Feb 28, 2021, 12:23 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Archive thread, active thread is
Consolidated "Why is this UA fare so expensive?" thread
Potential reasons for high fares
-- the lower fare classes are sold out
-- the lower fare classes are not available due to fare rule restrictions
..... day of the week travel restrictions, Saturday night stay requirement, minimum stay requirement, advance purchase requirements, ...
-- desired fares are not combinable
-- discount fares not available for one-ways, only roundtrips Why are international OWs so expensive, such high fare classes?
-- discount inventory for codeshare marketing airline is gone, but flight operator may have discount fare (or the reverse)
-- Plating -- airlines restrict the best fare to their ticket stock, meaning ticketing that flight on another ticket stock will be more expensive
-- Airline is figuring it will still sell (due to last minute purchases0 even if the competition is lower earlier. Such as peak leisure periods or special events.
-- Airline is placing a premium on non-stop (monopoly?) versus alternative connecting routings
If you find an expensive flight, start by checking the fare class and compare to the less expensive option -- that generally will explain a lot.
Consolidated "Why is this UA fare so expensive?" thread
Potential reasons for high fares
-- the lower fare classes are sold out
-- the lower fare classes are not available due to fare rule restrictions
..... day of the week travel restrictions, Saturday night stay requirement, minimum stay requirement, advance purchase requirements, ...
-- desired fares are not combinable
-- discount fares not available for one-ways, only roundtrips Why are international OWs so expensive, such high fare classes?
-- discount inventory for codeshare marketing airline is gone, but flight operator may have discount fare (or the reverse)
-- Plating -- airlines restrict the best fare to their ticket stock, meaning ticketing that flight on another ticket stock will be more expensive
-- Airline is figuring it will still sell (due to last minute purchases0 even if the competition is lower earlier. Such as peak leisure periods or special events.
-- Airline is placing a premium on non-stop (monopoly?) versus alternative connecting routings
If you find an expensive flight, start by checking the fare class and compare to the less expensive option -- that generally will explain a lot.
Consolidated "Why is this fare so expensive?" Thread [Archive]
Jan 12, 2020, 3:47 pm
#1651
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,415
The only discount fares on that route that do not have a 14-day advance purchase requirement have a 7-day minimum stay requirement. If you change your return date to 1/31, the price drops to $718.
Jan 12, 2020, 4:01 pm
#1652
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: New York City
Posts: 130
I guess the last thing I noticed was that the award flight for that portion seems to not have ballooned up and there is a Saver Award for 32K each way, I guess the 14-day advance purchase requirement rules do not apply to award flights?
Jan 12, 2020, 4:07 pm
#1653
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,415
Thank you so much for the explanation.
I guess the last thing I noticed was that the award flight for that portion seems to not have ballooned up and there is a Saver Award for 32K each way, I guess the 14-day advance purchase requirement rules do not apply to award flights?
I guess the last thing I noticed was that the award flight for that portion seems to not have ballooned up and there is a Saver Award for 32K each way, I guess the 14-day advance purchase requirement rules do not apply to award flights?
Jan 23, 2020, 1:31 pm
#1655
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9
Why does a ticket to Europe in late May cost so much more than it should?
Trying to book 2 tickets PDX to BCN for a late May vacation to Spain, and ideally just have 1 stop to/from but I can't make sense of the pricing.
Around mid-May PDX-EWR-BCN basically doubles in cost, jumping from the $1000-1100 range into the low $2000 range, and prices remain there through late July/Aug before coming back to earth again.
On the same dates, I can book roundtrip nonstop PDX-EWR for $347 and and roundtrip nonstop EWR-BCN for $988. I'll do that if I have to in order to save $800 / ticket, but I'd much rather book everything on the same itinerary.
Is the computer screwing up or just screwing me? Is there a common term for this "feature" of the pricing algorithm, so I can learn how to get around it (if that's even possible).
Edit - I'll add that I'd really prefer to book economy saver fares for this trip, but the rates are so high, I'm more likely going to end up paying cash.
Around mid-May PDX-EWR-BCN basically doubles in cost, jumping from the $1000-1100 range into the low $2000 range, and prices remain there through late July/Aug before coming back to earth again.
On the same dates, I can book roundtrip nonstop PDX-EWR for $347 and and roundtrip nonstop EWR-BCN for $988. I'll do that if I have to in order to save $800 / ticket, but I'd much rather book everything on the same itinerary.
Is the computer screwing up or just screwing me? Is there a common term for this "feature" of the pricing algorithm, so I can learn how to get around it (if that's even possible).
