Bizarre Airline Pricing

[lydiamight]

We are booked on the Seabourn Encore from Dubai to Athens in May of this year which means I need to purchase a one way flight ticket to Dubai. We are quite loyal to British Airways and decided that in view of the relatively short flight time we would travel Premium Economy which BA call World traveller Plus.

Cost to fly out on the BA0107 Premium economy on the 7th May is £1,748 per person one way.

Ended up booking this very same flight together with a basic economy return from Dubai to London on 18th August----total cost of the return journey £581.22 per person !!!!

So I throw the return half away and save myself £1,167 per person or £2,334 for the two of us-----as I said, bizarre Airline pricing

[rols]

I'd be a little circumspect about posting that too publicly. Lufthansa sued a passenger earlier this year for booking a ticket where they had no intention of flying the last leg,  the story was here. Last I saw the airline wasn't winning the case and they probably aren't going to win it either but I doubt this will be the last time an airline tries this. 

And yes for everyone scratching their heads asking how on earth you can be sued for not taking a flight you paid for, travelling all the legs is usually in the terms of the contract. No airline has to my knowledge ever yet succeeded in getting a court to enforce those terms and the penalty clauses which come with them but I'm sure they won't give up trying. 

[marazul]

One-way tickets always seem to be outrageously more expensive than a return ticket to and from the same city.  The best option when flying back from a different location is to price the "Multi City" tickets, in your case, flying to Dubai and flying back from Athens.  If this doesn't work out more favorably for you, then throw out the return half of your ticket.

[dalliowner]

Try getting a price from Seabourn ,  a couple of years ago we had the same problem when sailing from Dover to Quebec  , the airline wanted £1200 pounds for one way from Quebec to London  but when I checked with Seabourn they  got it for £200. I do not know how but it was a no brainer.

[lydiamight]

Regretfully Seabourn could not come up with with a reasonable price for the flight to Dubai, hence the reason why I made my own travel arrangements. I think that "rols" is referring to the Lufthansa case which involved what is called "hidden city ticketing"

See below:

Lufthansa, one of the world’s largest airlines, is going after a passenger who it says engaged in hidden-city ticketing, CNN reports. According to the airline, a passenger booked a round-trip flight from Oslo (OSL) to Seattle (SEA) with a stop in Frankfurt (FRA). While the passenger took the outbound leg from Oslo via Frankfurt eventually arriving in Seattle, Lufthansa alleges that the passenger intentionally missed their return flight and instead booked another flight, with the final destination set as Berlin (TXL). Lufthansa is now pursuing legal action, claiming the passenger intentionally engaged in the practice known as hidden-city ticketing to save money on airfare.

 

Not the same as booking a return ticket and not using the return half. If a passenger was taken ill or had to change his plans  for some other reason then  I can't see BA having any success in suing the passenger for not taking a flight that he had paid for.

[Isklaar]

Rols is correct, some airlines are attempting to crack down on passengers buying a return ticket with no intention of using the return coupon. Lots of people do this, because as we've seen here, one way fares (especially longhaul) tend to be more expensive than return fares. Passengers who have status with the airline (BAEC for example)  need to be especially aware of this as they can be easier for the airline to go after! . To date I'm not aware of BA actually suing any of its passengers but there has been discussion around this elsewhere on the internet, 'punishment' appears to be removal of miles and status. 

[mandymay]

Have you considered Emirates?

They are a good airline & fly direct from London one way for around £300

Try Skyscanner.

[SKP946]

8 hours ago, lydiamight said:

. We are quite loyal to British Airways 

 

Do you have BA “Miles” you could use for the flight ? We used our miles when flying one=way home from Athens after a cruise from Singapore. The “Miles” are usually a set rate per leg (just had to pay the taxes)

 

[lydiamight]

Regretfully there was no availability of BA flights using Air Miles

[SLSD]

Speaking of Lufthansa, we flew them for the first time last summer from Frankfort to the US following a cruise.  Never again.  I was very unimpressed--both in terms of comfort (Business Class) and food.  Now, I know that airline food is notoriously bad, but the Lufthansa food was totally inedible.  I'm not a picky eater and can eat most anything.  Never again.  

[kowhairob]

We are blest in New Zealand with the range of high quality 5 and 4 star carriers to Europe. Singapore , Cathay , Thai , Emirates , Qatar and Air New Zealand all offering flights to Europe in relative luxury . Unfortunately its at least 26 hours with one stop on any Airline to Europe. Fortunately we have multiple options for stop overs. Singapore , Hong Kong , Dubai , Houston ,Los Angeles, Buenos Aires , Tokyo , Seoul , Doha , Beijing. If you had the time you can get a Star Alliance around the World trip , now that would be fun !

[Heather White]

On 3/19/2019 at 9:56 AM, lydiamight said:

Regretfully there was no availability of BA flights using Air Miles

 

Using British Airways Air Miles or Avios as they are called, is near impossible in my experience. I'm always envious of Canadian and U.S. relatives who regularly use their Miles.

 

In my experience if you use the Seabourn flight service early enough, you get a good deal.

 

 

[jozi]

On 3/22/2019 at 4:03 PM, SLSD said:

Speaking of Lufthansa, we flew them for the first time last summer from Frankfort to the US following a cruise.  Never again.  I was very unimpressed--both in terms of comfort (Business Class) and food.  Now, I know that airline food is notoriously bad, but the Lufthansa food was totally inedible.  I'm not a picky eater and can eat most anything.  Never again.  

