# Airline booking weirdness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406 "2010-07-20T23:57:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/1 "2010-07-20T23:57:53Z")
I was checking out prices for an upcoming trip I want to make and I found a flight out that I wanted and a flight back that I wanted. I can book them as one-way flights, but I can’t book it as a round-trip. The flight out is Delta. The flight back Midwest. Obviously, they are different airlines, but there are other mixed-airline round-trips that I can book, including round-trips that include each of these airlines (though I didn’t see any that included the pair of them). What gives? (If anyone feels like playing around with it, I’ll happily provide details.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/2 "2010-07-21T00:28:23Z")
Have you tried Expedia? I mostly use them, and you choose your departing and return flights independent of each other. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/3 "2010-07-21T00:30:36Z")
Yep. Expedia says this: “Roundtrip: This flight cannot be ticketed with your selected departure flight.” ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/4 "2010-07-21T05:46:14Z")
try [www.cheapoair.com](http://www.cheapoair.com). they have multiple carrier. Or maybe there is no flight at that time with the airline you want. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/5 "2010-07-21T11:52:59Z")
What’s wrong with booking 2 one way trips? Essentially thats what you are doing anyway. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/6 "2010-07-21T12:44:10Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > try [www.cheapoair.com](http://www.cheapoair.com). they have multiple carrier. Or maybe there is no flight at that time with the airline you want. They do not have this round-trip. Yes, the flights exist. Like I said, I can book them as one-way flights, just not as a round-trip, though it usually (in my experience) costs more to book two one-ways than one round-trip. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/7 "2010-07-21T12:54:41Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > They do not have this round-trip. Yes, the flights exist. Like I said, I can book them as one-way flights, just not as a round-trip, though it usually (in my experience) costs more to book two one-ways than one round-trip. Yes, and sometimes it can cost more to book one one-way than a round-trip. I suspect your problem has something to do with code sharing. The two airlines may code share on some flights but not on one or both of these particular flights. If that is the case, then from the individual airlines perspectives you are booking a one-way ticket on their airline and completing the “round-trip” on another airline has nothing to do with them, hence no round-trip discount. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/8 "2010-07-21T13:10:27Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > They do not have this round-trip. Yes, the flights exist. Like I said, I can book them as one-way flights, just not as a round-trip, though it usually (in my experience) costs more to book two one-ways than one round-trip. What is the price for the two one-way flights? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/9 "2010-07-21T13:20:55Z")
Ah, Baracus, that’s what I wondered–if the airlines had special agreements among themselves. I can’t look it up from here, so I can’t report what the prices are for the one-way flights. I was more interested in why it wasn’t available as a round-trip. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/10 "2010-07-21T15:55:31Z")
Give [Farecast](http://www.bing.com/travel/) (now Microsoft Bing) a try, and see if the flight shows up. It is likely that there is no code sharing agreement of any kind between these two airlines. I believe that means there will be no price advantage to attempting to book this in a round trip fashion. The best you could probably do is find a third party booking site that fakes it with two separate reservations. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/11 "2010-07-21T16:29:05Z")
Thanks, Driver8, for introducing me to Bing’s flight search. I like being able to rule out redeyes (tried them twice and regretted it both times). It must be the code sharing thing. Thanks for fighting my ignorance. I have plenty of time to book it since I’m thinking of traveling in September, so I’ll take a look at one-way and other options. Thanks, all. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/12 "2010-07-21T16:29:56Z")
Look into Kayak if you like awesome meta-searching flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/13 "2010-07-21T17:32:26Z")
Those 2 airlines have no code-sharing connection at all. Brian _corporate travel agent since 1993_ ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/14 "2010-07-21T18:03:28Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > _corporate travel agent since 1993_ I apologize for the hijack, but since BMalion self-identified as a travel agent, I thought I’d take advantage and see if he can explain the logic behind the situation I posted to the current mini-rants thread in the Pit a few days back: > [@](#): > > I am trying to book a flight from Charlotte, NC to Harrisburg, PA. on short notice (next week.) The non-stop round trip price is about $950 (because of the lead time, I assume) when normally it runs about $300 - $350. So, in the course of searching for better fares I see that there is a 1-stop fare from Greensboro, NC (about 85 miles from me) to Harrisburg for $350. > > Where’s the 1 stop? Yep, Charlotte! As a matter of fact the 2nd leg of the flight is the same one I’d be taking if I went non-stop. > > So essentially, I could save $600 by driving to Greensboro, flying back to my home town of Charlotte, and then on to Harrisburg. > > This is all on US Air ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/15 "2010-07-21T18:39:55Z")
**SY** , Your Greensboro/Charlotte is a common phenomena in the airline industry. I used to fly out Jackson, MS because it was almost always cheaper than flying out Memphis. But all the NW flights connected through Memphis. the airports were pretty close in distance away from home, but I had to leave home earlier to catch the flights out of Jackson. I did “cheat” the system a couple of times. On the return trip, I would just leave the Memphis airport. My girlfriend would meet me there. Of course that only works if you don’t park your car in Jackson MS and do not check your baggage. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/16 "2010-07-21T18:55:28Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I apologize for the hijack, but since BMalion self-identified as a travel agent, I thought I’d take advantage and see if he can explain the logic behind the situation I posted to the current mini-rants thread in the Pit a few days back: My question was answered, so hijack away! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/17 "2010-07-21T19:24:00Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > It must be the code sharing thing. I still don’t understand. Expedia should be smart enough to figure this out and price and book your requested flights as two one-way legs, rather than just telling you it can’t be done. Why won’t it? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/18 "2010-07-21T19:59:30Z")
I probably have cooties. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/19 "2010-07-22T12:08:19Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I apologize for the hijack, but since BMalion self-identified as a travel agent, I thought I’d take advantage and see if he can explain the logic behind the situation I posted to the current mini-rants thread in the Pit a few days back: The pricing matrix of the airlines was designed by the same people who hid secret codes in the design of the dollar bill. The convoluted reasoning behind why a multi-stop itinerary would be cheaper than a simple round-trip is basically that the airlines want to increase seat occupancy on certain routes at different times to maximize profits. They have a vast system in place that is supposed to factor in thousands of data points to caculate fares. The fact that almost all airlines except Southwest are losing money shows how well this system works. It also explains how the price of air travel flucuates like the stock market. I’ve long ago given up trying to understand the logic behind this. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406/20 "2010-07-22T12:19:29Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > The pricing matrix of the airlines was designed by the same people who hid secret codes in the design of the dollar bill. > > The convoluted reasoning behind why a multi-stop itinerary would be cheaper than a simple round-trip is basically that the airlines want to increase seat occupancy on certain routes at different times to maximize profits. They have a vast system in place that is supposed to factor in thousands of data points to caculate fares. The fact that almost all airlines except Southwest are losing money shows how well this system works. It also explains how the price of air travel flucuates like the stock market. > > I’ve long ago given up trying to understand the logic behind this. Thanks for the response! I guess I feel a little better that it doesn’t make any more sense to a pro. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-booking-weirdness/547406.md?page=2)