Trying to make sense of airline ticket prices

[uebermann]

So I am looking to go to Europe in October and was looking at ticket prices at flying over and I'm a bit baffled about this.

So I can fly to Frankfurt, Germany for around $1300 on Lufthansa. Or I can fly to Prague for around $1100.

Except the flight to Prague has a layover in Frankfurt, Germany. Same airport, same airline, same...flight? Its the same flight but by stopping at just Frankfurt, I get charged more money, and I get charged less money if I hop on another plane and continue to fly.

I'm not sure how that is supposed to work exactly. Seems backwards to me.

Anyways, I was wanting to check out Prague for a day or two anyways so it makes sense to fly there. But instead of taking the return flight back out of Prague, I can just save money and leave through Frankfurt by "missing" my first leg from Prague to Frankfurt, then hop on at Frankfurt and fly back to the US.

Really makes no sense to me but I'm a cheap ass when it comes to travel and $200 saved is $200 more I can spend on crap while there.

[lil bit]

Direct flights cost more. My son-in-law recently flew to Minnesota by way of Washington, which worked out a lot cheaper than the last time he went.

[Winchester]

I suspect there are some government incentives to help subsidize the flights to Prague.

[Stratego]

In economics term it's called price discrimination. A company will charge different customers different price for the same service depending on how much they anticipate the customer is willing to pay. Frankfurt is an economic hub so there are a lot of business people traveling there. Lufthansa anticipate that they can charge more from business people because most of them are flying on company dime, so Lufthansa charges more. Business people are less likely to shop around for cheaper flights if a cheaper flight is not immediately obvious. Leisure travelers will however, and most people traveling to Prague are leisure travelers.

[Professor]

The main thing stopping you from doing that "fly the first leg and miss the second" is that your checked baggage will continue without you on the second-leg. I used to run into this when flying to Washington regularly. I could get a flight to DC that cost more than a flight to NYC with a stop in DC. So, I'd try to fit everything into a carryon, and not have to check it.

But, if you have to have a checked bag, there is still another way. You can pack your bag and ship it to your hotel via a freight service. For around $30 (check out DHL - they have reasonable international rates), I used to be able to ship my <50lb suitcase from my house to my hotel (the hotel would even have the bag in my room waiting for me, at the Hotel Sofitel near Lafayette Square). Given that the difference in airline tickets was around $100, I was already $40 ahead. Now that most airlines charge $25 for the first bag, it meant that I was actually $90 ahead. And, I had the added bonus of not even having to put my bag in my car, lug it to the terminal, stand in line at the counter to check it, stand in line waiting for it at my destination, pack it into a taxi, then take it back out at the hotel (not to mention the $5-$10 tips for having the taxi driver and bellhop help with it).

All in all, it was a great system.

[uebermann]

[NAB]

The easiest way to avoid it is don't check you baggage.

Also, it's difficult to try and play the "hidden cities" game with your ticketing, unless you want to get the attention of the TSA or similar authorities in Europe.

Zee Germans like you to follow protocol. Have fun on that DFW Frankfurt Lufthansa flight. I've probably flown that particular route at least 50 times. The Frankfurt airport kind of sucks however, even if you're just making a connection.

Also, as has been already noted, direct flights are always more expensive because they are more desirable and through major hubs. It is known. The more legs you add (as long as it's the same carrier or their partners), often the rates drop. I've had 3-4 leg routes cost less than a direct or 2 leg flights.

Not that I want to fly 3-4 leg routes. Beating..........

[eric]

I'm jealous. I want to visit Prague

[Professor]

[uebermann]