensive on the outward one to consider it.

maepaulino

why am I not surprised with this?... o yes... everything's skyrocketing these days...

bad.andy

You could try a charter flight, Canadian Affair offer flights from Glasgow for £79 adult 1 way to Toronto on Dec 8th, £89 from Gatwick on the 7th. Westjet Toronto to Halifax is $120. Even with tax it's about £175 each, a bit more for a bigger seat and luggage allowance. Only problem is if you miss the 2nd flight because of a problem with the first one I suppose as they are different carriers.

bad.andy

dbd33

It all depends. There's no rationality to air ticket prices.

Canada2006

I suppose that they're dynamically adjusted to create the highest yield, so strange things can happen.

Of course, the fact that a single costs more than a return cannot make sense in anyone's rational.

dbd33

Granted but that's always been the case. I had a phase of commuting to Houston when tickets involving staying over Saturday were cheaper, I didn't want to stay over Saturday so for a while I used back-to-backs and then the rules changed to prevent that, the price for Monday/Friday was high so I'd buy two return tickets a week Monday/Tuesday, Thursday/Friday and throw two coupons away each week.

It was a bother to keep up with the rules and the flier miles programs are worse; one reason why I have nearly a million Amex points is that redeeming them for tickets is too complicated for me!

IceMaiden

Send them this way mate - I could manage to use them

Souvenir

What I find shocking is that the AC Ottawa-London return ticket I just bought cost less than half what a recent Ottawa-Detroit return did. The latter trip is about 90 minutes.

printer

I have been trying recently to book London/Vancouver returns for December and they really sting you because it school holiday time. You are quite limited in your choice if you want direct flights. I went with Zoom in the end as they had the best deal. BA wanted £700 per person return and that was going out 28/12 meaning we would miss the start of school on a 2 week break. AC was even more. Canadian affair was showing no availability and Air Transat don't fly in December.
Just as a matter of interest for anybody going to Calgary, BA will start a new direct Heathrow to Calgary service in December and the prices have been going up by the week but you can still get a good price going out 29/12 onwards at £200 each way including taxes.