why so much cheaper when not flying ex-Australia??

[haggiscat]

hi there,

always wanted to take my 2x yearly flights to London in Business but baulked at the cash price. I now understand if you book flights from London and not Sydney (e.g. London-Sydney-London) the price almost halves.

What is the reason for this, and can I do it?

e.g. if I book a one way Syd-Lon in PE, then book a Lon-Syd-Lon in Business and use the second Syd-Lon in six months' time when I fly there next?

is that allowed, and if so, is everyone else doing it, while I, baboon-like, keep pointlessly paying more?

 

[bam71]

The reason is purely market forces at work. More competition for fares ex London means cheaper prices. What you are proposing is quite common! Quite a few people on this site who travel regularly to certain destinations purchase tickets this way.

 

[Sprucegoose]

I do it ex JFK. Get a good W class fare return a year later. Do a round trip for under 3K. Upgrades are easier and cheaper and sometimes you can get them operationally. So this represents the best value for me.

frankfurt is good and so in BKK.

Do your homework? There are some threads here that refer to this.

 

[JetLagged]

is that allowed, and if so, is everyone else doing it, while I, baboon-like, keep pointlessly paying more?

Hi haggiscat - if I need to travel to the UK twice or more in a year, that is certainly how I do it!

Mind you, I tend to do one leg SYD-SIN in Y+, then buy a ticket from SIN-LHR from the SIN site - saving a bundle this way as well. Pay you to look at those options as well.

 

[Netty]

I booked one way BNE to AKL to start. Then keep booking returns AKL to BNE on NZ website. The trick is knowing when you want to to go back to NZ each time. However it's worth it for the Qantas J fares at (often) NZ $ 499 pesos each way.

 

[haggiscat]

the scales have just fallen away from my eyes - hello international business!

 

[JohnK]

What is the reason for this, and can I do it?

e.g. if I book a one way Syd-Lon in PE, then book a Lon-Syd-Lon in Business and use the second Syd-Lon in six months' time when I fly there next?

is that allowed, and if so, is everyone else doing it, while I, baboon-like, keep pointlessly paying more?

The reason is that the airlines feel that Australians like paying for more for airfares.

And yes you can book flights from overseas. I have been doing it for the past 5 years or so. It becomes more cost effective if you fly at least once a year.

 

[Alanslegal]

What is the reason for this, and can I do it?

e.g. if I book a one way Syd-Lon in PE, then book a Lon-Syd-Lon in Business and use the second Syd-Lon in six months' time when I fly there next?

is that allowed, and if so, is everyone else doing it, while I, baboon-like, keep pointlessly paying more?

Use points to get to LON and then buy your returns ex-LON, it will definitely work if you travel to/from there quite frequently. It is definitely allowed and only a small number of flyers can make the most of these types of bookings based on their travel patterns. I use ex-SIN fares quite a bit, and usually in the middle of 2-4 returns at any one time. I fly Y in these sectors though.