BA Fares: Single costs MUCH more than Return

WiseInvestor_2

la_contrabandier wrote:

its quite simply a rip-off, the low cost airlines dont do it

Don't do what exactly? Charge more for one-way than for a return? Because, I can assure you they most certainly do! The adverts you see for £7 London-Barcelona (or whatever) is the basic fare - taxes, fees and charges are added on top and you can bet (unless you're travelling out of season or in the middle of the night) that your return leg will cost you more (or vice versa).

The low cost airlines make money on your assumption that they're cheaper than the scheduled carriers because of their headline fares, but travellers would be foolish to ignore every possibility - even that a full-service airline may be cheaper over all.

la_contrabandier wrote:

another problem because of people buying seats on planes they dont use, is that BA overbook flights because they belive some will not turn up for every flight

I believe you've answered this one yourself - some airlines overbook flights knowing that some passengers won't turn up, usually because these airlines offer flexible ticket arrangements to people who can't guarantee when they'll fly (eg businessmen). Part of the money made by selling the same seat twice goes to pay those inconvenienced when flights are full (BA's most recent traffic statistics show their flights operate 75% full - so some accountant somewhere has done the maths to ensure Denied Boarding remains a rareity). Incidentally, BA was one of the very few airlines who offered such generous compensation even before the new EU legislation.

Low cost airlines operate a very different business model to ensure every seat is filled every time (even if it means giving it away like Ryanair). This results in huge variations paid by different people for the same flight, depending on when they booked. It's then up to the traveller to work out when's cheapest.



Amf is quite right - if you fail to travel on the outbound sector, your return sector will be cancelled. If you pay for a return and only fly outbound, you cannot be penalised further. However, don't then expect to get a refund for your 'missed' return journey as the airline will probably quote the single fare as more expensive than you paid.

la_contrabandier

what you say of course is true wiseinvestor, and not all return journeys with low costs are cheaper.

but with ba charging sometimes £400 for one way and £100 for a return...this you simply do not get with low cost airlines, that is a rip-off, trying to compare low cost airlines misleading cheap fares with extortinate single fares from BA is ridiculous

i do not make the assumption that low costs are cheaper, although this full service buisness is a rip-off also, go with one world partner iberia and the only difference is the colour of the seats inside

there is also no difference in variations on prices paid...ba or ryanair will charge different prices depending when you book, except that £20 flights dont happen with ba, and £400 single fare prices short haul with ryanair are unheard of.

on a moneysaving site trying to justify BA outdated buisness model is a bit too much.

i travel often and find punctuality is better with low costs, cheaper fares, and with airports springing up everywhere the choices of routes (short haul) is better.

BA need to address their limited routes, their single fare prices, thinking that an all day deli snack and free paper will be enough to expect customers to pay sometimes 500% more for the same trip with a low cost.

WiseInvestor_2

la_contrabandier wrote:

but with ba charging sometimes £400 for one way and £100 for a return...this you simply do not get with low cost airlines, that is a rip-off

Is this a long-standing gripe with full-service airlines or do you still check prices before every trip?

I've just spent twenty minutes checking prices on the BA website http://www.ba.com which was completely re-written last year to be more transparent. I checked 6 European destinations from London Heathrow for both one-way and return journeys. All of the results were similar and I've used the most expensive flights for comparison:

LHR-FRA One way (23 May) = £196.40 Including Taxes
LHR-FRA-LHR (23 May-30 May) = £149 + Taxes/Fees/Charges for the outbound leg

Of course, the most expensive flights are likely to be during early morning/late afternoon as there's a greater probability of high-yield business traffic.

A friend of mine needed to deliver a car to Malaga a few months ago but obviously required a flight home. easyJet were quoting £150 for AGP-LTN, but offered her £80 for LTN-AGP-LTN; so low costs don't try to rip people off?!

la_contrabandier wrote:

this full service buisness is a rip-off also, go with one world partner iberia and the only difference is the colour of the seats inside

Not quite true. Iberia offer a no-frills 'service' in economy; sandwiches/drinks are subject to the same rip off prices as other low costs

Full service has always been just that - trouble free travel. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, the airline will sort it out. My next door neighbour was stuck in Geneva for 2 days last month after heavy snow closed the airport. Her delay was due to every seat being taken on easyJet's A319s. Meanwhile, BA substituted their usual A321s for B767s and cleared their backlog in one afternoon! Of course, the new EU legislation has got the low costs very worried - brought in because passengers demanded the same protection but weren't prepared to pay for it. It's no wonder easyJet/Ryanair et al are contesting the ruling with the European courts.

la_contrabandier wrote:

there is also no difference in variations on prices paid...ba or ryanair will charge different prices depending when you book, except that £20 flights dont happen with ba

Again, a quick look at the BA website has revealed plenty of £13 tickets (excluding Taxes like the low costs) from Heathrow to Edinburgh

la_contrabandier wrote:

i travel often and find punctuality is better with low costs, cheaper fares, and with airports springing up everywhere the choices of routes (short haul) is better

