Insane im trying to go from A to C. I always knew if you miss part of the flight all of it gets canceled but what if i tell them a month in advance?

A to C costs 400
B to A to C costs 200

and yes its the exact same A to C flight.

Why can't I just buy B to A to C and tell them I don't want to go to B?

How does it make sense that it costs more to fly less.

5/9/2013 1:42:48 AM

Its called hidden city ticketing.

No, there's no way around it skipping the initial leg. You can get away with it very very sparingly by skipping the final leg. But the airlines will catch on very quickly to this and will not ticket you.

The price is lower usually because on A->C they are competing with another airline, while B->C is a hub they control, or one with higher flight demand.

there's nothing you can do about, except pay for the flight you need.

5/9/2013 3:04:53 AM

Never skip flight leg day.

5/9/2013 3:21:27 AM

It's a free country. You can do whatever you want. The airline isn't going to force you at gun point to make all the flights.

5/9/2013 6:14:53 AM

As Noen said though, they can refuse to sell to you again or modify the fare accordingly. If you don't like it you're welcome to try another carrier, drive, or take the bus/train. It's kind of shitty for the consumer, but it's one of the things they do to make money. Flying is still remarkably cheap for the service you're receiving.

5/9/2013 6:44:56 AM

Getting charged anything to have your hiney probed and your naked junk photographed with high energy radiation is, like, always way too expensive or something

5/9/2013 8:24:23 AM

^some people would pay good money for that without the benefit of the plane flight.

5/9/2013 8:36:36 AM

if it exists, someone on the internet is willing to pay good money to stick their dick in it

5/9/2013 8:43:26 AM

Nvm

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 9:44 AM. Reason : No scamming here]

5/9/2013 9:43:20 AM

I had this problem with an rdu to CLT to dtw trip I was making. At the time I lived an hour from rdu and 2 hours from CLT. Timing wise I could sleep later by driving to charlotte, but nooooo.

5/9/2013 10:13:43 AM

Legality aside, how is this fair?

Sure, the contract with the airline you enter into when buying a ticket prohibits it. But where were we, as customers, involved in negotiating this contract?

Economically, how does this make any sense either?

Quote :

"A to C costs 400 B to A to C costs 200"

If there's a high demand for A-C, then why should they lowball that leg for the sake of a B-C connection which has a lower market value? The A-C flights should be priced out as a component of B-C connections.

5/9/2013 11:18:51 AM

Anyone who doesn't like it should start their own airline

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

5/9/2013 11:39:32 AM

They are routing you around a higher demand flight for a cheaper fair.

For example the direct route flight fills up frequently and they can charge more for those tickets. The A>b>C route has one or two flights that they always fly half empty and have lots of competition for.

Basically you have to pay for the convenience of a direct flight. It sucks, but airlines have a lot of fixed costs and flying planes half empty does not make them money, selling a full flight for low fares does not either.

Sometimes the direct flight is only 30-40 more and it might be worth it to you, other times its hundreds and you are better off getting routed through one of their hubs wasting a few more hours of your day but saving a few hundred bucks.

Just think of it as paying the poor tax. If you were some rich & important, business traveler whos time was really valuable you could book that almost full direct flight at the last minute and pay out the ass. There are plenty of people that are gonna do that, just probably not you.

5/9/2013 11:46:33 AM

Quote :

"For example the direct route flight fills up frequently and they can charge more for those tickets. The A>b>C route has one or two flights that they always fly half empty and have lots of competition for. "

This is wrong. The seats on a flight contain passengers who are only flying one leg as well as those going as a direct flight. Using A-C as a leg within a trip competes with the demand for direct flights of A-C.

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 11:57 AM. Reason : ]

5/9/2013 11:55:39 AM

fare

5/9/2013 11:57:47 AM

wow, I've viewed this thread like 7 times and I finally understand the OP's point...and this is a little strange

I guess they'll charge whatever the market will bear, and presumably the market will bear more in A than it will in B...ergo you pay more if you start at A

5/9/2013 12:02:26 PM

Like someone else said, it's probably because B to C is a competitive airfare where they have to slash the prices to compete with other airlines. I often do better living in Chicago flying Delta than United/American because of this.

Another possible thing to check is how much are the 2 as one-way fares. I've had it where a 500 dollar round trip was 350 with two one-ways. Worth checking out.

5/9/2013 12:06:19 PM

You are taking a direct flight now which also typically costs more

5/9/2013 12:16:06 PM

Good thread.

