Go further, pay less - Weird US Airways pricing policy

karlheinz said:

Interesting experience while purchasing my ticket to return back to the states in May. I want to fly direct from Santo Domingo to Philly and the only airlines that does that is US Airways - a one way trip is $320 now and only on Saturdays. What's interesting is I compared prices for a flight instead going to BWI (Baltimore-Washington Intl) and the price is $70 cheaper - the kicker is both use the same flight US Airways #1068 from SDQ to PHL.... and then to get to BWI you change to a commuter airline.

Why it's cheaper to go further is a real mystery - SDQ to PHL to BWI = $250......SDQ to PHL alone = $320....(same flight number) and since I have to go through customs / collect all luggage at PHL anyway I'm just not going to take the next flight and save myself $70 bucks....weird pricing policy but worth the difference. Makes a point to check for combination flights in the future I guess.

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They make it up in volume. :smoke: lol

I used to do this way back in the day when organizing flights for my business needs. It was a pretty well known system. However, with recent security changes it seems to be less than practical. In this case it may work but watch for an additional charge placed on your credit card by the airlines. They are sneaky like that. And hopefully you don't trigger a security breach for a "missing passenger"!

It's not a mystery, it is a known fact that to END your journey in a HUB city costs the same or more than to end it someplace else*, on a connecting flight from HUB. This has been for years, and it's the same thing in North America and Europe, on regular carriers. Low costs usually price by leg, so you won't find that happening there.

As mentioned by Castella, watch for the "additional charge" because airlines are tricky. This is called "throwaway" coupon. Another known "trick" was "back to back" trip, where if A to B was more expensive than B to A,a nd you flew frequently A to B you purchased A with long return from B, and flew in B to A in between. Harder to track, though. Throwaway coupon is more dangerous, and may result in problems for you. If you can, pay in cash, so no additional charge can be put on your card. I was to say that your checked-through bag might be a problem, but you have to pass through customs at PHL so you have to retrieve your bag anyway.

* The reason for this is that hub cities usually have less competition, because of the dominant hub carrier, e.g. DL in ATL, AA in DFW, UA in DEN or IAD, etc. Also people usually are willing to pay SLIGHTLY more for direct flight convenience, which is what hub cities offer to traveler. Only highly frequented hub cities traffic, e.g. LON-CDG, LON-FRA, etc. usually have acceptable pricing (mainly because both hub carriers, BA at LON, and AF at CDG, both offer many frequencies and compete head to head, also different airline alliances) you can find some similar example in frequent U.S. HUB to HUB traffic dominated by multiple carriers.

I encountered this one time too. Was planning to get off the plane early, but was informed that if I did that, all the remaining portions of the trip would be cancelled. So, if you were planning to book round trip, you would lose your return.

karlheinz said:

Interesting experience while purchasing my ticket to return back to the states in May. I want to fly direct from Santo Domingo to Philly and the only airlines that does that is US Airways - a one way trip is $320 now and only on Saturdays. What's interesting is I compared prices for a flight instead going to BWI (Baltimore-Washington Intl) and the price is $70 cheaper - the kicker is both use the same flight US Airways #1068 from SDQ to PHL.... and then to get to BWI you change to a commuter airline.

Why it's cheaper to go further is a real mystery - SDQ to PHL to BWI = $250......SDQ to PHL alone = $320....(same flight number) and since I have to go through customs / collect all luggage at PHL anyway I'm just not going to take the next flight and save myself $70 bucks....weird pricing policy but worth the difference. Makes a point to check for combination flights in the future I guess.

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I always do BWI over Philly. Cheaper. Nicer airport. Cheaper parking. Easier in and out.