You're not alone - traffic figures are rising rapidly for both easyJet and Ryanair. However, I think as a society we have to decide whether this really is a good thing. Aircraft are noisy, polluting machines - how much damage are we doing to the 'big picture' by switching our family holidays from Blackpool to Ibiza, not to mention our domestic economy?

khizman

la_contrabandier wrote:

its quite simply a rip-off, the low cost airlines dont do it

another problem because of people buying seats on planes they dont use, is that BA overbook flights because they belive some will not turn up for every flight

what happens if your flight is overbooked, first come first served?

use low cost airlines every time, prices with BA will drop and single fare rip-offs will be a thing of the past

what a joker!

la_contrabandier

if you went stansted to frankfurt on 23 may with ryanair...£28 and ba will charge you 700% more for..looks like you have proved my point for me, ok its not quite frankfurt..lol

and i agree if you get stuck in geneva..ba would look after you

try and go bilbao to heathrow on 23 may €634 one way with iberia ,£440 BA

with easyjet to stansted €50

that is a lot of money for a virtual identical service

and with low costs you dont get those strikes BA like to spring on you.

im not saying everything is rosy with low costs, and you do get a bit of fuss and extra politeness and the food is bearable, but it aint worth £400 for a single trip

get real

la_contrabandier

khizman if travellers did use the low costs instead of BA, prices would drop...do you think they would not sell seats and go bust

and they could bump you off the flight

do you disagree?

WiseInvestor_2

la_contrabandier wrote:

ok its not quite frankfurt

Precisely - Hahn is to Frankfurt like Stanstead is to London (ie. about 1 hour by road either side, effectively doubling the journey time). If you don't want/need either city centre then Ryanair may be exactly what you're looking for. Also a high percentage of BA's shorthaul passengers are longhaul connections, making airport-changes impractical. As it happens, most longhaul tickets offer the European segment 'free of charge'.

la_contrabandier wrote:

try and go bilbao to heathrow on 23 may €634 one way with iberia ,£440 BA

Quite impressive as BA no longer operate to Bilbao

la_contrabandier wrote:

and with low costs you dont get those strikes BA like to spring on you

Strikes are indeed more common at the larger, more established companies whilst the employees try desperately to hold on to what Terms and Conditions they have left. Compare that to a new low cost where the Ts & Cs are rock-bottom to start with - the employees can't complain/strike because they signed the contract. Remember that an employee on near-minimum wage can't spend much on whatever products and services offered by your employer creating a vicious circle.

So again I ask, as a society, are low costs really such a good thing?

pin

Lets see the benefits of flying with a scheduled airline (i.e. BA / BMI) short-haul within Europe?
- You can buy fully flexible tickets
- Reserved seating
- Online and self service check ins
- Print your own boarding pass (only certain airports)
- Meal and drinks service (normally free)
- Lounge access
- Flying in and out of hub airports
- If things do go pear shaped they will make efforts to get you on another flight

Pros of flying with no-frills airlines
- Cheap fares (sometimes - not always)

Yes no-frills airlines are cheaper, and the name gives it away, they are no-frills. You often have to fly from an airport a bit out of the way (however not always, for example Easyjet do fly from Gatwick). However sometimes the fares are just as expensive as BA / BMI (and vice versa, you can find cheap fares on BA / BMI).

The expensive BA / BMI fare (i.e. these £400 - 500 fares) are normally fully flexible, fully refundable, fully transferable: meaning you can change flight dates/times, cancel them or transfer them to someone else. This is why they are expensive. Also they give lounge access, priority check in and priority boarding.

It all comes down to what you want from your airline service. If you are not fussed about the extras BA / BMI offer, don't fly with them, buy the cheap no-frills fares and save a load of money. Some people do want the extras and are happy to pay for them.

la_contrabandier

i gave a bad example and you rightly twisted my point!, lgw-mad on the same day is £400...thats because they cannot find my class i requested...what a larf, they can find it if i book return the next day for £108...THAT IS A RIP-OFF

i agree and have sympathy for ryanair staff especially who get a raw deal from their employer, and continued growth of low costs with pollution/air saftey must be kept in check.

its ok saying that you get lounge access and priority boarding and some want to pay for that, i want to pay for a single fare in economy, and not get told the seats are not avaliable when they are!

you pay your money and take your choice...but come on BA are trying it on with single fare charges.

pin

Can't argue with the fact that BA are making a nice earner on the very high single fares (however I cavaet that with the fact that these tickets are probably fully everything).

But bottom line is BA should look into offering sensible price single fares, but I have said it before train companies also do the same thing (however their charges seem to be buy a single costs £X, buy a return costs £X+£1 rather than what BA do). Should point out BMI do offer sensible priced one ways, but they only fly to one destination from LGW.