I remember when flying to London in 2011 from Wilmington (ILM) I paid 940 with a layover in Charlotte.
My parents were flying from Charlotte direct to London and had to pay $1050. We bought our tickets at the same time (was on the phone when we booked) and had the same "direct" flight from Charlotte to London. I met up with them for the flight over and waved goodbye when i connected to my ILM flight on the way back.

Never understood why I got a $110 discount due to USAirways have to drag my ass 200 miles each way to get me back to the NC Coast.

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 1:12 PM. Reason : a]

5/9/2013 1:10:58 PM

Quote :

"Like someone else said, it's probably because B to C is a competitive airfare where they have to slash the prices to compete with other airlines."

Lots of businesses would like to have non-competitive policies. In this case, they gained the ability to avoid competing with themselves.

I remember economics teachers making this point for a car dealership.



There is a small number of customers who will settle at price P. Those who need a lower price won't buy your product, but those who would have been willing to pay a higher price piggyback on the negotiation of other customers and pay the going market rate. Why would they pay more if they could get it for less?

As a business, of course I would like to charge the higher dollar customers more than the market rate! But the problem is that if I do, then I can't sell to the cheapskate at the lower price (which is needed to get their business). But if I'm an airline, I'll just obfuscate the market so that you can only get the market rate by accepting a layover.

Sure, this violates basic market principles. But I just have to write some rules that make it so that I don't have to compete with myself. It's the "easy button". Man, as a business it sure is nice to be able to write the rules in my favor

5/9/2013 1:51:03 PM

It is fucking brilliant if you think about it.

5/9/2013 2:00:51 PM

Its how airlines have avoided becoming a commoditized market for half a century.

and the really fucked part is that 200 vs 400 dollar ticket may be based on fare schedules for the seats.

for instance, a to c might have Y fare basis tickets, but b to c only has L tickets because all the Y fares have been preassigned to the a to c passengers. This is how most airlines handle ticket leveling. Its also why buying your tickets early rarely gets you the best price.

When most routes open 364 days before travel, they release the mid-fare tickets. If demand is high for the flight, they keep expanding that fare class. If demand is low, usually 1-3 months before the flight they will start to ticket value fare classes. As the flight approaches, more value fare classes open up. Until you hit 21 days before the flight. Then the airline reverses course. This is because its usually the cutoff for awards and redemption flights, so from then on, any ticketed passengers are buying because they need to make that flight.

At 13 days, all the value and standard fares get pulled, and you're left with the full refundable MSRP fares. At 6 days they pull those leaving you with only the premium fare options.

5/9/2013 2:20:19 PM

If I'm planning a trip to Munich July 11-21st should i wait to by tickets or is not prime time.

5/9/2013 3:13:32 PM

5/9/2013 5:47:01 PM

i wish i could sublet the flight on craigslist. FLY FROM B TO A FOR FREE or MAKE 100 FLYING FROM B TO A.

5/9/2013 11:05:11 PM

Quote :

"When most routes open 364 days before travel, they release the mid-fare tickets. If demand is high for the flight, they keep expanding that fare class. If demand is low, usually 1-3 months before the flight they will start to ticket value fare classes. As the flight approaches, more value fare classes open up. Until you hit 21 days before the flight. Then the airline reverses course. This is because its usually the cutoff for awards and redemption flights, so from then on, any ticketed passengers are buying because they need to make that flight. At 13 days, all the value and standard fares get pulled, and you're left with the full refundable MSRP fares. At 6 days they pull those leaving you with only the premium fare options."

Is this true across the board?

5/10/2013 1:03:16 AM

I believe the algorithm is somewhat more complex, but the gist is accurate. I've seen low fares at the last minute, but the concept seems like a correct assertion.

The major airlines are stuck on a business model that stresses gaining market share. Marketing decides the routes. The marketing department creates the flight schedules. Marketing decides the ticket prices.

And apparently, marketing people are fucking stupid. Take a look at the list of extinct air carriers. Competition + shitty business models = every airline ever.

"If a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down."
-Warren Buffet

5/10/2013 2:42:39 AM

http://www.skybus.com

5/10/2013 8:32:24 AM

it kind of stinks that you have to fly that leg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czR1yxKfhUc

5/10/2013 9:00:02 AM

just remember that Noen doesn't know shit

5/15/2013 8:37:41 PM

pilots are notorious for getting shitfaced on their time off and coming in hungover

5/16/2013 10:31:55 AM