We were very happy with Lufthansa BC .  Perhaps biased after a terrorist event and weather screwed up original plan and plan B.  But the staff was lovely a Nd configuration was far more comfortable than the cozy meet your neighbor in awkward position on BA.

[SLSD]

jozi, you must have been on a newer aircraft with better flight attendants!  Our seats were just awful--and this was business class. The flight attendants were not very nice---and we are very nice friendly passengers.  They couldn't be bothered with anyone for anything.   I've flown BA , but it was years ago and they had  a strike going on.  Only tap water was being served and we would not drink it (on a long flight--Athens to London).   Needless to say, I didn't care for it either!  I have been pleased with international Air Canada flights and also American Airlines.  I'm sure every experience is different!  But, when a first experience is not good, I am not anxious to repeat it!

 

Edited March 26, 2019 by SLSD

[marazul]

Is Lufthansa still doing the "Exercise" video?  It has been a few years, but in the middle of a JFK-Frankfurt flight, they showed a video to have the entire plane do exercises:  "Tap you left foot 3 times, raise your right knee twice, shrug your shoulders, etc."  The passengers got on with the program and it was really funny having everyone tapping and shrugging at the same time.  A good laugh (and maybe some DVT prevention) was had by all.  Was Lufthansa being conscientious or, gasp, could it possibly have sense of humor?

 🤣🤣🤣

[jozi]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

jozi, you must have been on a newer aircraft with better flight attendants!  Our seats were just awful--and this was business class. The flight attendants were not very nice---and we are very nice friendly passengers.  They couldn't be bothered with anyone for anything.   I've flown BA , but it was years ago and they had  a strike going on.  Only tap water was being served and we would not drink it (on a long flight--Athens to London).   Needless to say, I didn't care for it either!  I have been pleased with international Air Canada flights and also American Airlines.  I'm sure every experience is different!  But, when a first experience is not good, I am not anxious to repeat it!

 

Yes, liked Air Canada a lot.  Air France was nice, too, though their economy plus is fine, as is Virgin Atlantic.  I haven’t been on the Asian airlines except ANA once, which was nice.  Emirates only in coach, still kicking myself years later for not getting the @airport upgrade that was offered for a three figure sum. (We were on a crowded flight on which every child in America was on their way to visit their Indian relatives). Air Canada is Star Alliance and despite that we weren’t able to use the lounge for the IAD-Toronto leg, which had no BC seating, but that was a minor annoyance. 

[SLSD]

We will be on Japan Airlines (American Airline's partner) in May to Osaka.  As long as they don't bring the Miso soup too close to me, i'll be ok.  Don't ask--I have a Miso soup story from years ago on a flight to Beijing. 

[jozi]

5 hours ago, SLSD said:

We will be on Japan Airlines (American Airline's partner) in May to Osaka.  As long as they don't bring the Miso soup too close to me, i'll be ok.  Don't ask--I have a Miso soup story from years ago on a flight to Beijing. 

The Japan to Alaska trip? Have a great time!  We did that in 2017.  

[SLSD]

Jozi, We were intrigued by all the sea days for this itinerary  (Kobe to Vancouver) and seeing Japan, one Russian port and Alaska, ending in Vancouver all in one trip.  It will be nice to have a shorter flight home, instead of hauling in from Asia or Europe.  

Edited March 27, 2019 by SLSD

[Catlover54]

9 hours ago, SLSD said:

We will be on Japan Airlines (American Airline's partner) in May to Osaka.  As long as they don't bring the Miso soup too close to me, i'll be ok.  Don't ask--I have a Miso soup story from years ago on a flight to Beijing. 

I have to ask, what is the Miso soup story? 

[SLSD]

Catlover54, We had flown Business Class to Narita, but had to fly coach to Beijing--which is a several hour flight in itself.  It was a full flight and I was sandwiched in between my husband and a Japanese gentleman.  By this time, I was not feeling particularly well---just a bit queasy.  The flight attendant kept bringing a large pitcher of miso soup and offering it to every one and the gentleman to my left kept taking her up on it.  At that point, the smell of the soup was almost enough to push me over the edge.  Since then, just the mention of miso soup makes me a bit queasy. So--hoping that being in business class on Japan Airlines all the way into Osaka this time will protect me from the dreaded miso soup.  I think toward the end of a long flight, just the sight of food often makes me feel a bit sick. 

[rols]

47 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Catlover54, We had flown Business Class to Narita .. 

Going totally off topic. Many (many) years ago my then wife was flying JAL from Tokyo to the UK I think. That was back in the day you could smoke on planes. She requested a no-smoking seat and was told there were no more available. She made somewhat of a fuss and they said they would find her a non-smoking seat. 

When she boarded her seat was right in the middle of the smoking section .. but it had a 'no smoking' sticker on it thus designating it as .. a non-smoking seat. I don't recall her ever flying JAL again. 

[SLSD]

Thank goodness there is no smoking on planes now!  I can't imagine!  

[Covepointcruiser]

There will be MISO soup on JAL but you will have the option of a Japanese or English style meal.   Last year when we flew to Osaka on JAL the Business Class seats were not lie flat.   You will be at an angle, like a recliner.   Gave me trouble sleeping but my husband can sleep any where.

[SLSD]

Covepointcruiser, I am totally fine with reclining instead of lying flat.  And I do expect Miso soup as an offering,  but if I am in Business Class instead of sandwiched between two other passengers, I can just decline and not have to have the soup poured right in front of me.  No offense to Miso soup, but there are times when any kind of food just doesn't sit well with me on a flight.  I seldom sleep very much on flights.  I tend to watch movies--and occasionally fall asleep during.