Booked a last minute ticket on Delta, boy it was high.

[SL6827]

Had to book my husband a round trip ticket to Cincinnati last night for December 11th for his job and boy am I glad we weren't footing the bill. It cost his company $500 to fly him up there for the day with Delta. Goof grief.

 

[AngiTN]

American has been cheaper for close flights just for the record. I just switched to AA for our Christmas flights because they dropped low enough to equal Southwest after including a drive to Nashville

Still $500 is pretty dang cheap for a turn around up and back single day flight.

 

[SL6827]

American has been cheaper for close flights just for the record. I just switched to AA for our Christmas flights because they dropped low enough to equal Southwest after including a drive to Nashville

Still $500 is pretty dang cheap for a turn around up and back single day flight.

Really? Wow. Well regardless, the company is paying for it. But I guess it could be cheaper than driving, paying for a hotel, meals ect for him. Are single day flight usually a lot more?

 

[AngiTN]

Really? Wow. Well regardless, the company is paying for it. But I guess it could be cheaper than driving, paying for a hotel, meals ect for him. Are single day flight usually a lot more?

Yes. Airlines want you to spend the night. Multiple nights tend to be cheaper

 

[SL6827]

Yes. Airlines want you to spend the night. Multiple nights tend to be cheaper

Interesting. I wonder why? Does it cost them more to fly you twice on the same day? You are a wealth of knowledge for myself, .

 

[AngiTN]

Interesting. I wonder why? Does it cost them more to fly you twice on the same day? You are a wealth of knowledge for myself, .

That I have no idea.
I know if you switch your dates on any airlines calendar you can find it will change the total price of your ticket. Even when booking one way it can alter.
I'm sure it's got something to do with popularity and routes and such.

 

[SteveH]

Yep day trips seem to be a lot more expensive. I'd say it's some deal with the hotels, but it just doesn't make sense. One way around it is to buy two one way trips, but that doesn't always work. I have to do a few trips for a 5 hour meeting, and it can easily run $340

 

[gatour]

Short notice bookings are usually done by people are traveling for business. The airlines know this and charge accordingly since. In addition he is traveling mid week which is another factor.

20 years ago I did a short notice one day business trip that cost $600.

Vacation travelers normally book months and months in advance so airlines charge a lesser fare to cover their "nut", then ratchet up the fares to make their profits.

 

[spiders]

A couple things...is it non-stop? The days of Cincinnati being a real hub are long gone but Delta still offers more non-stops than anyone else. The one thing that people are still willing to pay a premium for is a non-stop.

Delta can also just be expensive. I'm going on the Disney Wonder out of New Orleans in February. I booked on Delta because I had a companion pass to use. I paid $400 for my ticket, used my companion pass, and used 42,000 miles each for the kids all from Atlanta. Pretty expensive. My parents, also from Atlanta, booked on Southwest for $250.

Another thing to realize too though is that Delta along with the other legacies these days aren't as interested anymore in price matching to hubs. The reason why a short flight from Nashville to Atlanta is expensive is because in reality, they don't want you on that flight. If they give up that Nashville to Atlanta seat for $50 then they have given up the opportunity to use that seat for someone who wants to fly a higher profit itinerary. You can't sell someone a $1000 ticket from Nashville to London if you already gave up the seat they need to get to Atlanta for $50. So if you're going to occupy that seat then you're going to pay for it.

One last thing I'll say about Delta...they don't cancel. They have a very low cancellation rate. Your flight might be delayed...really, really delayed but they still tend to run the flight. This is really great, especially on a non-stop. If you get cancelled then you're garbage. You've already been disrupted and now you and everyone on your flight can fight for the remaining seats on whatever flights are left. But if they still run it then you still have a confirmed seat.

 

[sam_gordon]

I still say "supply and demand". Someone booking a short notice trip generally needs to be there at that time. Unlike if you're booking 6-11 months out, you might have more options (changing days, etc).

 

[Allison]

Meh...I have seen much worse for a last minute short trip.

 

[AngiTN]

Plus, I assume OP's DH was booked out of our local airport (we live close to each other)
We are a SMALL! airport that doesn't go much of anywhere directly. $500 round trip is pretty bleeping cheap all things considered. We pay more for many flights but when you consider the convenience of everything it's well worth it. They showed it on the new this morning, day before Thanksgiving, trying to cover the travel stories for today. Cracked me up talking about delays at airports due to crowds when there wasn't a sole insight during any of the cut in's. Even on the busiest day of the year you need less than 60 min at our airport, and that's only if checking bags. 30 min if no bags to check. And that includes walking in from our parking lot. You walk further at the mall than you do to our airport from the parking lot. We don't even have a parking garage (yet)
Now, if he went to Nashville or Atlanta, then yeah, that's probably a bit high.

 

[MillauFr]

$500 seems like a bargain to me. Plus its Delta. People are willing to pay higher prices for a higher level of service than they would for American or United.

 

[bumbershoot]

Short notice bookings are usually done by people are traveling for business. The airlines know this and charge accordingly since. In addition he is traveling mid week which is another factor.

Exactly.

 

[Searc]

That's it? For a flight within 14 days? And a turnaround one at that? He got a great price.

 

[SirDuff]

Really? Wow. Well regardless, the company is paying for it. But I guess it could be cheaper than driving, paying for a hotel, meals ect for him. Are single day flight usually a lot more?

No. Not for domestic flights. Usually, buying two one-way tickets is roughly the same as buying a round-trip ticket so, clearly length of stay doesn't matter (again for domestic flights and "usually"). What got you was the short notice (though this isn't really that short notice). And, of course, since it is a one day trip, the "short notice" applies to both flights.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Day trips especially last minute are generally business people. Airlines know they can charge what they want because choices are few. But I agree with others that 500 is pretty good for a last minute one day flight.