Malawi almost the cheapest for AONEx
Jul 4, 2006, 7:35 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Cayman, San Diego, London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold, AA 4MM Lifetime Platinum, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Amb, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold
Posts: 1,054
Malawi almost the cheapest for AONEx
In both the April and July 06 fare updates Malawi (LLW) is the second cheapest starting point. US$6,299 for an AONE4. As far as I can tell, none of the OW airlines fly to/from there.
Does anyone have any idea why it is included? Is there some clever way of making use of it? The country is desperately poor so comfort and reliability will be questionable, but maybe a quick turnaround is possible?
Does anyone have any idea why it is included? Is there some clever way of making use of it? The country is desperately poor so comfort and reliability will be questionable, but maybe a quick turnaround is possible?
Jul 4, 2006, 7:55 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: AA-EXP, LATAM Gold+, BA-Blues
Posts: 720
Back in 2002, and perhaps for a little while after that, BA used to serve Lilongwe (LLW)... Although there isn't any current service, it's theoretically possible that the route will be revived. Although not a good reason to keep updating fares, this may be a (partial) explaination of why they are updated.
Jul 4, 2006, 10:20 am
#3
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
Posts: 19,589
One of the OWE rules is that the first sector cannot be surface -- precisely to prevent a clever way to use the fare from countries without current OW service. There have always been fares listed for countries that did not have OW service, often with very low values; historically these have been removed when plans to activate the routes approached. A quaint pattern, which presumably has a reason as it is too consistent, but unlikely to result in a cheap travel opportunity.