Bizarre price issue - need advice
Oct 16, 2014, 11:48 pm
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3
Bizarre price issue - need advice
I want to take Delta flight 575 from ATL to SAP (non-stop) and it will cost $835. However, if I were to buy a ticket from SAV to SAP which stops in ATL and changes planes to flight 575, it would only cost $665 (meaning the cost to get from SAV to ATL is -$170!)
1) Why?!?!
2) If I were to buy the SAV - SAP ticket, could I just not show up in SAV for the first leg, then get on the plane in ATL? Seems that would be too obvious of a workaround and they may have some policy prohibiting it . . .
If I can't do that, I would consider a bus ticket to SAV as it would save me $135 to wastefully ride from ATL, just to turn around and fly back to ATL.
Thanks for any help!!
1) Why?!?!
2) If I were to buy the SAV - SAP ticket, could I just not show up in SAV for the first leg, then get on the plane in ATL? Seems that would be too obvious of a workaround and they may have some policy prohibiting it . . .
If I can't do that, I would consider a bus ticket to SAV as it would save me $135 to wastefully ride from ATL, just to turn around and fly back to ATL.
Thanks for any help!!
Oct 16, 2014, 11:56 pm
#2
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If you miss any flight on your itinerary, all further tickets will be cancelled. You can't skip the first leg.
You could ride the bus to SAV. On the return trip, you could hop off the plane at ATL and throw away the ATL-SAV leg without penalty, but you could not check bags, just carry them on.
(Edit: Since you would clear customs in ATL, you might be able to check bags and pick them up prior to customs. I haven't entered the US via ATL in a long time, so don't know the current layout there.)
Airlines price flights to make as much money as they can; sometimes they need to compete on routes so have to meet other carriers' prices.
You could ride the bus to SAV. On the return trip, you could hop off the plane at ATL and throw away the ATL-SAV leg without penalty, but you could not check bags, just carry them on.
(Edit: Since you would clear customs in ATL, you might be able to check bags and pick them up prior to customs. I haven't entered the US via ATL in a long time, so don't know the current layout there.)
Airlines price flights to make as much money as they can; sometimes they need to compete on routes so have to meet other carriers' prices.
Last edited by Doc Savage; Oct 17, 2014 at 12:12 am
Oct 17, 2014, 1:30 am
#4
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I want to take Delta flight 575 from ATL to SAP (non-stop) and it will cost $835. However, if I were to buy a ticket from SAV to SAP which stops in ATL and changes planes to flight 575, it would only cost $665 (meaning the cost to get from SAV to ATL is -$170!)
1) Why?!?!
2) If I were to buy the SAV - SAP ticket, could I just not show up in SAV for the first leg, then get on the plane in ATL? Seems that would be too obvious of a workaround and they may have some policy prohibiting it . . .
If I can't do that, I would consider a bus ticket to SAV as it would save me $135 to wastefully ride from ATL, just to turn around and fly back to ATL.
Thanks for any help!!
1) Why?!?!
2) If I were to buy the SAV - SAP ticket, could I just not show up in SAV for the first leg, then get on the plane in ATL? Seems that would be too obvious of a workaround and they may have some policy prohibiting it . . .
If I can't do that, I would consider a bus ticket to SAV as it would save me $135 to wastefully ride from ATL, just to turn around and fly back to ATL.
Thanks for any help!!
What your talking about is Hidden City Ticketing. Plenty of threads about it.
The airline will cancel the remainder of your ticket if they catch you. They can also charge your CC the higher cost (in theory). If you are a Frequent Flyer then can kick you out of the FF program and take away your miles.
Bottom line: Don't do it.
Oct 17, 2014, 8:07 am
#6
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It's called "hidden city". Airlines prohibit it.
If you miss the first segment, they cancel the rest of the itinerary.
If you do it often, they get upset and penalize you.
As others have mentioned, there's the luggage issue.
If you miss the first segment, they cancel the rest of the itinerary.
If you do it often, they get upset and penalize you.
As others have mentioned, there's the luggage issue.
Oct 17, 2014, 8:11 am
#7
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Not a "bizarre" price issue but a very common one -- nonstop flights on monopoly routes often cost more than connecting flights where the customer has a choice of carriers. Distance flown has nothing to do with pricing.
Oct 17, 2014, 8:30 am
#8
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Actually not true. There has been at least one FTer who did this frequently and reported that his/her frequent flyer account was closed and I believe lost all the points.
Oct 17, 2014, 9:26 am
#9
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Oct 17, 2014, 10:32 am
#10
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1. If you noshow for the SAV-ATL, your entire ticket will be cancelled as a virtual certainty.
2. If you noshow for the SAV-ATL and it is a regular practice, there may be other consequences.
Pricing is about supply and demand in different markets. Not a charge per linear mile. it's also sometimes cheaper to fly WAS-LON than WAS-NYC.
2. If you noshow for the SAV-ATL and it is a regular practice, there may be other consequences.
Pricing is about supply and demand in different markets. Not a charge per linear mile. it's also sometimes cheaper to fly WAS-LON than WAS-NYC.
Oct 17, 2014, 1:28 pm
#11
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Welcome to monopoly pricing.
Anybody on this board based in ATL, DTW, MSP, or another fortress hub can tell you all about Hidden City Ticketing's pros and cons.
Several highly entertaining 1,000+ post threads here about it as well...probably on Page 1 or 2 of this forum.
Anybody on this board based in ATL, DTW, MSP, or another fortress hub can tell you all about Hidden City Ticketing's pros and cons.
Several highly entertaining 1,000+ post threads here about it as well...probably on Page 1 or 2 of this forum.
Oct 17, 2014, 1:36 pm
#12
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http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ty-ticket.html
Last edited by Doc Savage; Oct 17, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Oct 17, 2014, 6:29 pm
#14
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If you earn $100/day it likely makes a difference versus if you make $2000/day where it is pocket change. I agree, I wouldn't spend all the time getting to SAV for only $100 savings.
Oct 17, 2014, 10:07 pm
#15
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Posts: 3
Thanks all for the info. Sorry if this is a frequent question that noobs like me bring up. I wouldn't have known to look at something called "hidden city" so a topic dedicated to that wouldn't have helped me. (It would have to be called something like "why is it cheaper to fly two legs instead of one when one of the two legs is the same flight as the single leg?" Can that be shortened without losing the critical element I'm asking about?)
Now that I realize it will be two trips by bus and only $100 savings, I will just buy the ATL non-stop. I'd rather not be on a bus for 9 hours if I don't have to be (even though I could get a lot of reading done.)
Now that I realize it will be two trips by bus and only $100 savings, I will just buy the ATL non-stop. I'd rather not be on a bus for 9 hours if I don't have to be (even though I could get a lot of reading done.)