Especially because nothing stops people from just buying a two way ticket, even if they only have to use it to get to one place and not go back, thus wasting a seat on the return plane (unprofitable for the airline)
In my experience, usually a one-way ticket can be cancelled (returned, got money back, with a bit "penalty"), the two way tickets can not. Maybe that's why the one-way is more expensive. p.s.: not always the case. Air France, for example, its one-way ticket was about half of the two-way ticket. At least the one that I bought to fly to Chile.
Encourages the buying of 2 tickets with the same airline - attempting to double profits is never bad for business.
Depends on what's cheaper at the time, inbound or outbound. Your case probably has to do with timing, summer holidays etc.
But this isn't the case. It doesn't give double profit. If you notice, especially for short distance flights, you will find in many cases the two-way ticket is 200 Euro (for example), so you would expect a one-way ticket will cost between 100-200 Euro, right? Turns out, the one way ticket is more than 200 Euro! So, it is cheaper to buy the two-way ticket, even if you won't use the return ticket. This is what the OP was wondering (I believe). A bit illustration (just rough): Köln-Frankfurt-Köln = 250 Euro Köln-Frankfurt = 300 Euro I fly long distance (accross continent) at least once a year, and short distance (within continent or country) a few times a year. In my experience also, the one-way ticket is not only cancellable, but also flexible in schedule (you are allowed to shift the date of flight later on), the two-way tickets are neither cancellable nor flexible. Or maybe it depends on the travel agent, too... That could be true (in the case with Air France).
2 way ticket from amsterdam to mexico city from 24 to 31: $913 1 way ticket from amsterdam to mexico city on 24: $1524 thats what being able to cancel and change the date is worth!?
It's not just about profits. There is no point having a flight that is filled full of empty seats, you have to look at the overall costs of piloting, manning, ground crew and then all the airtraffic control concerns. It's basic logistics. Selling tickets in pairs at least attempts to pay for what seats are on the plane, it allows logistics to identify how many flights are required and identifies if passengers might be moved to another flight or not.
You often see the same sort of weirdness happen with multi-leg flights. Often you can get a ticket with a stopover in City X on the way to somewhere else for much less than a ticket that simply has City X as the destination. So far as I can tell, it's simply a massive exercise in price discrimination.
Well, yes :shrug: In case you had to cancel the trip, if you bought the 2 way ticket, you'd lose $913 (unless you were able to sell it to somebody else), but if you bought the 1 way ticket, you'd lose none at all or up to $152 (up to 10% in my experience). Some time you had to cancel the flight not because you intended to, but because you missed the flight! This is similar with train ticket. Where do you live? Here in Germany, fixed ticket is much more cheaper than flexible ticket. For example, to go from Köln to Frankfurt, the fixed ticket costs about 29 Euro, but if you missed the train, you lose all your 29 Euro. The flexible ticket costs about 60 Euro (so, 2 times more expensive), but you are allowed to use the ticket within a 1 month time frame (for 1 time only, of course). So in case you missed the train that you plan to take, you could take the next train or even the next days train. As long as it isn't stamped yet (by the ticket controller in the train) and still within the 30 days time frame, it's still valid.
Now, ask yourself, why do people buy 2-3 times more expensive ticket for the same flight distance and flight time within the same aeroplane? Coz they want to enjoy free champagne and comfortable sleeping time in the business or first class cabin Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
