One way flights so expensive (why)?

[mickey house]

In between doing jobs in the garden I did a dummy BA quote for flights next July and forgot to put a return flight in, and how crazy is it that a one way flight costs over 4 times more than a return. So who would ever book a one way flight when a return is significantly cheaper and don't bother doing the return flights.

Any opinions or criticisms welcome:

[till]

When we have needed one way flights because we have a transatlantic cruise booked we have used Norwegian as they have cheap one way flights, not sure how long Norwegian will be around but I hope they stay as we have cruises booked for 2022 🙂

[Tigger71]

I have read about this before as I was curious about this as well. Initially my own theory was related to taxes (so uk taxes higher than us) but it seems that most theories out there relates to business travellers. Apparently business travellers tends to book more one way tickets (? Not sure on this - my company wouldnt allow that - we always have to book return) and the business traveller doesnt have the same cost concerns as a holiday traveller...

[sharonb]

Last year I needed to book my Dd a one way ticket to Orlando as after the holiday she was flying onto Utila to train as a scuba diving instructor, the one way ticket was over £1000 but the return was £450 so that’s what I booked her and she didn’t use the return flight.

Sharon

[Omega1]

We’ve done a few transatlantic cruises and needed one way flights. We usually book through the cruise lines as they seem to get good deals. This year’s cancelled cruise the flight from MIA-MAN was £265 (BA/AA). The only time we did a diy one way was on Thomas Cook (JFK- MAN) and that was £201 - but generally, one way flights are crazy money and you have to search hard for acceptable fares.

[ashc13]

A while back you could get cheap one way transatlantic fares with Aer Lingus. Not transatlantic, looking at SAS flights and two one way flights are cheaper than booking a return.

[ashc13]

It's nice talking about flights!

[Peko]

It's due to historical practices in the airline industry which have only partially evolved to the modern world.

Back in the day (before modern low cost carriers became a big thing), the legacy carriers (BA, AA, Lufhansa etc) only sold discounted fares on returns (and not all returns, often a Saturday night stay was required). If you wanted to book one way, the airlines only made their most flexible and expensive fare classes available for sale. This applied to pretty much all flights. Whether the corporate market is the reason or not, I don't really know, the practice goes back a long way.

When the LCCs, with their "point to point" pricing started to gain strong market share, most of the legacy carriers felt they had little choice but to do the same in short haul, which is why you can now buy cheap one way fares on BA short haul. Most legacy carriers did the same, though some resisted and kept selling only the flexible fares on short haul one way. Lufthansa / Swiss were prime examples, but even they have now capitulated and offer cheaper booking classes on short haul. It isn't just about price, the higher fares have much more flexibility and will be partially or completely refundable.

The same level of competition from LCCs did not exist on long haul, so the legacy carriers did not feel the need to change their policies on this. There is/was some competition selling point to point fares (e.g. Norwegian, Thomas Cook), but seemingly not enough to change things. Aer Lingus was a bit of a hybrid LCC/legacy, and did offer cheaper one way fares.

Therefore, if you want to book one-way transatlantic with BA, Virgin, AA etc, they will only show the most expensive flexible fares. Those high, flexible, fares are also there for returns, but because most website algorithms are set up to show the cheapest available, they don't show unless you specifically look for them.

Cruise companies do negotiate discounted one way fares with legacy carriers to sell in conjunction with cruises (e.g. fly to USA, cruise back to UK), but they can usually only be sold in conjunction with the cruise.

So yes, unless you book with the likes of Norwegian, it is still often cheaper to buy a return than a one way ticket, albeit the cheap return will likely be a restricted ticket.

[mickey house]

Originally Posted by Peko

It's due to historical practices in the airline industry which have only partially evolved to the modern world.

Back in the day (before modern low cost carriers became a big thing), the legacy carriers (BA, AA, Lufhansa etc) only sold discounted fares on returns (and not all returns, often a Saturday night stay was required). If you wanted to book one way, the airlines only made their most flexible and expensive fare classes available for sale. This applied to pretty much all flights. Whether the corporate market is the reason or not, I don't really know, the practice goes back a long way.

When the LCCs, with their "point to point" pricing started to gain strong market share, most of the legacy carriers felt they had little choice but to do the same in short haul, which is why you can now buy cheap one way fares on BA short haul. Most legacy carriers did the same, though some resisted and kept selling only the flexible fares on short haul one way. Lufthansa / Swiss were prime examples, but even they have now capitulated and offer cheaper booking classes on short haul. It isn't just about price, the higher fares have much more flexibility and will be partially or completely refundable.

The same level of competition from LCCs did not exist on long haul, so the legacy carriers did not feel the need to change their policies on this. There is/was some competition selling point to point fares (e.g. Norwegian, Thomas Cook), but seemingly not enough to change things. Aer Lingus was a bit of a hybrid LCC/legacy, and did offer cheaper one way fares.

Therefore, if you want to book one-way transatlantic with BA, Virgin, AA etc, they will only show the most expensive flexible fares. Those high, flexible, fares are also there for returns, but because most website algorithms are set up to show the cheapest available, they don't show unless you specifically look for them.

Cruise companies do negotiate discounted one way fares with legacy carriers to sell in conjunction with cruises (e.g. fly to USA, cruise back to UK), but they can usually only be sold in conjunction with the cruise.

So yes, unless you book with the likes of Norwegian, it is still often cheaper to buy a return than a one way ticket, albeit the cheap return will likely be a restricted ticket.

See more...

Many thanks for the detailed info👍

[stanleycamel]

Originally Posted by Peko

It's due to historical practices in the airline industry which have only partially evolved to the modern world.

Back in the day (before modern low cost carriers became a big thing), the legacy carriers (BA, AA, Lufhansa etc) only sold discounted fares on returns (and not all returns, often a Saturday night stay was required). If you wanted to book one way, the airlines only made their most flexible and expensive fare classes available for sale. This applied to pretty much all flights. Whether the corporate market is the reason or not, I don't really know, the practice goes back a long way.

When the LCCs, with their "point to point" pricing started to gain strong market share, most of the legacy carriers felt they had little choice but to do the same in short haul, which is why you can now buy cheap one way fares on BA short haul. Most legacy carriers did the same, though some resisted and kept selling only the flexible fares on short haul one way. Lufthansa / Swiss were prime examples, but even they have now capitulated and offer cheaper booking classes on short haul. It isn't just about price, the higher fares have much more flexibility and will be partially or completely refundable.

The same level of competition from LCCs did not exist on long haul, so the legacy carriers did not feel the need to change their policies on this. There is/was some competition selling point to point fares (e.g. Norwegian, Thomas Cook), but seemingly not enough to change things. Aer Lingus was a bit of a hybrid LCC/legacy, and did offer cheaper one way fares.

Therefore, if you want to book one-way transatlantic with BA, Virgin, AA etc, they will only show the most expensive flexible fares. Those high, flexible, fares are also there for returns, but because most website algorithms are set up to show the cheapest available, they don't show unless you specifically look for them.

Cruise companies do negotiate discounted one way fares with legacy carriers to sell in conjunction with cruises (e.g. fly to USA, cruise back to UK), but they can usually only be sold in conjunction with the cruise.

So yes, unless you book with the likes of Norwegian, it is still often cheaper to buy a return than a one way ticket, albeit the cheap return will likely be a restricted ticket.

See more...

Well explained Peko.