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]
Jul 11, 2018, 11:32 am
#1366
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,621
Realistically what can they really do about this. How can they really stop you from "jumping ship"? I suppose as I surmised above they get some kind of tracking information and if you abuse it enough they will let you know. I have heard of people legitimately skipping a last leg of a journey for a variety of reasons such as weather delays or schedule changes seems tough to penalize someone for that. I have even done it a couple times in my life but never had an issue fwiw.
Jul 11, 2018, 11:41 am
#1367
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
They can -- and will, and have -- shut down your frequent flyer account, confiscating any miles that you have and rescinding your status. (They've even done this to GS members). They can bill you. If you're working through a travel agent, they can issue a debit memo to the travel agent (basically, a bill). If you have a corporate contract, they can cancel it.
They generally won't do this for a one-off occurrence, but they absolutely will take any and all of these steps for repeat offenders.
They generally won't do this for a one-off occurrence, but they absolutely will take any and all of these steps for repeat offenders.
Jul 11, 2018, 12:38 pm
#1368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,422
As jsloan noted, in the most extreme cases they will send you a debit memo for the difference in fare and threaten to hand your account over to collections if you don't pay. Skipped segments happen all the time due to unforeseen circumstances so doing it once or twice is not a problem, but if you skip a segment at the end of your weekly commute every time, you'll eventually wind up in a heap of trouble.
Jul 11, 2018, 12:43 pm
#1369
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,621
They can -- and will, and have -- shut down your frequent flyer account, confiscating any miles that you have and rescinding your status. (They've even done this to GS members). They can bill you. If you're working through a travel agent, they can issue a debit memo to the travel agent (basically, a bill). If you have a corporate contract, they can cancel it.
They generally won't do this for a one-off occurrence, but they absolutely will take any and all of these steps for repeat offenders.
They generally won't do this for a one-off occurrence, but they absolutely will take any and all of these steps for repeat offenders.
Jul 11, 2018, 12:52 pm
#1370
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
Periodically, someone will show up all excited about their "new way" to try to fight airlines' "greed." They fail, pretty much universally, into these categories. The airlines have a lot more invested in defending their pricing models than any individual does in trying to find loopholes.
For anyone who gets upset about this and wants regulations that prohibit these practices, be careful what you wish for. If UA were required to allow you to use a WAS-KOA ticket to fly SFO-KOA, which of these two scenarios are more likely:
1 - SFO-KOA drops in price so that it's no greater than WAS-KOA
2 - WAS-KOA increases in price so that it's at least as much as SFO-KOA
The answer is obvious.
Jul 11, 2018, 1:11 pm
#1371
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,621
Throwaway ticketing, hidden-city ticketing, and point-beyond ticketing are all expressly prohibited by the United CoC, along with a big catch-all for "fraudulent ticketing."
Periodically, someone will show up all excited about their "new way" to try to fight airlines' "greed." They fail, pretty much universally, into these categories. The airlines have a lot more invested in defending their pricing models than any individual does in trying to find loopholes.
For anyone who gets upset about this and wants regulations that prohibit these practices, be careful what you wish for. If UA were required to allow you to use a WAS-KOA ticket to fly SFO-KOA, which of these two scenarios are more likely:
1 - SFO-KOA drops in price so that it's no greater than WAS-KOA
2 - WAS-KOA increases in price so that it's at least as much as SFO-KOA
The answer is obvious.
Periodically, someone will show up all excited about their "new way" to try to fight airlines' "greed." They fail, pretty much universally, into these categories. The airlines have a lot more invested in defending their pricing models than any individual does in trying to find loopholes.
For anyone who gets upset about this and wants regulations that prohibit these practices, be careful what you wish for. If UA were required to allow you to use a WAS-KOA ticket to fly SFO-KOA, which of these two scenarios are more likely:
1 - SFO-KOA drops in price so that it's no greater than WAS-KOA
2 - WAS-KOA increases in price so that it's at least as much as SFO-KOA
The answer is obvious.
Jul 11, 2018, 2:01 pm
#1372
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
There are routinely calls for governments to disallow this practice by the airlines. "I shouldn't have to use the whole ticket if I don't want to." The fact that you can throw away the last segment but not the first segment isn't an intentional strategy by the airlines, but rather a nod to the relative impossibility of forcing someone to get onto a plane if they'd prefer not to. However, it's not like they don't try -- this is why you can't short-check bags, for example.
Jul 11, 2018, 2:17 pm
#1373
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,467
Jul 11, 2018, 4:15 pm
#1374
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 102
UA LHR-IAH E+ is £8/8GBP cheaper than SQ Premium Economy MAN-IAH. Add premium access and it's more expensive than SQ.
The difference between the everything between those two airlines (cabin, perceived quality, SQ flies a new A350) is a lot wider than £8.
The difference between the everything between those two airlines (cabin, perceived quality, SQ flies a new A350) is a lot wider than £8.
Jul 11, 2018, 9:22 pm
#1375
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
And the difference of perceived quality between Manchester and London...
Jul 11, 2018, 10:32 pm
#1376
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,792
Ticket pricing to Hawaii, specifically KOA are getting really strange. I just bought a SFO-KOA-SFO and paid $860'ish for E+ and had a friend join me on the trip. He is flying IAD-SFO-KOA-SFO-IAD. We are on the SAME return flights (KOA-SFO) but depart one day apart and get this, he is paying $640!!?? .
Jul 11, 2018, 10:48 pm
#1377
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA Gold (.85 MM), HH Diamond, SPG Platinum (LT Gold), Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 5,656
When my sister lived in Durango, pricing was cheaper DRO-DEN-OGG compared to departing COS or DEN. Never made any sense to me, as DRO departures to all of Hawaii wouldn’t seem like a competitive market.
Jul 12, 2018, 7:50 am
#1379
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
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Posts: 56,467
Jul 12, 2018, 9:18 am
#1380
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,621
Sure seems that way. UA is still running 3 NS flights a day direct SFO-KOA-SFO and they want them filled. I suspect they are funneling PAXS through SFO from multiple mid-west and east coast markets. When they added the third flight last Dec. I was curious as to how that was going to turn out as it seemed like a lot of seats to fill for the Big Island out of SFO and when the volcano took off well it was game over. Tourism is still way down but has recently picked up due to the usual summer rush but still off from normal.