mvg@afinitc.UUCP (Mark Grieshaber) (03/07/84)
A recent experience with airline ticket purchases has amazed me, so I
wonder if anyone could explain the following:
I am leaving from St. Louis, MO to visit a friend who lives midway between
West Palm Beach, FL and Miami, FL. Either airport would be convenient for
her to meet me.
Case 1: TWA nonstop from St. Louis to Miami costs $210.00.
Case 2: TWA direct from St. Louis to Tampa with a stop in Miami; change
planes in Tampa to fly to West Palm Beach costs $185.00.
Now, *why* would it cost more to fly a shorter distance? What is to keep
people from booking the second, longer flight and getting off in Miami?
(Note that the second case is also a nonstop St. Louis to Miami!)
How does TWA justifying charging less for flying me farther?
Mark Grieshaber (ihnp4!afinitc!mvg) St. Louis, MOsims@hou2b.UUCP (J.SIMESTER) (03/08/84)
Mark Grieshaber wrote (in part) > I am leaving from St. Louis, MO to visit a friend who lives midway between > West Palm Beach, FL and Miami, FL. Either airport would be convenient for > her to meet me. > Case 1: TWA nonstop from St. Louis to Miami costs $210.00. > Case 2: TWA direct from St. Louis to Tampa with a stop in Miami; change > planes in Tampa to fly to West Palm Beach costs $185.00. > Now, *why* would it cost more to fly a shorter distance? What is to keep > people from booking the second, longer flight and getting off in Miami? > How does TWA justifying charging less for flying me farther? Ah, yes, the immutable logic of air travel ticket pricing! As I understand such matters (not an expert opinion - just my impression), the objective of such pricing schemes is to offer low rates on the high-volume routes (make it up on volume!) which are subject to intense competition from other carriers, and sock it to you on the low-volume routes that no one (or almost no one) else flys. (Actually there may be some justification on the higher-priced low demand routes, as the planes frequently may fly half empty. On the other hand, if an airline is the sole carrier to Podunk, what motivation do they have to offer low rates!) One method I have read about to cut travel costs is to find a Super-Saver offering for which your intended destination is a stop-over (e.g. NYC to San Francisco, with a stop in St. Louis). Just make sure you carry on all of your luggage, and get off during the stop! 2 points: this may not work so well if you want a round trip (for which an airline may offer a discount over one-way); and I don't really know about the legalities involved (any legal wizards out there??) My wife just ran into another crazy pricing situation. Her family lives in St. Louis. I'm driving out to Ohio (from NJ) this summer for a college reunion. She looked into flights from Columbus to St. Louis, figuring to drive that far with me and fly the rest of the way for a visit home. As it turned out, it was cheaper ($239) for a round trip from Newark, NJ to St. Louis than from Columbus ($279) - yet Newark-Columbus is almost 2/3 of the distance!!! -- Jim ..!houxm!hou2b!sims
ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (03/08/84)
I know someone who encountered the following strange situation. She wanted to drive with someone else from Newark to Nashville, then fly from Nashville to New Orleans and eventually return to Newark. She could book a non-stop round-trip from Newark to New Orleans, or, for less money, book a round-trip from Newark to New Orleans with a stop in Nashville. She wanted to do the latter, and simply not fly the leg from Newark to Nashville. Thus she asked if she could get any money back on the unused Newark-Nashville leg. She was told that she was REQUIRED to fly from Newark to Nashville: if she didn't show up on the plane in Newark, her reservation from Nashville to New Orleans would be cancelled and there was no way to prevent it. Furthermore, flying from Nashville to New Orleans costs more than flying from Newark to New Orleans with a stop in Nashville!
mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (03/10/84)
A couple of years ago, I needed a one-way ticket to Europe. It turned out
to save over $100 to get a round-trip ticket with 3 inter-city flights among
the cities I wanted to visit, instead of a one-way ticket to the closest city.
Also, at one time it was cheaper to fly to Vancouver from Toronto by way of
Mexico City than to do it directly.
Can these examples be explained by a wish to get more people onto low-volume
routes?
--
Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmtljdickey@watmath.UUCP (Lee Dickey) (03/31/84)
This past week, my friend wanted to go from Buffalo to Boston.
The weather was messy, and he looked into prices for busses and
trains (as well as the planes). He was astonished to find a
curious *INVERSION* in the expected fares. The cheapest was the
plane (People Express, via Newark), the next ($9 more) was the
train, and above that was the bus.
It surprised me too....
--
Lee Dickey, University of Waterloo. (ljdickey@watmath.UUCP)
...!allegra!watmath!ljdickey
...!ucbvax!decvax!watmath!ljdickey