Holy cow! Airfare prices!

[sammytheone]

We are flying to Rome from Toronto direct for the Noordam TA on Oct 25. We booked our flight a month ago on Airtransat for $49 + $229 tax pp leaving Toronto on Oct 22....overnight flight. The price has now dropped to $9 + tax. Don't know just where all they go to, but there could be a significant saving here for anyone who is willing to risk going through Canada to get to Europe.

[nannygoatjunction]

You have to be very careful about throwing away the return-leg of a round trip flight. Many airlines prohibit the practice and, if they catch you at it, many of them say they'll charge you for the difference between what you paid for a round trip ticket and what you actually flew ... i.e., a one way ticket.

 

Just as we were looking for airfares from Perth to San Diego for our upcoming cruise, they had a special 'return' airflight for $999 - however our TA would not book it for those very reasons. If you don't use you ticket they will charge for the correct one-way fare.

 

So we had to cop it sweet with a one way fare of $1,815!!!

 

Legal Extortion I suppose....and then when you consider that Aussies pay more for their cruise anyway....it does make you rather cross.

[paulfpb]

Flying to Fort Lauderdale.....transatlantic cruise to Barcelona......flying home from Barcelona. Shocked at the prices I see when going to the airline websites!

Do you think Holland America would have better or special rates for their cruisers?

 

try kayak.com explore all your options.

 

Also sometimes business class fares can be not much more in costs:)

[SwissMyst]

I keep plugging away on the travel websites until I get a "bargain" which is usually better than the airline websites first offer, but not always.

 

Just used "vayama" with no problems but start out with the standard ones like expedia, cheaptickets, orbitz, and travelocity for the first shot to get the lay of the land - often there are huge differences and some "few seats" left bargains, but I do spend many hours and days trying to get that best price.

 

They say Tuesdays are still the best days to look for airfare bargains. But $700-1000 RT from LAX is still the ball park I try to shoot for -- and try to get one way and shortest flight possible -- but I also gave up trying to always use my FF airlines for points - when the money saved more than makes up for the FF miles lost.

[Traveling Bob]

Your holy cow is probably the one way return from BCN. Although we generally book our own air we find that HAL air for these TA cruises is usually the best we can do.

 

Generally, Cruise line airfare isn't a good deal. But for the one way TA they can be of help. So far, I needed the one way 4 times. Princess was no help at all, but Cunard got us one way London/NY that was 30% cheaper than the regular published fares. I don't know if HAL will do the same, but its worth checking out.

[Donray]

You have to be very careful about throwing away the return-leg of a round trip flight. Many airlines prohibit the practice and, if they catch you at it, many of them say they'll charge you for the difference between what you paid for a round trip ticket and what you actually flew ... i.e., a one way ticket.

 

What airline has this as part of the contract? I would like to read what they say since there are also legitimate reasons for missing a return flight when you have a round trip. Like sickness, car accident on the way to airport, lost the tickets (codes), etc.

[RevNeal]

What airline has this as part of the contract? I would like to read what they say since there are also legitimate reasons for missing a return flight when you have a round trip. Like sickness, car accident on the way to airport, lost the tickets (codes), etc.

 

The airlines certainly understand that, sometimes, circumstances beyond one's control happen that make it impossible to complete one's scheduled travel arrangements. But that's not what we're talking about, here. We're talking about booking a round trip ticket with NO intention of completing the return portion of the itinerary.

 

What we're talking about is "Throwaway ticketing." American Airlines, for example, states in their Conditions of Carriage that they prohibit it and that they have the right to seek compensation if they catch people doing it. I have church members who are employees of AA who have told me that passengers who repeatedly "throw away" half a round trip ticket in order to get cheaper one-way service are caught and are assessed the cost-difference. Now, granted, it takes doing this more than 3 times in a 2-year period for their computers to identify you as a problem, but after that you're caught they'll not only charge you, they'll watch you like a hawk to see if you do it again.

