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Why so expensive?!

Why so expensive?!

Old Jun 19th 2010, 1:28 pm
  #16  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by randomgirl
I then looked at the US Airways website which quoted about £560 for a return ticket and £1050 for a one-way trip! What the hell?!
It's quite simple. When you book a return fare, you guarantee that you'll be using their service... so you get a break on the price. When you fly one way, they have no such guarantee, so they want as much as they can get up front. Bottom line: they want you to use their service!

What I'd be interested in knowing, is how much it actually costs to fly from, say LHR to JFK. We know what the airlines charge, but that's not the same thing. The fares fluctuate... so does that mean the airline is losing money when the fares go down or are on special? I don't think so. There's profit, and then there's more profit.

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Old Jun 19th 2010, 1:40 pm
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Yield management Ian. All tickets are not sold at the same price. There are a myriad of fare classes. Using historical and other data the airlines in effect take their best guess at how much they can squeeze out of people for each seat as seat availability changes. Hence the wild differences in the amount people pay for the same flight. Of course the self loading freight (passengers) are only a part of the equation as mail and other cargo makes a larger contribution to covering the operational cost.

Ryan air has lottery tickets and have made a huge profit whilst BA remain in a heavy loss situation. Perhaps we should collectievly buy an airbus remove a few seats to install a casino and allow people to fly for free. We may be on to something!
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Old Jun 19th 2010, 1:45 pm
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by Family_Guy
Perhaps we should collectievly buy an airbus remove a few seats to install a casino and allow people to fly for free. We may be on to something!
Hot damn... where do I sign up?

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Old Jun 19th 2010, 3:45 pm
  #19  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by fatbrit
Despite its grand sounding name of Sky Harbor International, there are very few international flights. Loads of domestic ones, though.

An oldie...but still amusing and true for ya.
http://blog.ivman.com/if-airlines-sold-paint/
19 international destinations is pretty respectable amount for an airport the size of Phoenix.
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Old Jun 19th 2010, 3:57 pm
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Divide the fare by the miles flown and you will realize the price per mile is pretty damn cheap, try finding any other method of transportation as cheap per mile as flying generally is.

For that date I get a fare of roughly 1,300 USD for a one way ticket, that comes to roughly 25 cents per mile for London to Phoenix.

Buy a round trip if its cheaper and simply dont use the return.

Try making a connection in Los Angeles or another city with good competition from London, BA has a monopoly on the London-Phoenix route and fares typically are higher on these types of routes.
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Old Jun 19th 2010, 4:18 pm
  #21  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by randomgirl
Hi everyone

I've just been looking at flights for when I move out to Phoenix, with a provisional date for September 4th (no interview date yet so I can't actually book anything yet). I looked on the BA website (I'm loathe to book with them because of all the striking, but it's the only direct flight from the UK to Phoenix) - anyway, a one-way ticket is about £900 but if I were to book a return (which I don't need) it would be less than £600. I then looked at the US Airways website which quoted about £560 for a return ticket and £1050 for a one-way trip! What the hell?! Obviously if it's gonna be so expensive to get a one-way ticket, I'll just end up booking a return which I'm not going to use, but I just wondered if anyone knew why they charge so much for a single ticket?

It seems ridiculous that they penalize people for only travelling one way!

You don't know for sure that you won't use the return portion, so why not just get a return with a return date 11 mths in the future, or Christmas, whatever ...
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Old Jun 19th 2010, 10:21 pm
  #22  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

As everyone seems to agree, pricing of airline tix is one of the more mysterious elements of our society.

I think we first need to consider 'unrestricted' vs 'restricted' tickets. If you wanted to buy a ticket, and be allowed to change BOTH the outbound date and the return date, on a whim, at the last minute, with a pretty decent guarantee of a seat, then you need to pay a fortune.

I just went to BA's UK site and entered Sept 15->Oct 15, round trip, with ability to change ("Flexible Conditions") - #1,720. Then I entered Sept 15, one way only, 'Flexible Conditions" - #898 - half the price.

So unrestricted fares are both highly priced, and 'logical' in that round-trips cost twice the one-way fare.

Now, take off the 'flexible conditions' requirement; the round trip now falls to #578. They are giving you a huge discount because they are 'nailing you down' to a very specific pair of flights, which allows them to plan accordingly.

Now, removing the 'flexible conditions' req. from the one-way has no corresponding affect. I suspect they've concluded there is no value in offering discounts on one-way tickets.

People flying on business often do need the flexibility offered by full-fare tickets. That's what this game is all about - charging business people (with deep pockets and a 'need' for flexibility) a high price while still filling remaining seats with tourists/others who wouldn't ever pay the full fare. Same goes for hotels ...

How many people actually buy a one-way ticket ... anyone know the stats? And does anyone know of anyone being 'penalized' in any meaningful way by not flying the second leg of a RT purchase?

