[statesideal]

i was checking online for a ticket to Scotland from Tampa, Fl for next June. the prices were pretty high, from 800 to 1200 dollars - PLUS TAX - wich makes the price of the ticket 1200 to 1700 bucks!!
so i went on to a UK site to see what the same flight would cost if i was booking it there.
i found the identical flight - Tampa-Newark-Edinburgh, only in reverse - Edinburgh-Newark-Tampa.
well from Edinburgh it would cost me 700 dollars. and from the USA ................ 1788!!!!!
i kid you not, over 1000 dollars more for the same flight, on the same day!!!
i find this amazing. how can they have the audacity to charge more, a thousand dollars more, from American passenger than a UK passenger?

so i called the 800 number and got this explanation " well, sir. thats just the way the prices are set" and their was no-one there who could offer any explanation for this.

so this is just another example of how these wonderful American companies are ripping us off!!
i hope these executives have a lovely summer vacation, cause i wont!!

[jimworcs]

It can also often happen the other way round too. For example, if people from Europe want to fly to the US, and travel via London, the cost of their ticket is often considerably cheaper than those who fly from London directly, particularly on BA. Club class tickets have massive differences in price, and the airlines will cancel your ticket if you try to by pass the system by "pretending" to be located elsewhere. However, if you know someone in Scotland who can book your flight with their credit card, and an address based in Scotland, you can still book the flight in your name. I have done this myself and it works fine. This was recently exposed on the BBC, whereby people who booked the Eurostar train from London to Paris from the American website paid 30% less for their tickets than people who booked the same journey from the UK site. Eurostar's explanation was that it was an example of the "free market". They have now amended their policy and it is possible to book your tickets from whichever site you choose without penalty, so public pressure can work.

[Leatherboy2006]

Also make sure it was not quoting you in LBs or scottish currancy which sometimes they do when your checking from another country.

[abutterfinger25]

Leatherboy has a solid point here. Some folks just see the number and not the currency designation and just assume it is in US Dollars when it could be in British Pounds

[statesideal]

i was aware that i was looking at the prices in GBP, it was 399 pounds sterling, which equated to 690 dollars yesterday.

so, jimworcs, you just get someone to book the trip for you and send you the tickets then use use the trip however you want, is that right? this is a good piece of knowledge, thank you.

[statesideal]

but i am still disgusted at the sheer greed of these airlines! i mean a thousand dollars more for americans than british???
they need to have more exposure type programmes on the tv over here, things like Watchdog who highlight problems like this to the public

[statesideal]

i was looking at cheapflights.co.uk and the continental website

[statesideal]

so explain how they can book a flight from here but we can't book one from there?

[abutterfinger25]

What sites were your looking at? Where they both Continental sites?

[abutterfinger25]

Okay, you can not place the whole blame for the price difference on Continental Airlines. Continental (and other airlines) are not responsible for the fares punblished on sites such as cheapflights.co.uk (and cheapflights.com).

Now if cheapflights sells the same tickets at different fares for the same flights based on a person's country of origin, they might be some disriminatory issues here. I may have to do some additional research.

[statesideal]

i don't understand how, if you have an address in the UK you can book a trip starting in the States?

[jimworcs]

Originally Posted by statesideal

i don't understand how, if you have an address in the UK you can book a trip starting in the States?

Yes, it is fine. You can book book the flight to originate in the US back to the UK for example from the UK. This is often done by British citizens who have second homes in the US, expatriates etc.. It is also often done in reverse US Servicemen serving on UK bases, or by parents paying for their kids on student exchanges to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Airlines are used to bookings from one country which originate in another. The trick is to find someone in the UK willing to make the booking and charge it to a UK based Credit Card. If it is electronic tickets, there is no need to send tickets over.

[statesideal]

in reply to abutterfinger25, in this instance i am aouting a price from the airline website. however, using american cheap fair sites, the difference is still substantial.

[statesideal]

ok, i am now on the BA website. can anyone tell me why the taxes, fees, charges and surcharges amount to more than the price of the actual ticket?

[statesideal]

when i go to look at flights from america to britain, and i am in america, it tells me that this is not possible; says" sorry but your departure is not served by this site". is there any specific site to do this from?

[Jetliner]

As for why the taxes are much higher than the airfare and why you can't book from the US, you would have to pose those question to the British government. Go to RyanAir.com and look up any of the fares they have that are free (they make up for it in fees.) A zero Euro fare will end up costing you anywhere from 25 to 50 Euros depending on where you are going.

Here's the deal - right now I am looking at Orbitz.com from Tampa to Frankfurt Germany (I was looking that up, and thought of your post)

Us Airways and Northwest have a base fare of $660, after taxes it's $778. On Air Canada base $559, after taxes $971. And on Lufthansa base fare is $679, after taxes (get ready for this) $1,043.

