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Cheap Flights: Cross-border hubbing

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  • Because one person has to spend the best part of a day at either end flying to/from an airport/country they have no desire to visit. With that comes the increased stress of missing 4 flights rather than two, where the restrictions on hand baggage/hold luggage may differ (eg. connecting flight on a small propellor aircraft); possibly extra security searches with differing restrictions for the carriage of liquids between countries; having to spend hours couped up in a foreign airport terminal with no access to fresh air; the risk of bags being lost en-route/in transit thereby ruining your holiday/business trip ....

    The hassles are endless. For those who are travelling on a budget, have a lot of time to spare in addition to their booked time off work, who don't get stressed easily and don't mind flying then this method is ideal. For the rest of us, we just fly direct.
  • thechatking
    thechatking Posts: 71 Forumite
    I meant if you are actually travelling from Dublin or Amsterdam or Brussels or wherever. Why should someone pay half the price just because they live in Dublin? They're buying exactly the same thing (more, if anything), but for a fraction of the price. That's what's unfair about it.
    What?
  • Because most people living in Dublin will fly direct with Aer Lingus, those in Amsterdam direct with KLM and those in Brussels with SN Brussels. For them to fly with you on British Airways means they've subjected themselves to the extra hassels of connecting through London - which is no mean feat! British Airways therefore reduce the price of their ticket to make it worth their while, otherwise why would ANYONE pay the same price for a journey that takes almost twice as long?

    Why not book with Lufthansa, Condor, Air Transat or Air Canada via Frankfurt, or KLM via Amsterdam? At least then you can sleep comfortably in the knowledge that you've paid less for your seat than all of the German/Dutch passengers sat with you.

    Alternatively, British Airways and Air Canada fly direct from London Heathrow with Air Transat and My Travel operating from London Gatwick. Or you could try booking with any one of the many codeshare airlines such as bmi/SAS/Austrian etc.

    Or go the whole hog and don't fly direct to Vancouver at all - have a look to see whether Air Canada will give you a cheaper deal to route via Calgary. That way you could spend even longer in airport terminals, but you may save a few quid.

    Good luck.
  • thechatking
    thechatking Posts: 71 Forumite
    Yes, I understand all this, but it doesn't make the pricing fair. I guess we're looking at this from two different angles. I see the low price and think direct customers are penalised, whereas you see the high price and think non-direct customers are discounted. You say, I say etc... :)
    What?
  • Except the low price doesn't allow customers to fly direct which is why it's cheaper, so nobody is penalised. Time is money, which is why many people choose to fly direct rather than waste 2 days flying across Europe. You can fly on their carriers just like they can fly on ours.

    Non-direct flights are only cheaper because the airlines are trying to undercut eachother. Take competition out of the equation (ie. direct flights) and you pay the "going rate". If you can't monetarily afford that rate you can get it cheaper but will end up paying the difference in another form (ie. time/stress etc).

    I can quite understand why you'd want to pay the cheapest price without suffering any of the inconvenience but that's not the way it works. To do so would have us return to the days of Nationalised Industry with National Flag Carriers, an economic model that was never designed to benefit the consumer.

    The most common non-direct route for UK passengers is probably to the Far East, via Dubai. I'm told it's far cheaper but have never done it because whilst you've had a 7 hour flight to the Middle East, followed by 4 hours connecting in Dubai I'm already supping my Singapore Sling before you're even airborne on your second leg. And at least we're both travelling in the same direction. Transatlantic flights via Europe must be incredibly frustrating since you're spending a sizeable chunk of your journey time headed the wrong way!

    For me, flying direct is worth paying the extra - every time.
  • cougar_3
    cougar_3 Posts: 746 Forumite
    What would happen if I took a flight from Amsterdam to my destination through Heathrow then took a route back that needed me to change airports (Heathrow to Gatwick) and used the opportunity to do a runner?
  • Nothing, if you were flying BA because you're responsible for getting your bags around the M25
    richardw wrote: »
    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.

    Other airlines (eg. Virgin Atlantic) may be different, although obviously Virgin don't currently operate shorthaul flights.
  • thechatking
    thechatking Posts: 71 Forumite
    I've done a lot of playing around with the various options - starting airport, dates, using Heathrow and Gatwick to escape etc - and they all seem to work out fairly similar in price once you consider extra flights needed, hotels, parking etc. They're all still considerably cheaper than flying direct, though (if you don't book early enough to get the cheap prices - Air Canada was £480 return direct from Heathrow when I first checked prices, but they shot up to almost £900 overnight). I guess, like was said before, it's all about money vs convenience.

    That said, I quite enjoy travelling. I can get to Vancouver from Dublin via Toronto for £360 return, so, including the cost of a return to Dublin and hotel for the night, it's still under £500 per person. If you don't mind using three planes instead of one (with none in the wrong direction - less eco worries), it's a very nice option. :)
    What?
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