How can a multi leg flight be cheaper than direct?

[smckay]

Hopefully someone can answer me this one.

I was looking at V Australia fares SYD-LAX and they have direct and via Melbourne.
If you take an internal flight to Melbourne, it is $4.00 cheaper than direct. Now, I'm not a smart man but I don't see how an airline can put me in a seat, fly me another 600 miles (actually 1,200 because I have to go back past Sydney) and charge me less!

How is this so? Is this because Sydney airport has exhorbitant fee's? (Another reason to leave this dump)

 

[samh004]

There’s probably a few reasons. I’ll go with the one that the fare class direct from SYD costs more than the two to go domestic and then international from MEL. But it could be something else too, and anyway, why fly direct, when you can connect

 

[straitman]

Hopefully someone can answer me this one.

I was looking at V Australia fares SYD-LAX and they have direct and via Melbourne.
If you take an internal flight to Melbourne, it is $4.00 cheaper than direct. Now, I'm not a smart man but I don't see how an airline can put me in a seat, fly me another 600 miles (actually 1,200 because I have to go back past Sydney) and charge me less!

How is this so? Is this because Sydney airport has exhorbitant fee's? (Another reason to leave this dump)

Attempting to understand airline ticket pricing only achieves a headache. There are some things in life that you just have to accept and I believe this is one of them :!:

 

[PaulC83]

Hopefully someone can answer me this one.

I was looking at V Australia fares SYD-LAX and they have direct and via Melbourne.
If you take an internal flight to Melbourne, it is $4.00 cheaper than direct. Now, I'm not a smart man but I don't see how an airline can put me in a seat, fly me another 600 miles (actually 1,200 because I have to go back past Sydney) and charge me less!

How is this so? Is this because Sydney airport has exhorbitant fee's? (Another reason to leave this dump)

It all comes down to yield management for V Australia, and making sure its planes are full. For them it might be better instead of having to manage huge demand in Sydney with lower demand in Melbourne (full plane SYD->LAX and empty plane MEL->LAX) to offer an alternative, but obviously at a lower rate due to the inconvenience. The cost of the internal flight for them is relatively low (especially against an under utilised international flight).

This is where people who don't mind flying, or looking for certain opportunities can make use, in what in the end becomes a win/win situation for both parties.

Remember they don't do sales or lower fares for the fun of it, usually its to get Bums in Seats, not just any seat, but where they are needed to help revenue.