Newbie Q's about BA pricing
Sep 3, 2020, 1:30 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1998
Location: YYZ
Programs: Air Canada Aeroplan, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Posts: 624
Newbie Q's about BA pricing
Hello everyone,
I have a cruise booked for next year 2021 (assuming it will resume) out of Barcelona and have been thinking of a doing a stopover trip in London. I did some random dummy booking on BA and I am a bit confused about their pricing. Note the following is all based on Economy class, one checked baggage, and in Canadian dollar.
Option #1
March 13 - YYZ-LHR, BA98
March 28 - BCN-LHR-YYZ, BA479/99
Total: $837
Option #2
March 13 - YYZ-LHR, BA98
March 18 - LHR-BCN, BA484
March 28 - BCN-LHR-YYZ, BA479/99
Total: $1125
If I go with Option #1 and book a separate LHR-BCN BA484 flight for March 18, the cost is $145. This will make the total for Option #1 be $982, which is almost $140 cheaper than Option #2 for the exact same itinerary (all economy with one checked luggage on all legs).
Am I missing something here? Thanks!
I have a cruise booked for next year 2021 (assuming it will resume) out of Barcelona and have been thinking of a doing a stopover trip in London. I did some random dummy booking on BA and I am a bit confused about their pricing. Note the following is all based on Economy class, one checked baggage, and in Canadian dollar.
Option #1
March 13 - YYZ-LHR, BA98
March 28 - BCN-LHR-YYZ, BA479/99
Total: $837
Option #2
March 13 - YYZ-LHR, BA98
March 18 - LHR-BCN, BA484
March 28 - BCN-LHR-YYZ, BA479/99
Total: $1125
If I go with Option #1 and book a separate LHR-BCN BA484 flight for March 18, the cost is $145. This will make the total for Option #1 be $982, which is almost $140 cheaper than Option #2 for the exact same itinerary (all economy with one checked luggage on all legs).
Am I missing something here? Thanks!
Sep 3, 2020, 1:49 pm
#2
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,813
I haven't checked the maths, but it doesn't surprise me. LHR-BCN is more competitive than YYZ-BCN. It happens all the time, and there are probably other tunes you can play to get it cheaper. Note that if you split the ticket then you are not guaranteeing the connection, and you will have to reclaim and recheck your bag. Also - as you rightly indicate - the chances of things changing is very high. That includes fares, where we may well be heading into a buyers' market for a while.
Sep 3, 2020, 2:56 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
As I read the OP, this shouldn't be a problem because YYZ-LHR is 13 March and LHR-BCN is on 18 March. This is the kind of scenario in which there's almost no downside to booking LHR-BCN separately. Indeed, if frequent flyer benefits don't enter into the equation, then there would be a good argument for shopping the entire market for the LHR-BCN flight. The more important thing for that flight is to make sure that there's enough margin before the cruise itself to allow for problems on that sector.
Sep 3, 2020, 5:15 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: UK
Programs: Executive Club Silver, Kestrelflyer Silver, FlyingBlue & Expedia+
Posts: 89
I don't know if there is a revenue management guru around that can help more.
Simple terms although it is the same itinerary the fact you split it, when you put the information in the computer that calculates the fares returns you a higher fare, as the other guys posted as BCN has a likley hood of being more 'busier' Theorectically speaking it tries to judge the demand and obviously BA like any airline would program the computer to ensure the flights breaks even profit wise so it would automatically offer you a higher fare bucket in the class you chose in order to meet that.
It could mean it bypasses a lower fare as it's thinking as you seperated it to another segment, although in the same ticket you might change your mind later meaning the flight would be less full not what the computer wants.
Doing option one where you connect directly to a longhaul makes it seem less likley that you would change it which is why it sometimes offers you a lower fare thats more restricted.
This is all hypothetical though, it all depends on what you decide to do and know will but the computers will always try to circumvent any loss. That being said though if you chose a flexible option or went through a travel agent, etc. It could be completley different and some aspects can be overriden.
Simple terms although it is the same itinerary the fact you split it, when you put the information in the computer that calculates the fares returns you a higher fare, as the other guys posted as BCN has a likley hood of being more 'busier' Theorectically speaking it tries to judge the demand and obviously BA like any airline would program the computer to ensure the flights breaks even profit wise so it would automatically offer you a higher fare bucket in the class you chose in order to meet that.
It could mean it bypasses a lower fare as it's thinking as you seperated it to another segment, although in the same ticket you might change your mind later meaning the flight would be less full not what the computer wants.
Doing option one where you connect directly to a longhaul makes it seem less likley that you would change it which is why it sometimes offers you a lower fare thats more restricted.
This is all hypothetical though, it all depends on what you decide to do and know will but the computers will always try to circumvent any loss. That being said though if you chose a flexible option or went through a travel agent, etc. It could be completley different and some aspects can be overriden.
Sep 4, 2020, 11:47 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1998
Location: YYZ
Programs: Air Canada Aeroplan, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Posts: 624
Thank you, everyone, for your feedback and insight. I guess I will just have to play around with the routing and combination to see what makes sense. This would be my first time (potentially) flying with BA and visiting UK/Europe so there are rules/regulations/tips/tricks where I may not be aware of. Regardless, my return on BCN-LHR-YYZ will be on one ticket so I hope it will be a smooth transit.