Strange Price Quote

ozzy jr

I've been pricing a 1st class flight from Dublin - JFK via Heathrow with British Airways. The reason for going through London is because I'll be meeting up with someone on the same flight going from Heathrow.


Anyway, the cost of the Dub - LHR - JFK return flight is €8,678.66.


The cost of the LHR - JFK return flight is €13,577.13.


Both routes are on the same flight in and out of JFK.


Is there any reason why it's almost €5,000 more expensive flying just from Heathrow to JFK as opposed to starting your journey in Dublin?


If anything I would have expected it to be slightly more expensive having to do an extra flight from Dublin.

debabyjesus

Not sure why there's such a difference but you should price dub lcy jfk for the craic.

L1011

Market segregation - if you're promoting sales to a specific country you can make flights far cheaper as part of it. I flew DUB-AMS-YUL and return for about a third of the price of AMS-YUL return earlier this year. In both of these cases, BA and KLM are heavily advertising in Ireland.

smurfjed

For legacy tickets, it involves black magic and voodoo, usually at the same time. Fares are based on mileage, so if you were to actually add another sector into Dublin, then LHR-JFK, you would probably find that its cheaper again.

bkehoe

I presume APD in the UK plays a part in this too?

L1011

bkehoe wrote: »

I presume APD in the UK plays a part in this too?

Yes, but not much.

DUB-LHR-JFK is 0, as its transit; LHR-JFK is £134 in first or business class (half in economy)

Peppa Pig

Having seen this today I messed around a bit looking at fares to San Francisco.

With BA LHR-SFO was about £9700 first class. DUB-LHR-SFO was about €6300 for first class. :eek: These flights were one way.
For a return the prices were £8700 and €5800.

As Dougal would say - It's mad Ted. I've checked it twice, both outbound flights are the same date and time. I'd love to know what I am doing wrong or is the BA website knackered. Virgin is pretty much the same.


Could somebody in London book the flight originating in Dublin, conveniently miss it, make their own way to Heathrow and join the flight?

LXFlyer

Peppa Pig wrote: »

Having seen this today I messed around a bit looking at fares to San Francisco.

With BA LHR-SFO was about £9700 first class. DUB-LHR-SFO was about €6300 for first class. :eek: These flights were one way.
For a return the prices were £8700 and €5800.

As Dougal would say - It's mad Ted. I've checked it twice, both outbound flights are the same date and time. I'd love to know what I am doing wrong or is the BA website knackered. Virgin is pretty much the same.


Could somebody in London book the flight originating in Dublin, conveniently miss it, make their own way to Heathrow and join the flight?

Nothing wrong at all - BA are marketing their services heavily in Ireland, and pricing their services accordingly to compete with the direct flights from Dublin to the USA.

Very often flights booked as a return can be cheaper than a one way - there's nothing new about that either.

Alas I suspect that the airlines would be wise to someone trying the trick of missing the flight in Dublin and magically turning up at Heathrow. They wouldn't be allowed on.

L1011

Peppa Pig wrote: »

With BA LHR-SFO was about £9700 first class. DUB-LHR-SFO was about €6300 for first class. :eek: These flights were one way.
For a return the prices were £8700 and €5800.

On long haul, one-ways are often priced at the IATA rack prices, with returns being priced "promotionally" at the airlines normal price. I've seen one ways over €2k with €400 returns in economy, same outbound flight.

smurfjed

Could somebody in London book the flight originating in Dublin, conveniently miss it, make their own way to Heathrow and join the flight?

That used to happen when people used paper tickets, you could buy a ticket with 6-8 sectors starting in Timbuktu, the mileage rules would allow the London - SFO to be much cheaper, the rest of the coupons would be thrown away and those sectors cancelled. As tickets went to a place called the IATA clearance house, it took a while to analyse and observe frauds.
E-tickets and advanced reservation systems have put a stop to this, if you didn't board the first sector, the subsequent sectors will be cancelled.

Preset No.3

Does it have to be BA? So many options on the LHR-JFK route. Ive never flown BA first, but is there a massive difference between it and Club World?