Originally Posted by
NickB
OK, I took random dates in August on ITA (14 August outward and 21 August for the return to PEK) and asked it to show the cheapest Y fares between PEK and LON, PAR and ROM as three major touristic destinations in Europe to see what was the outcome (unticking the availability box to avoid distortions resulting from actual availability).
The 20 cheapest fares on those three routes combined were as follows:
Route Airline Cost
PEK-LHR SU £595
PEK-CDG SU £633
PEK-FCO SU £633
PEK-LHR CZ/KL £644
PEK-LHR OS £650
PEK-LHR HU/BA £661
PEK-CDG CZ £663
PEK-LHR CZ £676 (CZ-coded KL codeshare on AMS-LON)
PEK-FCO HU/SN £677
PEK-CDG AY £678
PEK-LHR AY £678
PEK-LHR LX £684
PEK-LCY LX £688
PEK-FCO AY £697
PEK-LHR KL £700
PEK-FCO AF £703
PEK-LHR AF £704
PEK-FCO TK £707
PEK-CDG OS £708
PEK-CDG LX £709
PEK-FCO LX £709
I think that this speaks for itself. I tried a second time but in business and the pattern was pretty much the same. Yes, you will always find the odd fare here and there where London is more expensive than Paris or Rome or some other European destination. Overall, though, it simply is not the case that fares to London are generally higher than fares to other European capitals.
I cant replicate those prices on ITA even using the same criteria you used. Nonetheless, it really doesn't need a search like that to show it. You must compare like with like.
Go on the CZ website (using them as an example, given they're Asia largest airline) and price up any return to LHR and to CDG, far enough in advance that you can select the same fare class. The fares are the same, the fuel charges are the same, but the totals are always ¥902 more to LHR, and on the fare breakdown it makes it clear that is taxes and fees. That's about £85 on an economy flight, and you can do a similar thing with any major EU destination.
I'm fortunate enough to fly mostly J back to the UK, and the difference is roughly double that if I go direct.