Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:39 pm
And these airline executives sit in their board rooms every day complaining that they can't make any money and don't know why. 
I have been studying air fares for more than 10 years. I have noticed several things. The first is that Liamsaunt is right. They will cancel your entire trip if you miss a segment. Travel agents have been able to make "hidden city" tickets work in years gone by. They would book a passenger from Chicago to Orlando through Atlanta for $300. Then, after the ticket was issued, they go into the record and cancel the trips to and from Orlando leaving only the ORD-ATL & ATL-ORD segments. Then the passenger flies for the $300 fare insead of the $700 a direct flight would have cost.
The risk was that the airline could go after the passenger for the $400 difference, refuse to transport the passenger or go after the TA's ability to sell tickets because of fraud. 
There were several other methods including "back-to-back" tickets and "throw-away" tickets.
The airlines recognize that most people prefer a non-stop flight rather than a connection. They find that it is justified to charge more for such a ticket. That runs counter to most people's instinct because they charge less for a connection flight where they carry you further and accomodate you in a third airport than they charge for a shorter route using less fuel.
The idea of a round trip costing less than a one-way trip is equally astounding. Southwest Airlines figured all of this out. Perhaps that is the reason that they are the only proffitable one.
JIM
I have been studying air fares for more than 10 years. I have noticed several things. The first is that Liamsaunt is right. They will cancel your entire trip if you miss a segment. Travel agents have been able to make "hidden city" tickets work in years gone by. They would book a passenger from Chicago to Orlando through Atlanta for $300. Then, after the ticket was issued, they go into the record and cancel the trips to and from Orlando leaving only the ORD-ATL & ATL-ORD segments. Then the passenger flies for the $300 fare insead of the $700 a direct flight would have cost.
The risk was that the airline could go after the passenger for the $400 difference, refuse to transport the passenger or go after the TA's ability to sell tickets because of fraud. There were several other methods including "back-to-back" tickets and "throw-away" tickets.
The airlines recognize that most people prefer a non-stop flight rather than a connection. They find that it is justified to charge more for such a ticket. That runs counter to most people's instinct because they charge less for a connection flight where they carry you further and accomodate you in a third airport than they charge for a shorter route using less fuel.
The idea of a round trip costing less than a one-way trip is equally astounding. Southwest Airlines figured all of this out. Perhaps that is the reason that they are the only proffitable one.
JIM