Edit - I'll add that I'd really prefer to book economy saver fares for this trip, but the rates are so high, I'm more likely going to end up paying cash.
Jan 23, 2020, 1:36 pm
#1656
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,415
1 - married segment availability is limiting seats in the lower fare buckets for PDX-BCN
2 - there may not be an applicable discount through fare for PDX-BCN.
Try multi-city search; it's been known to get around these pricing irregularities before.
Also, it's still pretty early to be shopping for May. If you don't see a price that you like, give it some time and see what happens.
Jan 23, 2020, 1:38 pm
#1657
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,470
I think the issue is that you're applying normative standards ("should") to airline fare pricing.
Airlines charge what the computer tells them is the maximum they can charge at any given time and still sell all their seats. You may well do better by buying separate tickets, or by waiting and seeing if the fare drops. But you can't argue with the computer
Airlines charge what the computer tells them is the maximum they can charge at any given time and still sell all their seats. You may well do better by buying separate tickets, or by waiting and seeing if the fare drops. But you can't argue with the computer
Jan 23, 2020, 1:43 pm
#1658
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: UA:1k; MR: PLT; Hilton: Gold
Posts: 1,324
This used to be my solution. Muli-city (along with google flights, or an OTA) will still price it out cheaper, but I haven't found a way to actually buy it. on UA.com, it errors out (even tried to pay later so I could call and purchase, but to no avail). OTAs won't finish selling at the lower multi-city pricing either.
Jan 23, 2020, 2:08 pm
#1659
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
Trying to book 2 tickets PDX to BCN for a late May vacation to Spain, and ideally just have 1 stop to/from but I can't make sense of the pricing.
Around mid-May PDX-EWR-BCN basically doubles in cost, jumping from the $1000-1100 range into the low $2000 range, and prices remain there through late July/Aug before coming back to earth again.
Around mid-May PDX-EWR-BCN basically doubles in cost, jumping from the $1000-1100 range into the low $2000 range, and prices remain there through late July/Aug before coming back to earth again.
On the same dates, I can book roundtrip nonstop PDX-EWR for $347 and and roundtrip nonstop EWR-BCN for $988. I'll do that if I have to in order to save $800 / ticket, but I'd much rather book everything on the same itinerary.
Is the computer screwing up or just screwing me? Is there a common term for this "feature" of the pricing algorithm, so I can learn how to get around it (if that's even possible).
Is the computer screwing up or just screwing me? Is there a common term for this "feature" of the pricing algorithm, so I can learn how to get around it (if that's even possible).
Jan 23, 2020, 2:09 pm
#1660
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: PDX
Programs: DL Plat, UA Plat 1MM, AS MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, Avis Presidents Club, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,938
As somebody who flies frequently from PDX, I recommend looking at SFO, SEA and YVR (especially for business class but award availability too) and adding on cheap flights from PDX to connect.
Jan 23, 2020, 2:30 pm
#1661
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: 1 thousand
Posts: 2,112
You'll see similar jumps for many other starting points too, around the same dates.
Jan 23, 2020, 7:41 pm
#1662
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,066
Using Google Flights multi-city can result in lower prices because it doesn't correctly check married segment inventory for the fares it is quoting. When you actually try to book, it will fail because the booking system will require that there actually is inventory in the married segments for the fare. It looks like UA is withholding inventory in the lower fare buckets starting mid-May. You could wait and see if they release it, or if you don't really care who you fly, Skyteam has decent inventory availability through early June and has roundtrip fares for about $820 (see below). Both the lowest UA and DL fares have a 50-day advance purchase requirement, so I wouldn't wait too long (you would need to book by around mid-March to meet 50-day advance requirement). If you really want to fly UA and book the PDX-EWR and EWR-BCN fares, they will have to booked as separate tickets. The system won't let you combine the fares on a single ticket due to end-on-end fare combination restrictions on the fares.
Last edited by xliioper; Jan 23, 2020 at 7:57 pm
Jan 24, 2020, 7:19 am
#1663
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,423
Using Google Flights multi-city can result in lower prices because it doesn't correctly check married segment inventory for the fares it is quoting. When you actually try to book, it will fail because the booking system will require that there actually is inventory in the married segments for the fare.
Jan 24, 2020, 7:32 am
#1664
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YYZ
Programs: TK*G, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 678
However, AA.com never works even though Google F shows lower fare all the time.
Jan 24, 2020, 7:41 am
#1665
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,423
It definitely depends on the website - for example, DL forces a fare break when using multi-city.