creekland Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Somehow, it makes good business sense for Southwest Airlines to charge a minimum of $12, max $102 less for my son to take a flight from Tampa to New Orleans and then to Baltimore rather than taking a flight non-stop from Tampa to Baltimore. He's taken these non-stop flights from Tampa to Baltimore before (as have we). They're seldom full at the hours we tend to travel, so it's not an overbooking deal. I can only imagine trying to set them up as a math word problem that makes financial sense. But hey, he likes to travel, so he can fly into New Orleans, look down, and see if he remembers anything from our trip there a few years back, then come see us. Nothing like getting paid to take an extra airplane ride. :coolgleamA: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Yes we recently booked flights on an overseas flight for DH. It was $120 cheaper to fly out of a small regional airport then LAX ??? I guess because of landing fees??? But here is a puzzle for you. I booked on Air France's website and at the end it said: Fare: $99.00USD Taxes and Fees: $568.91USD Total: $667.91USD Huh??? :huh: That is the cheapest we have ever in 20 years flown to this destination even in low season (now it is rainy there, so not many people travel right now, but DH wants to go see his mom and not deal with tourist season). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I always thought those types of things had more to do with supply/demand than actual hard money decisions. If most business travelers take the non-stop flight, they can charge more but they also need to fill up the other flights so they discount them a bit to attract the ones that don't necessarily need non-stop. I could be totally wrong though :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Yeah, I bet they've sold more seats on the nonstop flight, or they can count on selling more because more people who buy at the last minute want nonstop, especially in blizzard season in the north or hurricane season in the south. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I think it makes perfect sense. Non-stop flights are in higher demand and thus should be more expensive. In my experience, the cheapest flights are always the crummiest connections with the most legs. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 Except in this case, the only non-stop that was less expensive was the one through New Orleans. Literally all of the others were more expensive than the two or three lowest priced non-stops. Typical non-stop price was $112 or $152 for "bad" hours, $182 for decent hours, and $202 for "prime time." Lowest "other" one stop flights (with or without a change of planes) were $160 for "bad" hours, $246 for decent hours, and $300 for "prime time." The trip via New Orleans is $100 - and leaves at 3:40pm arriving at 9:25pm - not bad for a college student. We gave him a choice of the $112 or $152 non-stops, but those left in the wee hours of the morning (flights left at 6:30am or 8am respectively). He wasn't interested in getting going that early (having to be at the airport at 5 or 6 am) - esp for our having to pay more money. We had no interest in paying oodles more just so he could have a non-stop and arrive a couple hours sooner - esp since we'd then be dealing with rush hour traffic too. I don't recall seeing this flight option other times he's flown home (like Christmas). I'm guessing it's a new flight they're promoting or discounting - or perhaps no one truly cares to fly into or out of NO - or someone goofed on their math entering it into the system. It truly does stand out among all the other flights priced far higher at that time period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 We hit that all the time from Memphis. Usually it's because there is one or two non-stop flights a day, but a dozen options going through Atlanta, Minneapolis, or Dallas, and there are no "Off peak" non-stops. The one that really gave me pause was when it was a good $300 less to fly from Memphis to Orlando to Reno vs Memphis to Dallas to Reno. I'm pretty sure Memphis to Orlando is a much more desired flight (especially since it was one of the coveted non-stops that people with little kids prefer) than Memphis to Dallas! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) I don't think this is new. When I was in college, it was always far cheaper to get a roundtrip ticket that stayed over a Saturday night. My friend's mom was a travel agent for a company (in house) and if she had to fly someone somewhere for a day she'd book two round trips and we'd use the extra tickets for a free trip home. Obviously this was before you had to show ID. Edited February 3, 2016 by Daria 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Except in this case, the only non-stop that was less expensive was the one through New Orleans. Literally all of the others were more expensive than the two or three lowest priced non-stops. Typical non-stop price was $112 or $152 for "bad" hours, $182 for decent hours, and $202 for "prime time." Lowest "other" one stop flights (with or without a change of planes) were $160 for "bad" hours, $246 for decent hours, and $300 for "prime time." The trip via New Orleans is $100 - and leaves at 3:40pm arriving at 9:25pm - not bad for a college student. We gave him a choice of the $112 or $152 non-stops, but those left in the wee hours of the morning (flights left at 6:30am or 8am respectively). He wasn't interested in getting going that early (having to be at the airport at 5 or 6 am) - esp for our having to pay more money. We had no interest in paying oodles more just so he could have a non-stop and arrive a couple hours sooner - esp since we'd then be dealing with rush hour traffic too. I don't recall seeing this flight option other times he's flown home (like Christmas). I'm guessing it's a new flight they're promoting or discounting - or perhaps no one truly cares to fly into or out of NO - or someone goofed on their math entering it into the system. It truly does stand out among all the other flights priced far higher at that time period. Just curious, is the flight this Sunday? I have seem some strange things happen with flights on Superbowl Sunday. "Bad hours" become "during the game" instead of really early or really late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Just curious, is the flight this Sunday? I have seem some strange things happen with flights on Superbowl Sunday. "Bad hours" become "during the game" instead of really early or really late. No, it's the last Friday in March - the start of his Spring Break, so he's flying home. On a side note, we often love going out somewhere during the Super Bowl as places are very uncrowded. ;) None of us in our family have ever been football fans aside from watching one or two Va Tech games each year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 No, it's the last Friday in March - the start of his Spring Break, so he's flying home. On a side note, we often love going out somewhere during the Super Bowl as places are very uncrowded. ;) None of us in our family have ever been football fans aside from watching one or two Va Tech games each year. I like watching football and go to an annual get together for the Super Bowl. However, I did make a massive Costco run during Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, when the SF Giants (local team) were playing. I figured it would be a good time to go. That place was almost empty, and the employees were mostly watching the game on those giant TVs they sell. They had even tilted them towards the registers for those folks. :D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Our best two Super Bowl nights were: 1) We took the kids to a motel with an indoor water park. We had the place pretty much to ourselves. I think there might have been 4 other kids there tops. 2) We were at a campground in FL playing cards in a community room. There were a handful of other tables being used - all by Canadians. When they came over to chat they admitted they thought we were Canadians too. :coolgleamA: All other campers were gathered around TVs, so it was nice and quiet in the community room by the fireplace. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 On a side note, we often love going out somewhere during the Super Bowl as places are very uncrowded. ;) None of us in our family have ever been football fans aside from watching one or two Va Tech games each year. Wait a minute! What? Superbowl is a football game? Who bowls in a football game? :confused1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Wait a minute! What? Superbowl is a football game? Who bowls in a football game? :confused1: American football. I'm definitely not the one to ask... I'm as confused as you are as to how "Bowl" games got their name (college or professional). American football could disappear from our planet and I'd never miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 American football. Ok, I knew the football was American football. :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 There's a website devoted to saving money on plane tickets via "skip lagging." The idea is that it is often cheaper to book a ticket that involves changing planes in a certain city than it is to just fly to that city. For example, it might be cheaper to book a flight from city A to city C, changing planes in city B, than to fly from city A to city B directly. So you'd book the flight and just never get on the second part of your flight. If you use this method, you need to book only one-way tickets, not roundtrip, and not check any bags. I may have read that each leg needs to use a different airline as well, because they consider this approach unfair somehow. I've never tried it. Just passing the info along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 We're pretty devoted Southwest lovers - esp since bags still fly for free and the flight crews are often a lot of fun. The only way I'd choose another airline is if Southwest didn't fly there. Now they go everywhere we've needed lately. (Almost anywhere - they haven't added Chattanooga or at least hadn't by the time my oldest got married.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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