 

You might want to Google "American Airlines round trip throw away". I did and found quite a few articles on the subject. A lot of people whine about it, and I personally do not like it, but it's in the contract which we have agreed to when we've purchased our tickets. Round trip ticket prices are based upon round-trip travel; to intentionally purchase round trip tickets without intending to use the return leg of the ticket in order to obtain cheaper one-way service is not only a violation of our word in agreeing to the conditions of carriage, it is dishonest. Buying a round trip ticket and then having to change your plans due to heath or other circumstances beyond one's control -- i.e., not intending to throw away a ticket at the time of purchase -- is an excusable reason for not completing the round trip travel arrangements, and I seriously doubt American Airlines would attempt to charge you.

 

To comprehend what AA is saying it is best to quote their full statement, and not just half of it: "Assess the passenger for the reasonable remaining value of the ticket, which shall be no less than the difference between the fare actually paid and the lowest fare applicable to the passenger's actual itinerary."

 

Note the wording "actual itinerary." The "actual itinerary" of someone who is flying one-way on a round trip ticket is NOT the itinerary of the round-trip ticket but, rather, what they actually flew ... i.e., one-way. Hence, the "actual value" of half a round-trip ticket is, in fact, a one-way ticket. What AA does is they charge the guilty party the difference between what they paid for their round trip tickets and the cheapest cost of a one-way ticket on the same itinerary. A round-trip economy super-saver fare ticket from DFW - FCO (10/24 - 11/7) is $1124.30 inclusive of taxes and fees. A one-way economy super-saver fare ticket from DFW - FCO on 10/24 is $2171.30. The difference AA would charge someone caught intentionally playing the throw-away game would be $1047. At least, that is how I read the regulation and the penalty involved. But, then, I'm neither a lawyer nor do I play one on television.

[Globaliser]

Buying a round trip ticket and then having to change your plans due to heath or other circumstances beyond one's control -- i.e., not intending to throw away a ticket at the time of purchase -- is an excusable reason for not completing the round trip travel arrangements, and I seriously doubt American Airlines would attempt to charge you.

General folklore about this is that the airlines are really only interested in chasing serial offenders. It's not worth their time and effort engaging with a one-off offender just to chase a measly few hundred dollars. What they really want to do is to identify those who are costing them tens of thousands of dollars a year, and deter them from doing it again in the future. That's the sort of exercise that's worth their while doing.

 

I've seen advice along the following lines:

• Don't put your frequent flyer number in the booking, as it allows the airline to track exactly who you are. If there's no frequent flyer number in the booking, the airline can't be sure whether the next time they see someone of the same name doing it, it's the same person or someone else with the same name.
  
• Don't use a travel agent. It's very easy for the airline to charge the travel agent via an Agency Debit Memo. That means that the travel agent either has to fight for you, or pay up (and charge that amount to you). It's less easy for the airline to chase you directly for money.
  
• As a general rule of life, the chances of something unforeseen requiring you to change your plans and therefore miss your return flight will go up the further into the future your return flight is. If you book a round-trip ticket to go from A-B on 12 October 2011 and from B-A on 19 October 2011, it's going to be relatively hard to explain (if you're asked) what caused you to change your plans between now and 19 October, and relatively hard for you to show that you didn't always intend never to use the B-A half of the ticket (which would then allow the airline to assess you the additional fare for the travel you always intended to take). But if you book A-B for travel in November 2011 and B-A for travel in August 2012 - well, anything might have happened between now and next August. You might even just have simply forgotten that you have a reservation and ticket for that B-A flight.

[YOW]

Both Globaliser and RevNeal give good advice.

 

If it were me, I'd consider buying the round-trip ticket (if it were cheaper than the best one-way option available), with a return date in the fall to coincide with a westbound transatlantic sailing. This way, you have the option of taking another cruise... and if that didn't end up working out, you could either (a) rebook to a different date that did fit your plans, or (b) not use the return portion.

[MadManOfBethesda]

Yes, I was looking at the one way return from Barcelona.

Barcelona to Las Vegas........low of $1600 to $2,200 on my prefered airline.

This is as much as my 17 day cruise.

