One Way vs Round-Trip Fares

I've been doing a little research and have noticed that one way tickets are almost DOUBLE that of round trip.

What did you do?

I'm thinking I'll just purchase a round trip and not use the second leg.

i got my one way really cheap on cheaptickets.com

one way, nyc to london on virgin was 200 dollars.

You can get really fab one-way deals from www.skyauction.com.

I found Air India did one way trips for half the price of a round trip - that was Chicago - London, bought from their website.

i got my one way really cheap on cheaptickets.com

one way, nyc to london on virgin was 200 dollars.

ditto!!!  I loved that!!!

Hi. I use traveljungle.com - they have specific sites for the US and Britain. They basically consolidate everything cheap on the web. I found a one-way ticket from Los Angeles to Manchester for $399 + their $20 service charge. That's about $300 - $400 cheaper than a round trip on the same airline and about $700 - $800 cheaper than a round trip from Maui to Manchester.

Good luck!

Jen

I found a one-way ticket from SF to Heathrow in August for $420.  If you can't find anything cheaper, there's nothing wrong with cancelling the return trip.  It happens all the time!

round trip Houston to London right now on British Airways runs $480 after the fees and taxes. All depends on what day you leave and fly back. Certain days of the week end up almost double the price. One way with BA is also double the price, but they do have a nice option to add on a flexible return date onto a round trip fare for another $100 or so. If you are planning on coming back sometime that would really be a cheap way to fly back to the US, especially when tickets from London to the US are much higher than from US to London for some reason. Same flights, just double the price. You would think they would make things cheaper for the British than for the Americans, since they are British Airways...

If you can't find anything cheaper, there's nothing wrong with cancelling the return trip. It happens all the time!

Be very careful when doing this. When I was working for American and also United Airlines we were told not to sell tickets to people that we knew would intentionally throw their return.

Here's why round trip "super savers" are cheaper than one ways.
"Super Saver" round trip tickets are extremely restricted. The tickets can only be changed once they are purchased for a huge fee. Also keep in mind that changing an outbound date may invalidate the ticket all together. MOST super saver fares must be purchased at least two weeks prior to departure and must include a Saturday night stayover. They are always ALWAYS non refundable but they are reusable which means after you pay the penalty fee you can use the difference to put toward a new ticket. They are also non transferrable which means the name on the ticket must match the ID of the person travelling. You cannot give the ticket away.

One way tickets are much higher priced because they are for the most part un-restricted. They are also completely refundable without penalty.
Also bereavement and military/gov't fares are higher because they are unrestricted.

When you purchase a plane ticket via telephone its the law the agent to whom you are speaking must tell you the basic "rules" of the fare. When purchasing tickets online be very careful to read the small print before actually purchasing because you may be shooting yourself in the foot if you find the ticket is unchangeable and totally restricted.

Air India has decent service for a good price and their change fees are a LOT cheaper than the other airlines. I changed one of their tickets a few years ago and it was just $25.00. Most airlines are charging at least $100.00 to change a ticket now.

To save money try to fly out of one major airport into another major airport. I live just 20 minutes from Birmingham International but I usually travel 2 hours down to Heathrow to save a fortune. I fly Air India into Chicago and then take another airline to the city Im travelling to. I usually buy those tickets in US Dollars on American Websites. American and United both have hubs in Chicago so you can usually get a decent fare pretty cheap out of Chicago.

Happy Flying!

Thanks for all the insights, Pebbles, those are great things to know!

Cheers,
Jen

Be very careful when doing this. When I was working for American and also United Airlines we were told not to sell tickets to people that we knew would intentionally throw their return.

As I only buy tickets online, trying to fool an agent on the phone isn't an issue.  I can find tix cheaper online than I can by calling the airline direct.

I have bought return tickets and then just never showed up for the second leg (return) of it.  Didn't bother to cancel, just no showed.

I have bought return tickets and then just never showed up for the second leg (return) of it. Didn't bother to cancel, just no showed.

Yes, the airlines expect that and that's why they overbook so much. The airlines actually have a team of experts that analyze each flight number and they decide how much the flight will have to be overbooked for them not to lose money. I know United overbooks by up to 70% on some flights!

70%!?
Wow... that's a LOT!

I know United overbooks by up to 70% on some flights!

That doesn't surprise me.  I lived in United's hub, Denver, for 8 years.