Flight price madness.

[dbriggsq]

Just looked on sky scanner for our may dates. Prices from Dublin via Manchester with virgin - 407 - prices on same flight but just from Manchester 642!

 

[Wills Mom]

Its ridiculous!! We can fly cheaper from Dub - Man - Mco than flying direct from Dublin. Aer Lingus flies direct from Dublin and the price is so high but they fly from London to Dublin to Mco for way less! I really dont understand why airlines do this!!

 

[mackay_j]

A few years ago we saved over £2500 pound (5 flights) flying from Man to Paris then Paris to heathrow , to board a flight to cayman. Direct on the same flight from heathrow was £500 each more return. We were really lucky the paris flight was fogged in and canceled to BA allowed us to drive to heathrow and get on the direct flight.

Makes no sense at all!

 

[Kath2003]

Indirect flights are less convenient. To get people to buy less convenient flights, the price has to be lower.

Direct flights are convenient. People will pay more for convenience, so airlines inflate the prices.

 

[2Tiggies]

Indirect flights are less convenient. To get people to buy less convenient flights, the price has to be lower.

Direct flights are convenient. People will pay more for convenience, so airlines inflate the prices.

This.

Fortunately, indirect flights for us are part of the adventure. Travel day counts as a holiday day and it's more convenient for my bank account

 

[dbriggsq]

Indirect flights are less convenient. To get people to buy less convenient flights, the price has to be lower.

Direct flights are convenient. People will pay more for convenience, so airlines inflate the prices.

Yes and that's why we usually go indirect. But, living quite close to Manchester it's quite galling to think that if we got to Dublin we could take the short hop back to Manchester and get the exact same flight for £250 less.

 

[2Tiggies]

Yes and that's why we usually go indirect. But, living quite close to Manchester it's quite galling to think that if we got to Dublin we could take the short hop back to Manchester and get the exact same flight for £250 less.

I think the taxes from Dublin are significantly less so because the point of origin of the journey is outwith the UK, it affects the overall price.

 

[Kath2003]

Yes and that's why we usually go indirect. But, living quite close to Manchester it's quite galling to think that if we got to Dublin we could take the short hop back to Manchester and get the exact same flight for £250 less.

But is the inconvenience worth that amount to you? People wouldn't buy the Manchester combo if it weren't cheap because it's a whole bunch of "hassle". Personally we don't care so we save £££ by taking any route and any flights. We've even had overnight connections before because the savings made it worth our while.

Remember also that this route reduces seat availability on the MAN-DUB route. Less availability means the airline can charge more for people just wanting to fly that shorter route.

 

[dbriggsq]

I think the taxes from Dublin are significantly less so because the point of origin of the journey is outwith the UK, it affects the overall price.

That's right and that's why it's so annoying!

 

[dbriggsq]

Remember also that this route reduces seat availability on the MAN-DUB route. Less availability means the airline can charge more for people just wanting to fly that shorter route.

Wouldn't that make it even more ridiculous that you can fly Dublin to Orlando(via Manchester) for 250 less than just taking the second leg of that combo.

 

[Kath2003]

Wouldn't that make it even more ridiculous that you can fly Dublin to Orlando(via Manchester) for 250 less than just taking the second leg of that combo.

Not if allows them to sell the remaining tickets on that MAN-DUB flight for more because they are in shorter supply?

Less of something - pay more.
More of something - pay less.

Typically flight sell the same seats in a variety of price categories. They sell the cheap seats first, then tell those still looking to buy that all the cheap fares have gone so they have to buy he more expensive ones. They will categorise these seats as the cheapest category, even though no one has directly "paid" for them, so they get the passengers on that route alone paying more for their seats sooner. Long-haul flights are booked further in advance than short-haul, so this strategy works well. The same strategy will also work on the long haul, but I'd imagine profit margins are lower here.

 

[dbriggsq]

Not if allows them to sell the remaining tickets on that MAN-DUB flight for more because they are in shorter supply?

