Crazy Air Fares

[mike carey]

I've read a fair bit about some airfare anomolies. Things like flying A-B-C being cheaper than a flight from A to B. I understand why airlines price things that way but it doesn't mean it makes sense to travellers.

 

As I sometimes do, I just checked on fares from Australia to the US about a month from now. I may not travel, in fact I probably won't but I got a laugh from the results. I searched fares to LA area airports, and found a reasonable fare from Sydney to LAX. Fair enough. For exactly $AU7.10 more round trip, less than the cost of ground transportation, I could fly to Orange County airport. The amusing part was that it would be on the same flight to LAX then flights from there to Salt Lake City then back to Orange County. Nice if I were an obsessive collector of flight miles or status credits but otherwise not such a great idea!

[+ WmClarke]

Yeah, the "hidden city" fares are due to requirements to serve smaller airports/markets.

 

If you don't have checked luggage, just hop off at your real destination and save a bundle.

[TruHart1]

Yeah, the "hidden city" fares are due to requirements to serve smaller airports/markets.

 

If you don't have checked luggage, just hop off at your real destination and save a bundle.

 

...but make sure you don't get caught!!!

 

TruHart1

[Zman]

I've heard some airlines may be moving away from points based on miles flown to dollars paid. Or maybe that's old news.

 

Someone from Guam once told me that it can be cheaper to fly from Guam to the Philippines to the USA that to fly non-stop Guam to the US. Apparently, United has a monopoly on the non-stops so the prices are--well--monpolistic.

[+ deej]

Also DO NOT book round trip! As soon as you miss a flight on a round-trip booking, the remainder of the trip is cancelled.

 

Book each direction separately, as a one-way trip.

[Guest]

 

If you don't have checked luggage, just hop off at your real destination and save a bundle.

 

If you do that, your return flight will automatically be cancelled.