Flight Cost discrepency

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Streydog

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Location
DFW, TX
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I was checking flight cost to CZM from DFW, it has been pretty high for quite a while. I was just curious so checked the same dates from Chicago. Cheapest flight I could find to CZM from DFW is $735 but if you fly from ORD connecting on the same DFW flights it is $281.

12/8 AA # 934 DFW -CZM then RTN 12/15 AA # 934 CZM- DFW $735

Compared to ORD to CZM with layovers in DFW and getting on the same flights
12/8 AA 2429 ORD - DFW, AA # 934 DFW -CZM, then RTN 12/15 AA 934 to DFW then # 2520 to ORD $281.
 
Not unusual. Just the lousy fare games that they play. Cost of flight has little relation to actual miles flown.
 
I don't know if it's true or not but years ago was told that most fuel was used for take-off and landing and the fuel used for distance at altitude wasn't much in relationship to that. Then add on taxes and fees, including airport fees and that's the base before profit. Kinda explained why carriers kept going into bankruptcy. Nowadays of course, we can add any number of fees, seat selection, baggage check, a meal, etc. Nowadays, it's rare for a carrier to go into bankruptcy. They're making hay while the sun shines off of the extra fees.

If what I was told years ago has any truth to it, why would an itinerary that includes 2 take offs and landings vs only one, cost less? Hmmm
 
That IS quite a difference! Which is why humans won't be able to compete with AI/algorithms going forward, human logic won't survive.
 
In the past I have known folks who drove to Milwaukee to get a better fare on a flight connecting through O'Hare than booking that same flight starting in O'Hare.
 
Cheapest flight I could find to CZM from DFW is $735 but if you fly from ORD connecting on the same DFW flights it is $281.
So, go thru Cancun for as little as $173 RT on Spirit, or $185 on American - $205 for your designated dates. The times suck, and you don't want to be bothered with the bag drag each way, so to have your personal preferences accommodated, you pay the premium.

In the past I have known folks who drove to Milwaukee to get a better fare on a flight connecting through O'Hare than booking that same flight starting in O'Hare.
I remember a time long ago that Dallas people would drive to Waco for much cheaper trips plus free parking.

If what I was told years ago has any truth to it, why would an itinerary that includes 2 take offs and landings vs only one, cost less?
Cuz you'll pay more to fly non-stop. The airline needs to fill seats on less popular segments at times.
 
If what I was told years ago has any truth to it, why would an itinerary that includes 2 take offs and landings vs only one, cost less? Hmmm

Because total expenses are not divided evenly among total passengers and their algorithms are designed to yield maximum total revenue. Maybe their metrics show that they can only fill half the plane in Dallas and dropping fares there will not result in enough additional passengers to offset? Meanwhile, Chicago is a more competitive market and raising fares there would lost too many passengers and not fill the plane.
 
That is an unbelievable fare from ORD. That was a common amount around 2009/10. Usually we are 650-800 on AA and United is usually the same. The more amazing thing is Cancun has gotten expensive so even the bag drag isn't a cheaper option anymore.
 
Yup....I have found it is often cheaper to fly from OKC to Dallas, then get on the same flight on to Cancun. Nobody ever said air fares had to make sense.

Just got back from DEMA and not a single Noche Bueno was to be found!! These surface intervals suck!!

Jay
 
Years ago I was looking at flights from Austin to Cozumel, and I was in here whining about how much the fare was on Continental. Someone in Toronto (YYZ) posted that the fare on the same airline on the same days from there to CZM and back was a lot cheaper than what I was seeing, even though both itineraries had the same HOU > CZM and CZM > HOU legs. Just for grins I priced AUS > YYZ > HOU > CZM round trip. The fare was within a few dollars of the AUS > HOU > CZM round trip fare I was looking at. Had I been retired and seeking travel miles (and willing to spend a lot of time on planes and in airports) I might have booked it.

Among AUS > HOU > CZM, YYZ > HOU > CZM, AUS > YYZ > HOU > CZM, and simply HOU > CZM, the most expensive RT ticket was HOU > CZM, even though the HOU < > CZM legs (same plane, same seats, same days) were common to all. Go figure.

Airline fares are all about supply and demand of flights/seats availability between markets and have nothing to do with miles traveled.
 

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