Cost difference LHR to various USA airports

[Paul Lupp]

Random question:
Why is it so much more expensive to fly from LHR to some airports in the USA?
For example, looking around the BA site a few days ago, fares to Atlanta are about 3 times the price of fares LHR to JFK,
similarly Nashville seems disproportionately expensive to fly to.

Is it all down to landing fees and taxes, or does high demand really affect the price in a beneficial way significantly due to the amount of competition for seats?

[MathFox]

Prices for two people seated next to each other can vary by a factor 3 or more. It has to do with the pricing structure of the airline. There generally are three buckets of tickets: refundable, changeable (non-refundable) and non-chargeable. Within each bucket there can be different prices too. (There can also be requirements for advance purchase and duration of stay...)
When airlines open the sales they decide how many tickets in each bucket (and for which price) they offer. The cheapest usually sell out first. They keep an eye on how fast the tickets sell and if the sales are good, they offer more of the expensive tickets, are the sales lacklustre, cheaper tickets are offered.

So, Atlanta seems popular, compared to JFK.

The practice is called Yield Management

[Level bust]

I am booked to fly Heathrow to Atlanta next month with Virgin. The price they quoted was high but not overly expensive, when I said I want connecting flights with Delta to Austin and back to Atlanta from Dallas, the price went down quite considerably.

The person I was talking to said it was because my destination is Austin not Atlanta, which made it cheaper. So I'm guessing it's down to demand.

[MathFox]

Level bust, it could very well be that the route LHR-ATL is extremely popular. However there is a weird phenomenon in aviation that flights with a connection are cheaper than direct flights. For example LHR-AMS-ATL is likely cheaper than LHR-ATL directly. (And for me: AMS-ATL is more expensive than AMS-LHR-ATL.)

Airline ticket pricing is weird!

[Hotel Tango]

Exactly as MathFox says. From where I live in NL I fly regularly long haul with KLM. It is actually cheaper for me to fly from Düsseldorf (which is a shorter drive for me anyway), via Amsterdam, to many of KLM's long haul destinations than if I fly direct from AMS. The only exception is if they have a special promotional fare from AMS.

[Level bust]

The person I spoke to at Virgin said she could never work out the different permutations of the price of tickets!

[PAXboy]

... she could never work out the different permutations of the price of tickets!

That is one of the major objectives of Yield Managment! The computer considers for EACH rotation throughout the year:

• Historical loads by cabin and price 'bucket'
• Historical no shows
• Special activity at either end: festival, trade conference, royal wedding, the Oscars
• Competitors on the route
• Special promotions of their own and competitors
• Plus whatever else the carrier can think of!

So the intention is to ensure that you cannot work out the system. In truth there is no single 'system' as the computer can review each and every rotation as many times a day as it is asked. The price might only change .50p but if you change enough seats by +0.50p then you are adding straight to the bottom line.

[Peter47]

A few years ago the cheapest non-stop fare I could find LON - NYC was £700. I got a fare with KLM for £420 (40% less) and could have an earlier flight for £400. Other indirect routes were available. I didn't check but it wouldn't surpise me if BA were offering AMS - LHR - JFK for around £420. Flying non stop can come at a premium. You will always get short terms spikes owing to changes in demand, that's aviation economics. If LHR - ATL is short of seats you would expect more capacity or even more airlines to move in. However DL / Skyteam are well entrenched. You could try Lufty via FRA or MUC. Don't believe everything you read about perfect competition it isn't nearly as common as some economists would have you believe.

[kenparry]

We are going LHR-MEM and return from New Orleans in a few months. Outbound via Chicago and return via DFW we are going at half the fare of the direct BA flights. Barmy.

[PAXboy]

I agree that direct/non-stop is often more expensive but, I have also found indirects with a/c changes - to be more expensive!!! It's all down to so many factors and the dates you want/need to travel.

[Hartington]

Try pricing Manchester/London/Atlanta return on BA then London/Atlanta return for the same dates. I suspect you'll find the flight from Manchester comes out cheaper. and that's because BA can charge a premium because London/Atlanta is nonstop whereas from Manchester they are competing with other airlines for indirect traffic.

Just accept airfares (like train fares) are a science we are not meant to understand!

[Blackfriar]

cheaper train tickets

If you want strange pricing to work to your advantage on the railways, try split ticketing via www.raileasy.trainsplit.com.
You get a fist full of tickets but don't have to change and the price can be much lower.

[RevMan2]

@PAXboy Don’t forget O&D management and network contributions....

[PAXboy]

Sure RevMan2 there is no comprehensive way to unravel this fro the outside. If the times and prices suit you - then book.

[rationalfunctions]

There are some good tools out there for predicting how ticket prices will change based on historical analytics. They are meant to take into account pricing by time of year and how far in advance the tickets are purchased, but I have no clue how their algorithms are configured.

Google flights sometimes has a fairly basic indicator of how good a deal you are getting, whilst the interface at https://www.hopper.com/ provides more detailed analytics

[Asturias56]

Flights for the UK to N America or Australia are always very expensive as there is a lot of both business and tourist demand

Flight from France, Netherlands, Germany etc are almost always A LOT cheaper as the demand isn't there - it can certainly be worth going to Paris (Eurostar) or flying to get a decent price - especially if you are going Business.

Transit is rarely a hassle and if you're going from a regional UK you can be in AMS and in the lounge in the time it takes to get to T5 International

[Greek God]

I have travelled over the last 5 years with BA longhaul to Asia, SA, Far East and USA. Generally I book Ams - Lhr - xxx and the fare is about 60%+ cheaper (all with BA.) Just then buy a LC or KLM to Ams for £80 or so ! Go figure?
eg Lhr - Dxb - Lhr premium economy for 2 £1700
Ams-Lhr(same flight) -Dxb-Lhr-Ams PE for 2 €978 or £720 odd!
Lhr- Jhb rtn Club for 2 6400
Ams Lhr Jhb Lhr Ams €3200 or 2800 or so!
Often find PE cheaper than econ and on occasion First cheaper than Club???

[dastocks]

There is also the effect of taxes which are very high for flights from the UK to destinations outside Europe. Self-connecting at Dublin or Shannon for US destinations can save a lot of money.

[Asturias56]

Dublin is a dream (hassle -wise) going to the USA but you don't gain much coming back that way