FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - No show on first leg of basic ticket

Jul 13, 2019, 8:03 am

#17

SparseFlyer

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Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancow

At the risk of getting even more off-topic, YYZ-SFO-YYZ is (or maybe "was", but the fares still look the same) significantly cheaper than either SFO-YYZ-SFO or two one-ways. Needless to say, I have:
SFO-YYZ
YYZ-SFO-YYZ
YYZ-SFO-YYZ
YYZ-SFO

I didn't investigate the exact cause of this. I know there are certain tax issues with "Canada within ~100 miles of the border" to US flights, as well as other implications. But the savings were significant enough that I booked non-sensible round-trips for three treks to Toronto.

So all I can say is do your research when booking. Sometimes a round-trip, even within North America, is cheaper. Sometimes it isn't.

So, a potential reason for this is that when you buy SFOYYZ R/T, you book it using fares sold in SFO (even for the return portion). So there might be a discounted fare published for SFOYYZ but not YYZSFO. Booking two one ways means you miss out on the discount for the return.

This is the most likely reason if there's no PROS availability shenanigans, and difference is higher than taxes.

I think the Eastern Canada to FL fares can have this quite often. Many times with the lower fares ex FL.

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