Are some airline routings unbookable?
This is a generic question, but first my specific situation.
I want to fly from Maputo, Mozambique (MPM) to Portland, Oregon (PDX). The cheapest flight I can find online for this itinerary is about $5,765. If I change my departure from Maputo to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) then the cheapest flight to Portland on the same days is $2,029.
Johannesburg is only about an hour away from Maputo and a round-trip flight that could connect to the second itinerary costs $470 meaning that I think I should be able to get a total price of around $2,029 + $470. However, no matter what I try on a variety of different sites I cannot even get this itinerary to appear. Because of the risk of missed connections and the necessity of re-checking bags I don't want to buy two separate tickets.
Is this simply a limitation of the online sites that can't produce more complex or unusual routes? I asked a travel agent to price this itinerary, but they gave me a completely different and more expensive schedule and told me they could not price the itinerary I wanted. Is it really possible that some routes cannot be booked even though the schedule would be valid?
Best Answer
It's not atypical for online booking engines to not be able to book across any combination of multiple carriers. And, obviously, if the carrier for Maputo To Joburg isn't bookable online, you will have a hardtime to find an online booking for it.
That said, here's an example round trip for 1792 USD:
http://www.hipmunk.com/flights/MPM-to-PDX#!dates=Sep20p2,Oct02p2
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