Originally Posted by
justflyingin
It also makes no sense to me that the surcharges for a ticket originating in WAW going to TPA has a high surcharge but the otherway around, TPA-WAW doesn't have much of a fee. Same flights...even, just the opposite direction. Grr.
Blame AF/KL. DL charges YQ on award flights originating in Europe because FlyingBlue does, and they want to avoid everyone flocking into the DL program. Thing to keep in mind for redemptions originating in Europe is that DL doesn't collect more than $2 in YQ for award flights on KE. If you need an AF/KL/OK/SU flight to get somewhere that KE flies, you'll have to pay some YQ, but will avoid most of it. (Also be willing to look at taking a revenue flight for that first bit instead of paying the YQ. The award YQ can be so high that if you book a deeply discounted coach ticket for a sub-90 minute flight, you can save money.)