Cheap Flights: Cross-border hubbing

thechatking

My wife and I are heading to Vancouver this summer and are looking at our non-budget-airline options. From Heathrow to Vancouver, Air Canada and British Airways flights are £800-900 return. However, from Dublin or Amsterdam, via the same flights from Heathrow, the price drops as low as £423 return. Looking around the net, I see one writer has dubbed this as 'cross-border hubbing'.

Anyway, this is great. Buy the fare half-price from Dublin and then just get on and off the plane at Heathrow - or so I thought. I phoned BA and, despite the first man saying it wouldn't be a problem, the second lady said if we don't turn up for the flight in Dublin, the rest of our journey will be cancelled.

I queried this, but she said the ticket wouldn't be flexible, so I wouldn't be able to miss any leg. I asked her that if I lived in Dublin and booked this flight from Dublin, but had to go to London for some reason a few days before my flight, would they make me travel back to Dublin, to travel back to Heathrow to go to Vancouver - she said yes they would.

I also asked why the fare was half-price from Dublin and only only answer was that it was a 'through-fare'. Sounds like robbery on flights from Heathrow to me.

I'm not convinced this isn't workable. Does anyone have any experience or tips for this scenario? Is it possible to work this so I don't have to use the Dublin to Heathrow leg of this journey?

Incidentally, the same applies to KLM from Amsterdam. It's almost £400 cheaper to fly Norwich to Amsterdam to Vancouver than it is to simply fly Amsterdam to Vancouver. We would take this option, but the dates aren't great.

Takecareofthepennies

In short, forget it. The airline's computer system will cancel your bookings for all subsequent flights if you don't show up for one leg. I genuinely missed a flight from LCY to Paris with Air France last year; since my ticket was non-flexible, not only did I have to pay again for the outward leg but also had to make a new booking for the return journey.

There is nothing to stop you, of course, from not taking the onward trip from Heathrow on the way back. You would just have to make sure they don't check your baggage through to Dublin or Amsterdam or wherever.

Connecting tickets are often cheaper than direct flights. The airlines on the one hand think passengers will be prepared to pay some premium for the convenience of not having to change planes, on the other hand try to snatch business from their competitors by feeding passengers from aboard into their long-haul flights by means of cheaper ticket prices. You'll probably find that the same KLM flight booked direct from Amsterdam (i.e. without a "feeder flight") is more expensive, too.

Surely KLM offer a similar price from LHR / LGW / LCY? Some flights from Norwich to Amsterdam can be quite expensive, so this might be worth checking out for the dates you prefer.

Voyager2002

Surely you can find a cheap way to get to Amsterdam in order to catch your flight to Heathrow (and on to Canada)! And with all that money you are saving, you could have a very pleasant day out there, effectively as a gift from British Airways.

thechatking

It's mighty frustrating seeing those cheap prices on good dates! Travelling from Norwich would be excellent if the dates were good, as we live in Norfolk. I've just checked the same dates on KLM from London and they're marginally cheaper than Norwich, but the USA Sale that makes for cheap prices only starts on 23rd August and we'd like to travel before then.

I'm still tempted by flying from either Dublin or Amsterdam. We can get to either for £60-80 return from Norwich on FlyBe, but there will be issues over baggage allowance, flight times and, of course, the fact that it's rather silly and non-eco-friendly to have a return flight to Dublin for no reason. I guess a stopover is an option, as are FlyGlobeSpan et al.

I'm determined to find a way to get on that plane at Heathrow, thus probably completely wasting my time!

WiseInvestor_2

TCOTP is correct - BA will attempt to lure Irish/Dutch/French/German..... passengers away from their home airlines by offering cheaper fares to route via London. EVERY airline does this, which is why it is almost always cheaper to fly with KLM via Schipol, Air France via Paris, Lufthansa via Frankfurt - you get the picture.

Since the cheaper fare is not intended for home passengers (eg. British passengers with BA) you will NOT be permitted to pay the cheaper fare but board in London. If you want access to the cheaper fare you MUST start your journey at the beginning, however environmentally unfriendly that happens to be. Many people do this, although many others can't accept the hassle/risks/damage to the environment. Beware that your trip TO the start point (eg. Stansted-Dublin) is a separate booking so if there's a problem en-route like delays/cancellations with Ryanair you WILL lose your flight to Canada with BA, particularly with the cheapest fares being non-changeable/non-refundable!

As has been pointed out, your hold baggage on the return leg WILL be through-checked to your ticketed destination, so getting off the flight in London wont work either.

So whilst you CAN get to where you're going for less, many people decide that it's better to pay the extra to fly direct - which is why airlines charge more in the first place!

Takecareofthepennies

WiseInvestor wrote: »

As has been pointed out, your hold baggage on the return leg WILL be through-checked to your ticketed destination, so getting off the flight in London wont work either.

I believe you can ask for your baggage NOT to be checked through when you check in for your return flight.

richardw

BTW BA fly from LGW-BRU and LGW-AMS, so book the return trip Canada-LHR-LGW-BRU or AMS, you have to reclaim your bag at LHR before the LGW-BRU or AMS leg.

Voyager2002

thechatking wrote: »

It's mighty frustrating seeing those cheap prices on good dates! Travelling from Norwich would be excellent if the dates were good, as we live in Norfolk. I've just checked the same dates on KLM from London and they're marginally cheaper than Norwich, but the USA Sale that makes for cheap prices only starts on 23rd August and we'd like to travel before then.

I'm still tempted by flying from either Dublin or Amsterdam. We can get to either for £60-80 return from Norwich on FlyBe, but there will be issues over baggage allowance, flight times and, of course, the fact that it's rather silly and non-eco-friendly to have a return flight to Dublin for no reason. I guess a stopover is an option, as are FlyGlobeSpan et al.

If you want convenience, you have to pay for it.

Anyway, there is a pleasant and cheap way to get to Amsterdam from Norwich. One railway offer a ticket called a Dutch Flyer: book at least two weeks in advance, and it costs 25 pounds per person each way. It includes a train ticket to Harwich; a ferry-ride across the North sea; and the train to any station in Holland. For a supplement you can travel overnight and sleep in a cabin on the boat.

thechatking

Voyager2002 wrote: »

If you want convenience, you have to pay for it.

You are right, of course, but it's very unfair to price things in this way. For now, we have many options, so we'll just have to choose which one suits us best. Thanks for your input, everyone.

WiseInvestor_2

I wouldn't say it's unfair, since the whole idea is to increase the marketing potential to customers who wouldn't otherwise buy the product. In return for your not inconsiderable inconvenience (eg. London-Amsterdam-Vancouver-Amsterdam-London with potentially lengthy stopovers along the way - because the airline doesn't want you to miss your connection and so foot your expensive hotel/allowance bills) the foreign airline offers a discounted fare, since it's more economical to earn some revenue from you than none at all.

This pricing is nothing new, but it's only through widespread media such as the internet that you're now aware of other markets. All airlines do this to poach eachothers' customers so UK travellers are no more disadvantaged than our European counterparts. It all depends on how much effort/risk you're willing to endure to save money.

Personally, I always fly direct.

thechatking

Yeah, I understand it's the same for everyone in Europe (although, probably more accessible in Europe as they have land borders with their neighbours), but it just seems dishonest to me. A seat is a seat, a ticket is a ticket. Why should one person pay £900 and another £450?