Overnight stay fare rules --- is Friday the new Saturday?
Sep 26, 2017, 8:18 am
#1
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Overnight stay fare rules --- is Friday the new Saturday?
Has anyone else noticed that the previous requirement for Saturday night stay in order to secure a cheap TATL Y fare has now become a Friday night stay?
Sep 26, 2017, 8:39 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2009
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It's funny you mention that because I was just checking fares for an EWR-LHR trip in October and was surprised to see that actually leaving on a Thursday night was the cheapest option, with Friday being the next cheapest. I can't go until Saturday (because I will be in Ottawa until Friday), but it struck me as being odd.
Sep 26, 2017, 8:55 am
#3
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Not good for those of us who like cheap weekend trips. Leave Friday night come back Sunday is a lot easier then leave thursday and miss all day friday at work.
Sep 26, 2017, 9:10 am
#4
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Not at all. Leaving Friday night gets you the Friday night stay. But wait to Saturday to leave dings you with a big rate increase. But note, I have only checked TATL prices. I do not know whether this change to Friday night stays has also happened for domestic.
Sep 26, 2017, 9:24 am
#5
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Aren’t most domestic flights priced as one way now anyway?
Sep 26, 2017, 9:45 am
#6
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MIN STAY
TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO EARLIER THAN THE FIRST SUN AFTER ARRIVAL AT TURNAROUND.
Because most flights to Europe are overnight flights and you do not arrive until the next day, you have to depart on a Friday to meet the Saturday night stay requirement at the destination. There's an exception here with the daytime flights to LHR where you can depart on a Saturday and still arrive on a Saturday and thus meet the Saturday night stay requirement. Since most domestic flights in the US are daytime flights (other than red-eye's from the west coast), you can generally depart on a Saturday and still meet the Saturday night stay requirement.
Last edited by xliioper; Sep 26, 2017 at 10:03 am
Sep 26, 2017, 10:01 am
#8
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If it is market where WN flies non-stop or has a heavy presence, then yes, the legacy carriers will generally match WN's pricing and rules which do not require Saturday night stay's for the cheaper fares. However, for smaller markets have limited or no WN presence, you will still see the legacies requiring Saturday night/min stays for their cheaper fares.
Your worldview is distorted because you are based in LAX where WN has a strong presence. You will still find a number of markets where UA has Sat night/min stay requirements for cheap fares out of LAX, but they are few and far between. Some examples JXN, ASE, TEX, HSV, TYS, SGF.
Last edited by xliioper; Sep 26, 2017 at 10:23 am
Sep 26, 2017, 12:26 pm
#9
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Here is the specific fare rule and it is not unique to United (other airlines have similar rule for their cheaper RT fares). It is still a "Saturday night" stay requirement, but it is measured from arrival, NOT from departure.
MIN STAY
TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO EARLIER THAN THE FIRST SUN AFTER ARRIVAL AT TURNAROUND.
Because most flights to Europe are overnight flights and you do not arrive until the next day, you have to depart on a Friday to meet the Saturday night stay requirement at the destination. There's an exception here with the daytime flights to LHR where you can depart on a Saturday and still arrive on a Saturday and thus meet the Saturday night stay requirement. Since most domestic flights in the US are daytime flights (other than red-eye's from the west coast), you can generally depart on a Saturday and still meet the Saturday night stay requirement.
MIN STAY
TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO EARLIER THAN THE FIRST SUN AFTER ARRIVAL AT TURNAROUND.
Because most flights to Europe are overnight flights and you do not arrive until the next day, you have to depart on a Friday to meet the Saturday night stay requirement at the destination. There's an exception here with the daytime flights to LHR where you can depart on a Saturday and still arrive on a Saturday and thus meet the Saturday night stay requirement. Since most domestic flights in the US are daytime flights (other than red-eye's from the west coast), you can generally depart on a Saturday and still meet the Saturday night stay requirement.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Sep 26, 2017 at 12:54 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
Sep 26, 2017, 2:17 pm
#10
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Not from Houston. The cheap fares are typically RT SNS.
I don't know what markets you've seen this in, but I'm not seeing it in Houston.
I don't know what markets you've seen this in, but I'm not seeing it in Houston.
Oct 3, 2018, 7:18 pm
#11
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And UA has moved the goalposts again. Now the fare requirement is 7 calendar days after arrival, not departure. So US-originated TATLs now require a 8 day stay to secure a reasonable fare.
Oct 3, 2018, 9:24 pm
#12
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Oct 3, 2018, 9:41 pm
#13
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Flying from IAH I often pay over $2500 for a two or three night TATL itinerary that can be purchased for $800 with a weekend stay. But at least I always meet the minimum fare class to use a GPU. I literally NEVER have to worry about that for TATL trips.
As for domestic RT vs OW, flying from IAH I often see the RT price $25 or so less than the sum of the two one way trips. It is definitely different on the routes I fly most often, but not such a huge difference that it’s immediately obvious when checking flight options.
As for domestic RT vs OW, flying from IAH I often see the RT price $25 or so less than the sum of the two one way trips. It is definitely different on the routes I fly most often, but not such a huge difference that it’s immediately obvious when checking flight options.