Whacky pricing LHR-GVA (and everywhere else!) in July
 

I'm going to Geneva on July 20 just before (I think) English schools break up. Bought my ticket a few weeks ago for £170 in Y and HBO. I'm now trying to buy a ticket on the same flights for a friend and every single GVA flight on Jul 20 is £318; similar coming back on Monday 25th. He's not a £600 good friend!! Just seems odd that every flight has only expensive C class or B class avaiability this far out and with pretty empty planes. EF suggests some connections (not that I'm interested) via FRA and CDG which also show only J/C and Y/B fares on sale. Tried a few other destinations on same days and MAD for example is well over £300 from LHR on BA, but less than half that on IB. There are currently 7 LHR-GVA flights that day, but lately they've been packing everyone onto 4 flights. On the other hand, both Swiss from LHR and easyJet from LGW have loads of avaiability those days for just over £100. Are BA just trying to discourage bookings and planning to cancel more flights? Any idea what's going on? Trying to figure out if I should just send him on Swiss with similar flight times and meet in GVA? I can't even use double avios as it's already past the 30 day limit (unless there's any flexibility on that...)

Prices are consistently outrageous... crew shortages, consolidated flights and so forth. What I have noticed, even with this, is that on shorthaul (although could just be a Gold benefit) is in the days before - even the immediate day before, Reward seats often open - although often jus tin CE. So wing it until a lot closer in hoping for the best, or just book a cheaper alternative

Let me guess. BA already has well-known and highly-publicised problems stemming from having taken too many bookings and promised travel to too many passengers compared to the limited number of flights that it is able to operate with the limited resources that it currently has. So it would obviously make perfect sense for BA to encourage lots more new bookings at low fares.

If LX has much more appealing fares (which a quick look on ITA suggests that it does), then I'm surprised that you're even hesitating. But if your friend must fly on BA, how about LCY-GVA that morning?

Nothing new here, the combination of insanely high demand and BA removing availability in sensible fare buckets to protect itself has been causing ridiculous fares for months, especially across shorthaul.

Good guess! You get a gold star!! Thanks for the helpful and not at all sarcastic input. I'm aware of the forces at work here, just surprised by the scope and scale of BA's "solution". Strange that they even stil have all 7 flights on the schedule with no chance they'll all fly. And the issues are not new, so weird that I bought a ticket for these flights 11 days ago for £160.

No advantage or need to fly BA unless he's on the same flight as me, so with no avios availibility, would definitely go with Swiss at just over £100 (which I already mentioned without you needing to refer to ITA, but thanks for the effort). I'll likely just end up doing that as LCY is more expensive with less convenient times and location.

Thanks. Good to know. I think I'll just put him on Swiss rather than leave it to the last minute.

Simple answer is that BA don't want to sell any more tickets. They know there are going to be many cancellations throughout the summer and have removed all the cheap fare buckets to discourage new bookings.

Just wait till we come up against next years Evoucher use by deadline...then you'll know the meaning of prices...

Aren't these being slowly coverted into refunds which should lighten the load a little hopefully?

Whacky Pricing? no kidding!!!

I hope I get decent champagne! I could literally buy a castle in Scotland for this amount. :)

35 years in the IT industry - and I don't think I have ever seen worse than adding GBP and HUF together?! :D

Need a new new CIO - and I'm not talking the job

Its on Amex, so at least I get 3xAvios! :)

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6935e6d65c.jpg

I’m not sure I understand this logic now I think about it. Restrict it to high fares and therefore sell few tickets, making it likely to get cancelled due to light loads. Arguably greater upset passengers as they paid the higher fares, plus the faff of dealing with refunds and potential bad press. Why not just cancel the flights now? A case of cash flow? Slot spaces? Or when it gets very near and they’re confident they can run it do they suddenly open loads of cheap seats?

e-vouchers from paid bookings are not refundable.

FTVs, which are from redemptions, are being refunded. Don't know what proportion of flights tend to be redemptions, but I suspect it's quite low so FTV auto refunds will only lighten the load *a little*

Throughout May and June I had been looking for flights to and from GVA or anywhere accessible nearby i.e. BSL, ZRH, STR, FRA, I wanted to go to that area 3 times.

The problem was I couldn't book until 2-3 weeks out. All the prices were ridiculous making the trips uneconomical. There has been practically zero avios availability, or there wasn't a matching return for an available outbound, or there wasn't an acceptable hotel + 6am departure / 11pm arrival combo etc.

Eventually had to mix and match LX, eurostar+TGV+ 9 euro ticket (thanks German taxpayers), and DUS+sleeper train. Was almost going to book BER+sleeper train but the price of the train suddenly shot up to something ridiculous too.

Probably they just want fewer people (who spend more) on their flights for the time being. Less baggage to load, fewer cabin crew required etc.

If they can get 30 people paying full Y fares, plus those in J, that may keep the flight profitable. They need to keep the flights going so they don't lose their slots.

BA will not yet know which flights they are going to cancel for these late July flights, so by having high fare buckets now it will stop flights filling. This means there'll be plenty more same day seats available to accommodate passengers from the flights that they do eventually cancel.

Indeed the prices are extremely high. Booked a big trip last minute yesterday which involves 10 flights all together. 6 with TK 3 with A3 and 1 with BA ( avios booking). BA wanted more than 500 pounds for 3 of my flights while I managed to book with Aegean and Turkish for about 100 pounds each. For example Athens to London BA is asking for 500+ for one way in economy while at least 3 other airlines have fares around 150.