Expedia flight sharing question

curtis122

I have booked a week away in Boston when booking through Expedia the default flight was with Delta airlines and there was no extra charge, there were other choices with other airlines which cost extra per person depending on which you chose.


There was a Virgin flight for the same times as the delta that ended up £30 more (it had virgin logo rather than delta against the times) I know Virgin is Delta but I assumed that as there was an extra cost it would be therefore on a Virgin flight but once booked the details came through as Virgin flight operated by Delta does this mean we are with Delta in which case how can they charge extra for it when its the same flight? Bit of a con in that case???

Alan_Bowen

Different airlines charge different prices for the same seats on code share flights, clearly a case to check who the real airline is before booking, but there is never going to be two flights at exactly the same time by airline partners, it would make no sense at all. In fact, you will probably have better service, admittedly by much older and wiser air crew on Delta than Virgin which lives on hype, not reality

littlereddevil

You need your winter woollies to sit on a Delta plane!

SW17

curtis122 wrote: »

I have booked a week away in Boston when booking through Expedia the default flight was with Delta airlines and there was no extra charge, there were other choices with other airlines which cost extra per person depending on which you chose.


There was a Virgin flight for the same times as the delta that ended up £30 more (it had virgin logo rather than delta against the times) I know Virgin is Delta but I assumed that as there was an extra cost it would be therefore on a Virgin flight but once booked the details came through as Virgin flight operated by Delta does this mean we are with Delta in which case how can they charge extra for it when its the same flight? Bit of a con in that case???

Assuming you used expedia.co.uk, if you searched for flight only, it is pretty obvious when it is a code share, as it states "Virgin xxxx, operated by Delta". If, however, you searched/booked a flight+hotel package, the display is less obvious to the uninitiated, it says "Virgin xxxx | Delta".

As Alan Bowen mentions, this happens all the time, airlines are able to charge different prices for the same flight on a codeshare. It can also work both ways, sometimes the operating carrier is cheaper, sometimes the codeshare partner. Obviously you have been caught out this time, but in future it could be a source of bargains (happens quite a lot between BA and AA on their codeshares, frequently AA is cheaper on BA-operated flights).

Doshwaster

SW17 wrote: »

As Alan Bowen mentions, this happens all the time, airlines are able to charge different prices for the same flight on a codeshare. It can also work both ways, sometimes the operating carrier is cheaper, sometimes the codeshare partner. Obviously you have been caught out this time, but in future it could be a source of bargains (happens quite a lot between BA and AA on their codeshares, frequently AA is cheaper on BA-operated flights).

Also happens with BA and Iberia (even though they have the same parent company). It is often cheaper to book a BA operated flight though the Iberia website.

The Iberia website is also better than BA's for allowing you to mix and match legs between One World operators.

EssexExile

curtis122 wrote: »

how can they charge extra for it when its the same flight?

The same way different suppliers charge different prices for the same washing machine.

Indout96

Doshwaster wrote: »

It is often cheaper to book a BA operated flight though the Iberia website.

Same with Iberia and American Airlines, we saved £80 each last year from Manchester to Vegas booking with Iberia but flying AA.

Blue264

curtis122 wrote: »

Bit of a con in that case???

Not at all. A lot of it is to do with through ticketing.

Just as an example...

BA and Iberia code share on all their flights from Heathrow to Madrid. If someone wants to fly from Glasgow to Madrid, it's fare simpler for them to book the BA flight from Glasgow and connect with the BA code share on an Iberia flight from Heathrow. That way they only have one ticket and don't have to collect their bags and check-in again at Heathrow.

duchy

I've saved £300 on a ticket to the US this month as it has BA flight numbers but is a code share and is actually all on American.

It's not a con just because people don't read the details carefully enough before booking