Why is a single return ticket more expensive than separate tickets for the two sectors? [duplicate]
In this case BHX-FRA return (Lufthansa) is about £140; FRA-WDH return (Air Namibia) is about £500 - and BHX-FRA-WDH return, on exactly the same flights is about £900.
I understand that this is common, and that a single BHX-FRA-WDH ticket is actually worth more to the holder, because:
if your Lufthansa flight to FRA is late, a single ticket places the airlines under an obligation to look after you, but if you bought them separately, the staff at the Air Namibia counter may well be very sorry but they can't help you...
if you buy separate tickets, you will have to collect your luggage at FRA and check it back into the system
So I can also understand that there is added value in the single ticket.
Questions that have not been previously clearly answered (or posed)
Many questions around this topic have previously been asked and answered, but the first two below have only been answered in passing, while I have not seen any clear answers to the second two.
Who gets the extra £260?
Do Lufthansa and Air Namibia share it out equally?
How does an airline even know that the tickets being purchased are just one leg of a longer journey?
Is there some way of beating the system, by having the separate tickets reunited after purchase into a single ticket, so that for example luggage can be automatically routed to its final destination when it's checked in?
Best Answer
There is no "extra money". The BHX-FRA-WDH fare is priced as a single entity and represents just one of many different fares sold for any particular flight. No single fare class represents "The Fare" for that flight, they are all calculated using formulas that are designed to: fill the plane, cover costs of operations and make a profit.
So they aren't charging you more because they provide something extra, they are charging you more because that ticket falls into a different (more expensive) fare basis. With a few exceptions, a seat in economy gets the same services irregardless of what price you paid.
jpatokal covered the basic methods of revenue distribution, but for that flight the revenue is based on what Lufthansa's and Air Namibia's prices are for that particular fare class. The fact that other lower prices are offered on the same flight does not come into play when calculating revenue distribution for that particular ticket.
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Why are singles more expensive than returns?
Fares are driven by things like fuel costs and operating taxes at the origin and departure cities, but the single largest variable to prices is market-forces like competition and the like.. This is also why you *tend* to see higher fares to/from smaller markets that have fewer airline choices. 2.Are return flights cheaper than two singles?
Two singles can be more expensive than buying a return, but they can also be (slightly) cheaper, but the cost will certainly depend on the routing and airline(s).Why is it more expensive to fly one way than return?
To answer the question directly, one ways are usually flown by business travelers or people with the money to do that. So the airlines price one ways high as they're generally not flown by vacationers saving up for a (round trip) holiday and so they extract maximum revenue.What is the difference between a single and return ticket?
A one-way ticket allows you to travel only to your destination, without returning. A return ticket includes a journey to your destination and back.HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS - My Best Tips After Booking 500+ Flights
More answers regarding why is a single return ticket more expensive than separate tickets for the two sectors? [duplicate]
Answer 2
TL;DR: It's complicated.
Here's the baseline scenario: Flights from A via B to C, operated by airlines 1 and 2. If you buy a ticket from A to B, airline 1 gets all the money; if you buy a separate ticket from B to C, airline 2 gets all the money.
To merge the two as a connecting A-B-C flight, there are three basic options:
- Interline. Two airlines agree to book each other's flights, transfer bags and guarantee connections, but set their own fares and keep them for themselves. This is the case for Lufthansa and Air Namibia, and the reason you're seeing a different price is that they've agreed on a set of fares that only apply when interlining.
- Codeshare. Airline 1 buys seats from airline 2 (or vice versa) at an agreed price X, sells them at price Y (which it is free to set), and earns Y-X. (Or, alternatively, just gives airline 2 a commission.) In this case, you're effectively buying the whole ticket from airline 1, who just happen to subcontract the operation of the B-C flight to another company.
- Proration aka revenue sharing. Airlines 1 & 2 agree not just to interline, but to split revenue on a deeper level, setting combined fares together and splitting the booty. These formulas are obviously secret, vary from company to company and can be horrifically complex, and depend on a whole host of factors like flight length, fare class, who sold the ticket, amount of competition on that sector etc. The extreme form of this is metal neutrality, where two airlines agree to sell the others' tickets exactly as if they were their own; effectively a merger in disguise.
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