Less of something - pay more.
More of something - pay less.

Typically flight sell the same seats in a variety of price categories. They sell the cheap seats first, then tell those still looking to buy that all the cheap fares have gone so they have to buy he more expensive ones. They will categorise these seats as the cheapest category, even though no one has directly "paid" for them, so they get the passengers on that route alone paying more for their seats sooner. Long-haul flights are booked further in advance than short-haul, so this strategy works well. The same strategy will also work on the long haul, but I'd imagine profit margins are lower here.

But there will be less seats available on the dub to man leg than the man to orl leg.

 

[Kath2003]

But there will be less seats available on the dub to man leg than the man to orl leg.

But not many people will take the two-flight option, because it's less convenient?

The airline see these as two routes. Firstly, by selling indirect flights on the short haul leg, it allows them to charge people who ONLY want the short haul flight more, because they can tell them that there are few seats available. High demand for available seats = high prices.

They can also charge people who want to fly DIRECT on the long haul a premium of £250 to do so.

The airline wins both ways.

 

[dbriggsq]

But not many people will take the two-flight option, because it's less convenient?

What I'm trying to say is that it's ridiculous that taxes and charges make it so much more expensive to fly on a virgin flight from Manchester than to hop over from Dublin and get the same flight

 

[Kath2003]

What I'm trying to say is that it's ridiculous that taxes and charges make it so much more expensive to fly on a virgin flight from Manchester than to hop over from Dublin and get the same flight

Even if the taxes and surcharges were the same, it would cost more to fly direct than indirect because direct flights can charge customers a premium for their convenience.

 

[dbriggsq]

Even if the taxes and surcharges were the same, it would cost more to fly direct than indirect because direct flights can charge customers a premium for their convenience.

If I booked from Dublin and just picked up the second leg of the flight from Manchester (on the same plane) where I live it would be 250 less than if i booked from manchester. Looking at a flight from Leeds to Miami via heathrow for example is more expensive from Leeds than booking direct from heathrow - I wouldn't expect to pay 40% less from Leeds because its indirect. It is the taxes and charges that the UK has compared to the eu that makes the difference.

 

[Kath2003]

If I booked from Dublin and just picked up the second leg of the flight from Manchester (on the same plane) where I live it would be 250 less than if i booked from manchester. Looking at a flight from Leeds to Miami via heathrow for example is more expensive from Leeds than booking direct from heathrow - I wouldn't expect to pay 40% less from Leeds because its indirect. It is the taxes and charges that the UK has compared to the eu that makes the difference.

But you can't fly direct from Leeds to Miami, so you're not receiving a discount for going indirect (because you haven't chosen to do so!). If anything, you'd expect to pay MORE to fly from Leeds s it's MORE convenient than driving to & from Heathrow.

 

[dbriggsq]

But you can't fly direct from Leeds to Miami, so you're not receiving a discount for going indirect (because you haven't chosen to do so!). If anything, you'd expect to pay MORE to fly from Leeds s it's MORE convenient than driving to & from Heathrow.

Ok but looking at direct v indirect from Manchester or London the difference looks to be at most around £100 - usually less and sometimes less for direct. Certainly not the £250 in this case - I just think it shows how much we're being ripped off by taxes and surcharges in the UK

 

[Kath2003]

Ok but looking at direct v indirect from Manchester or London the difference looks to be at most around £100 - usually less and sometimes less for direct. Certainly not the £250 in this case - I just think it shows how much we're being ripped off by taxes and surcharges in the UK

I'm not denying that the surcharges are bonkers, just that it's not the only or perhaps even main factor at play. Indirect is inconvenient, so cheaper. Last year we paid £420 to fly indirect. The same dates from the same cities with Virgin were £1300. That's not taxes and fees - it's the price of convenience.

If you can get direct for only £100 more than indirect, grab those tickets QUICK. Direct is usually at least 150% the cost of indirect., even starting/ending at the same airports.