Last edited by Steerpike; Jun 19th 2010 at 10:26 pm.
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Old Jun 19th 2010, 11:06 pm
  #23  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by Jsmth321
19 international destinations is pretty respectable amount for an airport the size of Phoenix.
Knock off Canada and Mexico (they're not really international!), and there's bugger all left.
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Old Jun 20th 2010, 12:38 am
  #24  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by Steerpike
People flying on business often do need the flexibility offered by full-fare tickets. That's what this game is all about - charging business people (with deep pockets and a 'need' for flexibility) a high price while still filling remaining seats with tourists/others who wouldn't ever pay the full fare. Same goes for hotels ...

How many people actually buy a one-way ticket ... anyone know the stats? And does anyone know of anyone being 'penalized' in any meaningful way by not flying the second leg of a RT purchase?
I think it is pretty well known that many airlines subsist off business fares. I understand Concorde was actually very profitable due to the number of business men who found it worth paying thousands to get to new york and back the same day.

Regarding not using the second half of return tickets, I had a feeling that if you did it too much the airline would notice somehow tracking your frequent flier number I guess and would get uppity.

Forgot to say: I have given up booking my trip back to MAN from PHX. Will wait until the fares go down.

Last edited by sir_eccles; Jun 20th 2010 at 12:39 am. Reason: Typos and shit
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Old Jun 20th 2010, 7:36 am
  #25  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

I did the same check for one-way tickets and was equally amazed at the price from all the airlines. Then, checked via frequent flyer points and was pleased to see that they only use half the points needed for a return to get a one-way ticket.
So, if you've got any points this may be a handy option.
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Old Jun 20th 2010, 10:49 am
  #26  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by Keith S
I did the same check for one-way tickets and was equally amazed at the price from all the airlines. Then, checked via frequent flyer points and was pleased to see that they only use half the points needed for a return to get a one-way ticket.
So, if you've got any points this may be a handy option.
I believe this statement holds true for some airlines, but not all - so always worth checking.

Also another crappy thing with BA (since this is who were were talking about originally) is that the taxes & fees they charge for bookings made with miles are very high compared with, say, American Airlines. And while you can spend BA miles on AA flights, for example, one exception is that they won't let you do it on trans-Atlantic crossings. YMMV (literally!) with other airlines, of course.
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Old Jun 21st 2010, 3:59 am
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by tonrob
I believe this statement holds true for some airlines, but not all - so always worth checking.

Also another crappy thing with BA (since this is who were were talking about originally) is that the taxes & fees they charge for bookings made with miles are very high compared with, say, American Airlines. And while you can spend BA miles on AA flights, for example, one exception is that they won't let you do it on trans-Atlantic crossings. YMMV (literally!) with other airlines, of course.
Given the increase in Taxes later this year. A flight to Dublin/Shannon followed by a lo cost flight to the UK on a separate PNR is now a very attractive option for the cost conscious traveller. You get the added advantage of full Immigration and Customs pre clearance. Things that make you hmmmm is the government trying to kill off the British Aviation industry? It makes little snese for people to use LHR as an O and D hub for long haul travel.
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Old Jun 25th 2010, 4:13 pm
  #28  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by fatbrit
Knock off Canada and Mexico (they're not really international!), and there's bugger all left.
Looks like they are working on it.

Phoenix approves airline incentives for more international flights

http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...l-flights.html
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Old Jun 26th 2010, 12:16 am
  #29  
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by Family_Guy
Given the increase in Taxes later this year. A flight to Dublin/Shannon followed by a lo cost flight to the UK on a separate PNR is now a very attractive option for the cost conscious traveller. You get the added advantage of full Immigration and Customs pre clearance. Things that make you hmmmm is the government trying to kill off the British Aviation industry? It makes little snese for people to use LHR as an O and D hub for long haul travel.
That works so long as you have no luggage. The charge for every suitcase on the dub to UK part can add up.
Actually we were considering flying this way next summer, but to fly back to SFO from Dublin the flight leaves at 9am so it would involve a Hotel stay, it may still be worth it.
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Old Jun 26th 2010, 8:45 pm
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Default Re: Why so expensive?!

Originally Posted by sir_eccles
Regarding not using the second half of return tickets, I had a feeling that if you did it too much the airline would notice somehow tracking your frequent flier number I guess and would get uppity.
I've heard statements backing that feeling up, but we're probably talking in the order of dozens of return tickets per year being thrown away for the same passenger than the one or two that most of us might try.

Also it should be noted that each segment has to be flown sequentially otherwise the remaining segments will be considered cancelled. So, if for example, you had a MAN-ORD, ORD-SFO, SFO-ORD, and ORD-MAN ticket (all on the same PNR) and you skipped the SFO-ORD flight by taking the train instead then the ORD-MAN segment would be cancelled automatically. Exceptions may apply for the more flexible (expensive) fare classes.
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