- Joined
- Jun 6, 2005
- Messages
- 4,859
- Reaction score
- 5,142
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article saying that American, Delta, and United will no longer automatically give you the cheapest airfare on bundled, multicity flights. It might be cheaper to buy individual tickets. They offered two examples.
On an open jaw flight from Chicago to Des Moines and then back to Chicago from Kansas City, it would cost you $522 to fly on a single ticket, but $172 if you bought two separate tickets.
On a round trip flight from Newark to San Diego via Chicago, a single ticket would cost $1205, but breaking the trip up into segments would cost you $719.
From the article, it appears that these anomalies occur when there is a price war on a route between two cities. The airlines say that the beneficiaries of the price war should be the people flying between those two cities, not someone on a more extensive flight schedule. (Just reporting, not claiming that I agree.)
There are two dangers to buying separate tickets. Cancellation would result in a penalty for each ticket, not a single penalty for the bundle. Secondly, if in the case of your first flight being delayed, you become a no show for the second flight, not a passenger who needs to be accommodated.
Not surprisingly, travel agents are pulling their hair out trying to price tickets and are protesting the changes. No guarantee that these changes will stick.
On an open jaw flight from Chicago to Des Moines and then back to Chicago from Kansas City, it would cost you $522 to fly on a single ticket, but $172 if you bought two separate tickets.
On a round trip flight from Newark to San Diego via Chicago, a single ticket would cost $1205, but breaking the trip up into segments would cost you $719.
From the article, it appears that these anomalies occur when there is a price war on a route between two cities. The airlines say that the beneficiaries of the price war should be the people flying between those two cities, not someone on a more extensive flight schedule. (Just reporting, not claiming that I agree.)
There are two dangers to buying separate tickets. Cancellation would result in a penalty for each ticket, not a single penalty for the bundle. Secondly, if in the case of your first flight being delayed, you become a no show for the second flight, not a passenger who needs to be accommodated.
Not surprisingly, travel agents are pulling their hair out trying to price tickets and are protesting the changes. No guarantee that these changes will stick.