On your second question, it doesn't matter if it's the same milage and the like. How do you know that the flight from Europe is not more booked, hence the cheaper seats are sold out?

There's a lot that you are bashing the airlines for that in reality it's that you are not understanding how this all works. When flying internationally there is a lot more regulation in place by the governments of the different countries involved.

Let me put it to you this way -right now in the US gas is around $3 to $3.50 per gallon. In Germany it's more like $8 to $9 per gallon. Why? Because in Europe they tax the hell out of the people. Same is happening here.

[The_Judge]

statesideal.........you're really hung up on this, aren't you?? As it was explained earlier to you, it isnt' the same. When you start in the states, you aren't competing necessarily with someone starting in another country. It's called marketing. Your market may have a tremendous demand whereas the the return may not be so demanding for people originating there.

As far as why you can't get the same fare you might try this. Some airline websites have a box that asks you where you are. I for example live in Thailand so if I go to ANA's website, I will tell it I am in Thailand. If the websites you are dealing with offer this option, tell it that you are in Scotland and see what pops up for a price.

Then give it a rest. Your machine gun type posts tell alot about you.

[Eagleguy]

The way the fares are calculated are done by direction. Eastbound vs. Westbound. Each country has different taxes that you pay. Going to or through the UK is extremely expensive. I am flying to London this weekend and the taxes are more than my actual fare.

By the way it's not the same flight if you changed directions...The westbound flight might have a ton of seats left to sell whereas the eastbound to Scotland had very few left. Btw, October is one of the cheapest months to buy tickets to the UK. I've seen fares as low as in the $200 range. But ah-ha those needed to be booked way in advance, have tons of restrictions, and will almost triple with taxes.

[jimworcs]

The truth is, the fare charged by airlines has absolutely no relationship to the distance travelled and indeed only a marginal relationship to the costs incurred in delivering the service. The price is determined by the market. For example, at Thanksgiving, demand for flights from the UK to the US will be very high just before the holiday and low the in the other direction. The reverse will then happen after the holiday. This is obviously because Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK, and americans will want to get home. Therefore, the pricing of these two legs will reflect demand. Low prices from the US to the UK, but high prices from the UK to the US. I have no problem with this in theory, but as we have seen in the financial markets, when markets are deregulated they are abused. I think we have reached the point at which passengers are abused by the airlines power and the market is now distorted. Time to reintroduce some regulation, because they are inadequately regulated now.

Taxes in Europe are considerably higher, as we operate "social" taxing strategies and demand is deliberately suppressed for items which are seen as socially damaging, such as polluting airplanes and cars. Therefore, prices will be higher in such cases. This is however often hidden by the ridiculous pricing of the tickets which make this relationship less obvious.

[ryanairdontcare]

RYANAIR AND AGENTS ARE DOING A CABIN CREW RECRUITMENT SCAM,PLEASE BEWARE,SIGN OUR PETITION AGAINST RYANAIR.THANK YOU
http://www.gopetition.com/online/26531.html

TERMINATING PROBATION CABIN CREW TO KEEP TRAINING COURSE'S FULL.
CHARGING 2300Euro EACH STUDENT.

[ryanairdontcare]

RYANAIR AND AGENTS ARE DOING A CABIN CREW RECRUITMENT SCAM,PLEASE BEWARE,SIGN OUR PETITION AGAINST RYANAIR.THANK YOU
http://www.gopetition.com/online/26531.html

TERMINATING PROBATION CABIN CREW TO KEEP TRAINING COURSE'S FULL.
CHARGING 2300Euro EACH STUDENT.

[jimworcs]

Posting this in every forum makes you look like a nut, even if you have a legitmate complaint. It is very annoying, makes it hard for others who want to follow threads in other forums and could lead to you getting banned as a spammer from the forum. This machine gun approach is just STUPID.. I am sympathetic to your complaint, but very annoyed at how you are pursuing it.

[ryanairdontcare]

hi jimworcs,thank you for your reply,if it helps just one cabin crew from ruining their dreams how is it nuts.people have a choice to read or not.yes it is a complaint about a airline company and legitmate complaint against ryanair and agents.how can it be annoying when you are not forced to read this posting.

[jimworcs]

It is annoying because it is posted in the Continental Airlines complaints forum, and it has nothing to do with them. You also posted in American, Alaska, etc etc. It is nuts what you are doing. If you have a complaint about British Gas do you write to Southern Electric, NPower, EDF, etc? You discredit yourself, despite having a very legitimate complaint.

[ryanairdontcare]

must have been my fault because i thought i had only put in ryanair groups.Continental Airlines complaints forum are not involved.
i will try to remove.