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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 5:47 pm
  #1  
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Is CO running a racket?

Is it just me, or do others notice when you book online, the best price is when you have a 5 to 8 hour layover, so they can hose you for the $50 fee to move your flight up?
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 5:59 pm
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I have never consistently seen that. In fact, a 5-8 hour layover on domestic itineraries is no longer a connection, so it is pricing as end-on-end if that's the case. It does happen some times on international itineraries, but I usually attribute that to the fewer international flight options.

Are there dates/routes where you are seeing it now?
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 6:05 pm
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You may be right. I'm seeing it on an international flight, where it appears I could catch 2 or even 3 earlier flights
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 6:09 pm
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Yes, just like every other airline on the face of the planet, only in CO's case it's codenamed "OnePass."
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 7:00 pm
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maybe I should start a post asking a question to the OP but that would be against the rules.

This question is so obvious it should not be asked. Those flights with extra hours have more seats open lower price = fill the seats!!
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 7:11 pm
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Have you checked the fare bucket? Often some of the mid day flights don't have the fare class you need to get the lowest price. I'd recommend booking further out, usually. I fly to Central America pretty frequently, and usually find a 2-3 hour connection, and even as little as 1 hour (too tight of a connection, unless there is no other option), quite frequently.
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 8:19 pm
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I've never noticed this at all on domestic flights. International I have no idea, but would be pretty surprised if they did it then either.
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 8:29 pm
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Never, ever seen this. Any examples?
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Old Dec 18, 2008 | 9:28 pm
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Just so you know....

....you cannot do SDC on international flights. I tried twice and was told the same fare class was not available, only Y or H was. Duh, unless they open up all the fare buckets, then no one will be able to change. If I had a Y or H ticket, I wouldn't need SDC.
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Old Dec 19, 2008 | 6:53 am
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Turn off the "find lowest fare" button.
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Old Dec 19, 2008 | 7:51 am
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Here is the example I had, but the situation no longer exists.
The international flight arrives in Houston at about 11am.
Possible connecting flights to San Diego are at 12:35, 2:18, 6:00, and 9:15 pm.
The total fare if I took the 6pm and 9:15 pm flights was $691+. The fare if I took the 12:35 and 2:18 flights was $764. No big deal. Then I punched up the r/t fares from SAN to IAH on the same dates, and the fares were $243 on all four of the flights. (ie no price difference) So, I could not see why there should be a $73 price difference with taking the later, as opposed to the earlier flights.
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Old Dec 19, 2008 | 8:08 am
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Originally Posted by chasbondy
Here is the example I had, but the situation no longer exists.
The international flight arrives in Houston at about 11am.
Possible connecting flights to San Diego are at 12:35, 2:18, 6:00, and 9:15 pm.
The total fare if I took the 6pm and 9:15 pm flights was $691+. The fare if I took the 12:35 and 2:18 flights was $764. No big deal. Then I punched up the r/t fares from SAN to IAH on the same dates, and the fares were $243 on all four of the flights. (ie no price difference) So, I could not see why there should be a $73 price difference with taking the later, as opposed to the earlier flights.
It would seem that you're seeing a married segments issue there. L fares are only used for connecting flights while X fares are only used for non-stops, even though they are both generally very cheap. But if you have one segment that doesn't have the discounted connection fare bucket then that's what you'll see.
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