How is it possible that a flight with two stops is less expensive than a flight with one stop? You're getting an ENTIRE EXTRA FLIGHT... for negative dollars (?!?)
April Buchheit,
Paul Buchheit,
Bret Taylor,
Cristian,
Nick Baum,
Victor Panlilio,
Lou Paglia,
Scoble, Alex Scoble,
and
Jeanette Bosman
liked this
Fewer empty seats.
- Private Sanjeev
I remember one airline, maybe it was Air India, charging purely per mile... which logically makes no sense
- Mike Sego
Presumably they charge more for direct flights because they are better, much like first class. Airlines need some way to separate people who care only about cost from people who are willing to pay more so that they can compete in multiple segments.
- Paul Buchheit
This is just as confusing as why a McDonalds double cheeseburger costs the same as a cheeseburger (ok, about 3 cents more). I mean, it's double!
- Kevin Kuphal
Oh yeah, I've definitely run into that before, it's infuriating. "No, you don't understand, I want to take one fewer flights. You can sell it again. You should pay it for me, but I'm giving it to you for free".
- Nick Baum
There's also cases where taking a longer flight on the same plane costs less. For example, I remember times when getting a flight at Dulles which stopped at BWI, was cheaper if I drove from Baltimore to Dulles, than if I just got on at BWI.
- Ray Cromwell
Because that's how much they can charge for it... Airline prices have virtually nothing to do with airline costs.
- Brian Johns
When I moved to the US I bought a two way ticket and tossed the return. It was cheaper than one way. Go figure that one.
- Antonio Piccolboni
I don't understand it either
- April Buchheit
you mean they're *paying* you to accrue frequent flier miles? Score!
- Kevin Fox
It's pricing insanity. I once had a flight from SFO to Milwaukee (via ORD) cost less than SFO to ORD. The kicker was it was the same plane.
- jho
It really is cheaper for an airline to use hubs and spokes rather than large numbers of direct flights. Think of it as elevator seeking. Direct flights cost more because they really are more expensive to run.
- Private Sanjeev