To the lexicon of knowledge that is the Continental Forum of Flyertalk I submit a humble question. I am trying to book a flight from Narita (NRT) to Louis Armstrong (MSY) in October for my wedding. When I go to continental.com they only show Y fares in the 4000USD range. Is there a function that I am not using on the web-page properly? Does anyone know when Continental releases the discount economy fares before a flight? Northwest is pricing out to be 1300USD going through Detroit (DTW) on a Q class fare right now. I am kicking myself since the same flight a month earlier was in the 1000USD range. I guess it has to do with the economics of oil being 56USD a barrel on the NYME. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kampai,
Klaxon

P.S. Paging Channa

I maybe wrong about this but I think it has something to do with leaving from NRT and Japanese regualtions. I did a quick search NRT/MSY on 10/1 rt 10/10 and came up with $3,800 ( and the plane is 80% empty) when I reversed it and made it MSY/NRT same dates the fare ws $1,200 menaing you could buy two roundtrips and only fly them as one ways (not really allowd by rules..but) and save 1,400. Go figure. Sometimes ticket consolidators get best fares on these routes (probaly no FF miles though)

you can't buy two tickets and fly them as one ways, because when you fail to fly the first part of the ticket, the airline will cancel the entire itinerary.

I think what Otralot is saying is that the OP could, theoretically, buy one roundtrip as follows. Let's assume the OP's wedding, reception, rehearsals, etc. occur betwen Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 (just so I can construct a clear example!)

NRT - MSY October 1
MSY - NRT October 15
Fare = $1200

Then, OP could buy a second roundtrip as follows:

MSY - NRT October 8 (OP can now return, as the wedding is over, right?)
NRT - MSY October 12 (which would theoretically get OP back to MSY in time to catch the original return flight back to NRT, booked for the 15th.)
Fare = $1200

Thus, Klaxon would head to MSY as booked on the first roundtrip, get married, celebrate (congrats!) and breathe a sigh fo relief. THEN, Klaxon would return to NRT on the "outbound" portion of the second roundtrip.

Remember, your excuse (if caught) can be: "I must return to NRT for quick business from Oct. 8 -12, then be in New Orleans from Oct 12 - 15, and then fly my original return legs from MSY - NRT as booked on Oct. 15." In other words, you will begin using the "outbound" legs of the second roundtrip before any legs are cancelled due to your failure to show up. You will be back in NRT before you fail to show up for the first throw-away segment.

Certainly, CO discourages this practice -- and you would perhaps run into trouble if portions of your itinerary were cancelled before your necessary segments! However, I have on SEVERAL occasions made analogous trips as follows:

IAH - CDG - IAH (where I was in Paris for, say, 4 weeks). BUT, while I was there, I had to made a VERY quick 3-day trip to IAH, even though my "other" return portion to IAH had not yet been flown. Thus, the answer is YES: If you are in your destination city, but you need to make a quick trip abroad, then return to the destination city and catch your original flight back home, you can do so.

But you may some explaining to do, so make sure your story is legit!

NW has significantly cheaper fares in this market, which leads me to believe CO hasn't released fares yet. Inventory is there, the lower fares just aren't valid that far out.

you should also probably try to Title your threads a bit more descriptively. thanks so much.

UA, US, AA and NWA all have fares in the $800-1200 range for travel in October. CO rev mgmt will catch up.......eventually.....................maybe!?!?

I wonder how much revenue is lost by doing this? Loyal CO flyers will probably wait untill the fares are closer to the rivals. But those who don't care will book elsewhere. We are talking about a $3,000 price difference here!

That took you nearly two hours. I think you're starting to slip...

Channa is CORRECT! If you like to see detailed fare descriptions, go to Travelocity, put in your city pair, and make sure to click flexible dates. You will see that CO has not published low fares past September 30. It is likely in the next month or so they will extend their low fares.

Who are you......and what have you done with FCTSTY???

You sound so surprised, like this is out of the ordinary.

I would trust Channa over any CO employee anyday, since Channa doesn't tell you one thing one day and give you a different answer the next time you ask.

He is someone who is helpful and welcoming to a newcomer who might not be familiar with good posting etiquette.

A regular who should know better does not deserve such kid glove treatment, and should not expect it. ^

.....

I lived in Humble (you are correct, it is pronounced Umble) when I was a kid (now I live in Pearland - almost polar opposites in Houston terms). Given that you know the area, do you still live in the area and are you going to be at the Continental event?

Yes, but the OP's problem is that NRT-MSY-NRT is pricing at $4000, not $1200. It's the ex-MSY fares that are $1200 according to otralot