Why does it cost more to fly less ?
Jan 23, 2012, 7:05 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 23
Why does it cost more to fly less ?
I am looking to book on Delta 8 Feb - 19 Feb JNB - ATL and the price is R11,630 / $1,464.63 but when i look at JNB - NYC on the exact same dates on Delta the price is R7,636 / $961,65. Can i book all the way to NYC and get off at Atlanta and on my return journey buy a cheap domestic ticket get to JFK for the return journey. Why would the Airline price tickets so oddly , is this common in USA?
Jan 23, 2012, 7:17 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Can't answer all your questions other than to invoke the absolutely unhelpful "market diktats" mumbo jumbo, but I can tell you that you don't want to book to NYC and hop off at Atlanta. Doing so would cause the rest of the itinerary to blow up and create a major headache for your return.
Others here will undoubtedly be able to explain the ticket fares.
Others here will undoubtedly be able to explain the ticket fares.
Jan 23, 2012, 7:19 pm
#3
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Pricing is in principle based on supply and demand between the origin and final destination. Presumably there's more demand for JNB-ATL than JNB-NYC, so the latter costs less even though it involves a stop in ATL.
You CANNOT just skip the ATL-NYC leg; your entire itinerary will be cancelled. However, if a separate roundtrip between NYC-ATL costs less than $500, you could save money by buying two separate tickets like so: JNB-ATL-NYC (ticket 1), NYC-ATL (ticket 2), ATL-NYC (ticket 2), NYC-ATL-JNB (ticket 1). Weird, I know.
You CANNOT just skip the ATL-NYC leg; your entire itinerary will be cancelled. However, if a separate roundtrip between NYC-ATL costs less than $500, you could save money by buying two separate tickets like so: JNB-ATL-NYC (ticket 1), NYC-ATL (ticket 2), ATL-NYC (ticket 2), NYC-ATL-JNB (ticket 1). Weird, I know.
Jan 23, 2012, 7:30 pm
#4
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They charge whatever they can based on what people will pay.
It has nothing to do with distance, etc, it's whatever they can sell the seats for.
As others have said, as soon as you skip a segment, the rest of your trip will be cancelled
It has nothing to do with distance, etc, it's whatever they can sell the seats for.
As others have said, as soon as you skip a segment, the rest of your trip will be cancelled
Jan 23, 2012, 9:57 pm
#5
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Cost more to fly less.. imo the convenience of arriving to a destination without having to hop through so many airports..
Some airlines charge more for more connections, because some flyers look to book for more points and status (MR)
Some airlines charge more for more connections, because some flyers look to book for more points and status (MR)
Jan 23, 2012, 11:02 pm
#6
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Win-win?
Jan 23, 2012, 11:36 pm
#7
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Jan 23, 2012, 11:59 pm
#8
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http://matrix.itasoftware.com/view/f...d-61878e9ce552
Here you are sir.
Unless i'm reading the accusation wrong, most of my travel out of DEN is cheaper to book direct. This makes total sense since the flights with connections are actually longer trips (although I wish it cost the same or less since I want to build up status on UA).
Jan 24, 2012, 12:02 am
#9
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I suppose if you force a bunch of connections through multi-city booking, such that the connections don't fall within the cheapest ticket's allowed terms, the price could go up. But the idea that mileage runners are causing airlines to adjust their pricing policies is obviously bunk.
Jan 24, 2012, 12:28 am
#10
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That's not quite right. It has to do with the lack of competition in ATL, whereas NYC (which is actually three airports, EWR, JFK and LGA) has more competition on the same routes. Do an FT search on the "Southwest Effect" for an example of how competition effects monopolized airport pricing.
Jan 24, 2012, 12:39 am
#11
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That's not quite right. It has to do with the lack of competition in ATL, whereas NYC (which is actually three airports, EWR, JFK and LGA) has more competition on the same routes. Do an FT search on the "Southwest Effect" for an example of how competition effects monopolized airport pricing.
Jan 24, 2012, 12:54 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 23
UA
I don't mind to pay slightly more for the direct flight but in this case its a 50% premium for the direct flight. I'm also thinking Delta is taking allot of pax from SAA direct flight to JFK with that price . Anyways i will have fly UA codeshare via Frankfurt to Atlanta not fun but worth the saving.
Jan 24, 2012, 2:01 am
#13
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That's all I'm saying. A poster above asserted that some airlines upcharge for multi-segment trips "because some flyers look to book for more points and status," and I challenged this poster to cite evidence. It's a completely baseless, made-up claim.
Jan 24, 2012, 4:52 am
#14
Join Date: Dec 2009
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I suppose if you force a bunch of connections through multi-city booking, such that the connections don't fall within the cheapest ticket's allowed terms, the price could go up. But the idea that mileage runners are causing airlines to adjust their pricing policies is obviously bunk.
Jan 24, 2012, 8:56 pm
#15
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Clearly there was a financial decision to condense routing rules. Unlikely that the MR outlier was the reason.