 

As others have suggested, book a r/t ticket. I, too, am flying to Barcelona from Los Angeles in a couple of weeks for a TA to Ft. Lauderdale. I scheduled my return flight out of Madrid for next May because we are taking an eastbound TA to Malaga and then spending some time in Spain before flying back home to Las Vegas. I just bought my ticket a couple of weeks ago and the total cost of the open jaw r/t ticket on USAir was $861.20 including all taxes.

 

Even if I didn't have plans to travel again in the spring, I still would have booked the r/t ticket as it was much cheaper than paying for a o/w fare. Unless you are a serial offender, there is no way that the airline would ever come after you for the difference in price. And even if they did, there is no way for them to prove that you didn't intend to make the return trip at the time you booked the ticket.

[travelnap]

Flying to Fort Lauderdale.....transatlantic cruise to Barcelona......flying home from Barcelona. Shocked at the prices I see when going to the airline websites!

Do you think Holland America would have better or special rates for their cruisers?

SherryH, I went into HAL's website and checked out the cruiseline air for the trip you are taking on the Nieuw Amsterdam and the show a price of $1,009 per person for the flights in and out of Las Vegas. The best I could find online using a multistop itinerary was around $1,800 on American. For the price difference I think I would use HAL's airfare if you take the trip. Good Luck

[Babr]

No one has mentioned that United/Continental has started a new policy that allows the purchase of a one way ticket using miles. We booked early to get business class, but I was surprised to see that economy tickets (30,000 miles) are still readily available three weeks out from our cruise date. It is not that hard to accumulate enough miles if you plan ahead by using their credit card for all expenses throughout the year, take advantage of bonus mileage offers, and fly even once a year to take a cruise.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Just paid $3126 to London for 6/12 from Jacksonville Fl.

[Globaliser]

Just paid $3126 to London for 6/12 from Jacksonville Fl.

Each?

 

Or for four people?

[onthegogirl]

Flying to Fort Lauderdale.....transatlantic cruise to Barcelona......flying home from Barcelona. Shocked at the prices I see when going to the airline websites!

Do you think Holland America would have better or special rates for their cruisers?

 

I have found that using a web based ticketing service gives me the best fares. I have used them to travel one way to Barcelona direct versus a three stop itinerary from HAL at about 1/3 less. I have used them to do a one way to London and return form Amsterdam for a really low price.

 

Since I always go out at least two days before embarkation, my hotel stays are pretty much covered by the airfare savings and I don't have to worry so much about missing the boat.:eek:

[boards]

Qantas has a sale happening now. We booked several weeks ago and got return air for less than $3000 (yes it is only economy) to Auckland and return from Sydney to LAX. The fare is bit higher now, but it still good price. The time frame we travelling is next Mar.

[Sherry H]

How did you do that? I went to HAL's site and can't see how to check airfares. Guess my ignorance is showing.

[Marion B]

It's a good thing I found this thread. It got me to thinking about our situation: we booked San Diego to Houston and Houston to Ft Lauderdale for Thanksgiving Day - Zuiderdam cruise leaves next day. With very little time to spare, dh is being transferred to Houston. We thought a day or so before the outbound flight we could just call to say we would not be on the San Diego to Houston leg.

 

After learning more about the airlline rules from several posters, I immediately checked our e-docs; although there is a change of planes in Houston, the airline considers this a nonstop flight. Had we not boarded in San Diego, the entire reservation would have been cancelled. It was well worth the $75 pp to rebook Houston to Ft Lauderdale.

 

So, again, a big thanks to all for educating me and saving us from what could have been a disaster - even on Thanksgiving Day, the flights are filling up.

 

Marion

[YYC F/A]

A good cruise specialist TA should have access to what are called "Air/Sea Fares" or "Cruise Fares".

 

These are NOT available to the general public through other sources, and the contract stipulates that they must be sold as part of a cruise package.

 

These fares are almost always the best bet for one-way airfare on longhaul international legs, e.g. return of a TA or repositioning to/from S. America or Asia for example.

 

Regular airfares on longhaul international routes are typically based on mandatory roundtrip purchase, and one way fares default to much higher rates.

 

For one way, transatlantic or repositioning cruises - you may want to seek out a good TA that has access to these fares - the savings can be several hundred dollars.

