Airline Math
Someone please help me. I am normally pretty sensible and usually approach things logically and will even dare to say that most times I can figure out the why behind something. This one has me stumped completely though and I am just wondering if there is some uber-geek out there (yeah, there are few others of you out there aside from myself) that can explain this to me.
Situation: I am flying from city A to city B. However, there is no direct flight from city A to city B, so I have to change planes close to city B, in city C. I can book that flight from A to B through C round trip for a nice fee of just over $200 including all taxes, fees, etc.
Then I start thinking to myself (mistake I am sure), that C is roughly one hour of drive time from B, my actual destination. I have one hour plus layover in C and an additional forty minute airtime, not to mention C is a big airport and who knows if my baggage will end up with me or not?
So, I decide to see what it cost to fly from A to C, thinking I am on the same plane I will be on for both the first and last leg of A-C-B and return, it should be cheaper or in worse case, the same price.
This is before figuring that special airline math logic into the this mathematical equation. For occupying a seat only two times, and flying a total of 80 minutes less, not to mention the savings incurred in mere lift required when my tiny (not) body is in the plane and the fuel that consequently is thus used I would get to pay not twice as much, but nearly three times as much coming in at just under $600, with taxes, fees, etc.
Now I have heard it said this has to do with routes and busy times and such as that, but it just doesn’t add up. I am using the same plane and the same partial route. Now maybe it is because city B doesn’t generate enough traffic, so they offer a huge discount to get you to go there. However, I don’t see that really being the case with the airlines. After all, you are pretty much either going to city B or not – not like it is a huge hot spot for travel vacations and such as a general rule.
I have also heard it said this is an isolated incident and would not occur normally. However, I fly occasionally enough and certainly have in the past to say poppy-cock on this one. I can almost always expect to find a direct flight to the same general bi/tri-city area higher than the one going to first that city and then to the next one.
I wonder if this was the problem with train service and hence why outside of commuters that is largely passed by the way side? The further you go the less we will charge you? Heck maybe news papers should institute the more advertising you run, the less we will bill you for in total sum of dollars. Maybe my next jousting show I will do more jousting passes for less money. Oh – there is the logic. The guys doing the piloting just like to fly that extra bit and hence willing to do it pro-bono, thus reducing my ticket price. See, I told you I usually figure things of deep logical sense out.
