Mid-Atlantic - Switching from a PHL-bound flight to a NYC-bound one

I don't fly a lot and am not on any airline's frequent flyer program.

One weekend a year I visit a friend in Houston, and try to return to NYC on the last flights Sunday evening (arriving close to midnight).

Last year (early 2010) flights became expensive enough that I booked PHL-IAH-PHL instead. However, on the way back, I asked the Continental agent at the gate at IAH and they switched me to EWR for $50, which I was willing to pay to avoid the alternative (i.e. a graveyard-shift bus ride from Philadelphia back to NY).

This year (early 2011) the IAH-EWR flight was over $700, one way, so again I booked IAH-PHL. I had a feeling they wouldn't be so cooperative this time about letting me switch, and expected to end up on the bus, and, sadly, this was borne out. I asked at two customer service centers (apparently the gate agents are no longer allowed to handle such requests) and they not only said no, but behaved as though this was the most bizarre request they had ever encountered. One said "not unless you pay the full fare difference" in a tone that suggested that would be so high that it wasn't even worth having her look up what the charge would be; the other just said "not to a different city, no, I can't do that."

I suppose once they have such a huge fare differential in place it naturally follows that they have to take steps to protect it, and perhaps the people paying $700 for the EWR flight allow them to keep the price down on my PHL flight. I guess this is more venting than asking a question, but I do kind of wonder who is filling those flights at $700 a pop, and what I should expect to hear in general if I ask about being switched from a PHL flight to a NYC one.

If you can't get a flight to/from EWR, have you considered Amtrak to/from Penn Station instead of Greyhound since you don't like the bus?

IAH-EWR is hub to hub with no direct competition, hence more expensive than IAH/HOU - PHL where CO competes with Southwest and US. Southwest now flies into LGA, so if you're willing to take a 1-stop connection you could check their fares HOU-LGA.

I sometimes use PHL for the lower fares but similarly don't want to schlep home to NYC by train or bus. So I do multi-city tickets with departure out of PHL but return to LGA / JFK / EWR. This sometimes lowers the fare considerably, and keeps the return home less tiresome.

What an interesting theory regarding protecting fares, keeping fares into PHL down, etc. I think you were lucky to get a flight change for $50 the first time. You were hoping to get around the higher fare into EWR by booking at flight into PHL and then getting another inexpensive change??? Or did I miss something? Having to pay a change fee as well as any difference in fare is S.O.P. I would be surprised if gate agents were allowed to make such changes, since they don't normally deal with ticket purchases, etc. I assume Continental has customer service desks inside the terminal, after security, in case a last-minute flight time change or similar circumstance led to the request for a change. You said the agent implied the fare difference was great. You did check the difference?

Fares into different cities often appear to have no rhyme or reason but they do depend on the market, the competition and other factors. nycflyer's post is very logical. Looking at a future international trip, I found differences of several hundred dollars and more depending on which L.A.-area airport I would use. Virtually all airlines seeking to make profits after yers of losses are becoming more and more tight about allowing last minute convenience changes. Bottom line: bank on having to stick with what you book, especially if you book a fare that says no changes, no refunds. I've had to pay $250 to change the return date on an international itinerary. Didn't like it, but wasn't surprised, either.