A friend of mine wants to buy a one way ticket from Portland Me. to Philadelphia Pa., one way tickets cost about $400. But if she buys a roundtrip ticket she just has to pay about $150. What is up with the goofy price difference? Shouldn’t roundtrip tickets cost more. And what is to stop her from buying a roundtrip ticket and just tearing up the return?
Nothing is stopping her from purchasing a roundtrip ticket and just tossing the other one.
As far as why they cost more… man, I have no idea. This one has always bothered me too. I can understand the airline economics which cause last-minute tickets to be extra-pricey, or why round-trip tickets which don’t include weekends or aren’t x days long are cheaper (which is, suprisingly, the opposite of hotels and motels in general, but for the same reason!), but this one has me baffled.
I think, at some point, we must be prepared to accept that the entire airline industry does not operate on logic alone. Ever see runways from above? Looks awfully Qabbalistic to me… 
Probably it’s the level of restrictions on the ticket. A round trip coach fare can be non-refundable and require a Saturday night stay-over. Perhaps the one-way tix aren’t generally restricted in this manner.
PS you can buy unrestricted rounf trip tix, but they cost more.
No, you legally cannot buy a round trip ticket & toss the other half because the ticket is a legal contract that you are going to be on their plane. They aren’t thrilled if you don’t show up.
Why not call the airline & ask for a lower rate or try http://www.orbitz.com the airlines new low price ticket online agency to compete with other online non-airline agencies?
What’s to stop one from buying a round-trip ticket and throwing the return one away? In practice, perhaps nothing.
It is possible, however, that the airline may demand that you pony up the difference in price afterwards. “Throw-away ticketing” is [specifically prohibited](http://www.usairways.com/customers/terms_transportation.htm#Altered, Mutilated and Invalid Tickets) by US Airways, and coming after you for the fare difference is one of the remedies they reserve the right to pursue. (US Airways was the example I have handy; I suspect that all major carriers have similar policies.)
Would they actually come after you? I don’t know.
Don’t the airlines expect a certain number of people not to show up? I always thought that was why they overbooked flights.
When planning a past trip, I asked the airline’s CSR for the cheapest fare they had. As it turned out, I saved $$ by purchasing two 1-way tickets (going and returning)instead of purchasing a round-trip ticket. I haven’t come across that deal since.
When you purchase a one-way ticket, you are paying half of the full rate on a round trip ticket. This forfeits the saturday night stays, reduced fare “special deal” tickets, or any other discounted offer.
Money Saving Tip.
If any of you are flying to San Francisco, I’ll tell you a little insider’s trick(to make up for all the money you had to spend on a one-way ticket). It’s called the South Bay Flyer.
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Buy a ticket to San Jose(30 minute drive from SF). I just did a price check comparison on United, leaving Seattle on Aug. 10 and returning the 19th, it costs $94.00 for a coach ticket! That’s cheap. I compared again with SF and the same departure and return dates. The price for a coach ticket was $148.00.
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All passengers going to San Jose must stop at SF Int’l and must get off the plane to catch the The South Bay Flyer. It is a bus that shuttles you to the airport in San Jose.
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Don’t get on the bus. You would have saved yourself $50. Fifty bucks, big deal, but the farther away you are flying from, the more you save.
Cheers. 