Cannot book individual leg of multi-leg flight on flight search engine
I am trying to book a flight from A => C on flightnetwork.com. I find a flight at a good price but with a 20 hour layover in B. B is a nice city so I thought since my schedule is flexible I would book the first leg of the flight separately, stay a few days then travel to C. However on the search engine, flight A => B only appears when searching for the A => C with the return ticket. If I search for A => B it does not appear on the result list at all.
Can anyone explain how this works?
Thanks
Best Answer
The scenario you describe is not uncommon and there are a couple of legal/political and marketing-related reasons why it would be the case.
Cabotage/Freedoms of the Air
The airline may lack the rights to carry passengers from A-B, though they can carry them A-B-C. For example, if the segment is domestic and the airline is foreign, the airline must have rights of cabotage. Most countries prohibit foreign carriers (whether in the air, on land, or at sea) from competing with domestic carriers, the only exceptions lying within certain economic blocs such as the EU.
For example, Qantas QF108 currently flies between New York-JFK and Sydney via Los Angeles. Qantas is an Australian airline. Australia and the United States do not have a treaty that allows cabotage, so Qantas is forbidden under U.S. law from carrying passengers between points within the United States. Thus, you can book a flight on QF108 JFK-LAX-SYD, or LAX-SYD, but not JFK-LAX.
Price Discrimination
As with so much in airline pricing, there are mysterious algorithms based on historical travel patterns and revenue projections behind every fare quote. It is entirely possible, for example, that US Airways might be willing to willing to sell you DCA-PHL-MAD ticket but not DCA-PHL, perhaps trying to keep those seats open for passengers with higher revenue onward connections. Certainly, flights such DCA-PHL are priced considerably higher than one might expect based on distance or demand, in part for this reason.
There are a few more remote possibilities, like technical stops being represented as intermediate destinations, or a segment of a direct flight being unavailable for separate purchase, but I believe the above two should over most cases.
Pictures about "Cannot book individual leg of multi-leg flight on flight search engine"
How do I book a complex flight?
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Occasionally, you'll find a cheaper fare if you add on an extra leg to your trip instead of just looking at non-stop flights. It sounds strange that a longer flight would be cheaper, so let me give an example to explain.How do you book round trip and one way at the same time?
Book the flights required for one person, then book the second set of flights for the other person, making sure they are on the same flights (as required) for the second person. If that seems too difficult, phone the airline and tell them what you require and book with them over the phone.How do I book a flight with different arrival and departure cities?
To book an open-jaw itinerary, go to an airline's or online travel agency's website and click on the link reading \u201cMulti-city,\u201d \u201cAdvanced Search,\u201d or \u201cMore Search Options\u201d near the reservations form on the homepage. You will then see a page that will allow you to enter more than one city pair and date range.The Airfare Search Problem, part 1 of 2
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