[cruisequeen4ever]

A legal way of booking the ticket while possibly saving money would be to book it as a multi-city ticket. It's a cross between a roundtrip and a 1 way. For example, if I was cruising from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, and I lived in New York, I could book it as...

 

New York to Ft. Lauderdale

and

Rome to New York

 

Just click on Multi-City instead of Roundtrip or One Way on the booking site. It's really simple, and it's saved us money. Good luck!

[Hawaiidan]

This is why I have a United Creditcard and do everything on it... and fly always on united... miles

Flying Kona Hawaii to Frankfurt and on to Venice through Munich... $10 for 2... first class in a bed rather than $24,700.00 and an example of why I do all my travel and business with 1 airline because when I want to do international trips and cruises and never use miles for free coach seats.

 

Rather than use my miles for 3 free economy trips Kona to LA a savings of $1500 tops I use them for 1 free $12,350 flight does that make sence?

[Globaliser]

... although there is a change of planes in Houston, the airline considers this a nonstop flight.

Actually, a "direct" flight.

 

A "nonstop" flight is exactly what it says. You depart from A, and the very next place you land is B, your destination.

 

A true "direct" flight is one where you board the aircraft at A, and you disembark at B, your destination; but the aircraft may have stopped at any number of places in between.

 

A trip is sometimes sold as a "direct" flight when, at one of the stops, you need to change aircraft. This can be done if the marketing flight number is the same both before and after the change. However, if the first aircraft is late, the second aircraft can depart before the first aircraft arrives so that you misconnect even though you have supposedly booked a "direct" flight.

 

Airlines call this practice "change of gauge". There are many passengers, like myself, who call it "flight number fraud": a connecting itinerary being deceptively sold as a "direct" flight. But nobody seems to be prepared to do anything about this.

 

But the important thing is that there is a crucial distinction between a "nonstop" flight and a "direct" flight.

[Globaliser]

A legal way of booking the ticket while possibly saving money would be to book it as a multi-city ticket. It's a cross between a roundtrip and a 1 way. For example, if I was cruising from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, and I lived in New York, I could book it as...

 

New York to Ft. Lauderdale

and

Rome to New York

 

Just click on Multi-City instead of Roundtrip or One Way on the booking site. It's really simple, and it's saved us money.

It won't necessarily save anyone money, though, because often such a multi-city booking will simply be fared as two one-way flights. If one of the trips is a route on which there are no discount one-way tickets, then the "multi-ciity" method will be just as expensive as if you'd booked it as a one-way ticket.

 

Doing this can save you money if your whole journey qualifies for open jaw pricing. This is a fare calculation method that allows a total fare to be built from the discount round-trip fares. So if you want to fly A-B then C-A, the fare may be calculated as the total of half of the round-trip fare A-B-A and half of the round-trip fare A-C-A.

 

But there are conditions attached to this. Typically, the distance between B and C must be shorter than both the distance A-B and the distance A-C. And the fares for A-B-A and A-C-A must be combinable with each other (which is detail written into the fare rules), so often this means that B and C must be in the same geographical area (eg Europe) and the fares must come from the same fare family.

 

I've just tried pricing the itinerary you suggest, which is not a natural for open-jaw pricing. The cheapest fares are those built from cheap one-way fares from the airlines that do them, so you could buy those separately in any event. On the airlines that don't do cheap one-way fares, the fares are built from the expensive non-discounted one-way fares that (again) you could have bought separately in any event.

 

So there is no true open-jaw pricing here to save you money, and using the multi-city tool doesn't really offer any benefits.

[boards]

How can you check air fares on the Hal website?????

[Marion B]

Thanks for the info, Globaliser. I should have used the term "direct" instead of "non-stop." I agree that this is, as you said, "flight number fraud".

 

Because the flights were booked so long ago, I incorrectly thought we were on 2 separate flights - SD - IAH and IAH-FLL. Just curious, if that were the case, instead of the "direct" flight we were actually on, would skipping the San Diego to Houston flight still have voided the reservation?

 

Just curious. Appreciate the info you have given.

 

Marion