Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I'm confused by the numbers. Are you telling me that if your flight originated from Charlotte going to Dublin that it would've cost $800 more than if you started in Raleigh and connected in Charlotte?
Exactly. For our family of four the tickets would have been about $200 more apiece to fly direct out of Charlotte vs flying out of RDU and making that connection in Charlotte to get on the very same plane to go to Dublin.
Exactly. For our family of four the tickets would have been about $200 more apiece to fly direct out of Charlotte vs flying out of RDU and making that connection in Charlotte to get on the very same plane to go to Dublin.
So you got charged less to take two flights? That makes no sense LOL. Airlines smh.
I'm tempted to drive to Dulles or JFK next time I go across the pond but the drive back home does give me pause.
Yep. It was also cheaper out of Asheville. Our daughter is there now so I toyed with the idea of leaving out of the Asheville airport and then making the connection in Charlotte, but it ended up making more sense to leave from RDU.
So moral to my story is, double check the prices. Just because Charlotte might have a direct flight does not mean it costs less.
I have also driven to Dulles and flown out of there. It was pretty brutal driving home from there, but we saved like $1600 so worth it. Didn't make any sense for this next trip, though, so RDU to CLT to DUB it is.
Re: why a nonstop flight is more than a connection:
Airlines price based on city pairings supply/demand and the competitive environment.
American is the only airline that operates CLT - DUB nonstop so they are able to charge a premium for the local traveler that values a nonstop flight. They price to get a slight premium in the Charlotte market for that nonstop convenience.
Now for RDU to Dublin via Charlotte... American no longer has a unique product for RDU to DUB (a nonstop). They ARE competing with Delta via JFK, United via Dulles, Air Canada via Toronto, et.... which puts pricing pressure on the one stop flight for the RDU traveler. Thus to price match a RDU to DUB one stop flight on Delta via JFK, AA offers DUB via Charlotte at a price that is actually lower than the CLT to DUB nonstop.
This happens at many hub airports where a nonstop flight is more expensive than one stop flights going through the hub from cities on either end of the hub. Nonstops are more desirable and when other airlines don't fly the route direct, the airline has more pricing power on that city pairing. Virtually any airline can offer a one stop connection somewhere though which creates a lot more competition / price lowering to outdo each other on the one stop option. People prefer not to connect, but will do it to save money or if no other option exists as the airlines compete against each other for best one stop pricing.
Re: why a nonstop flight is more than a connection:
Airlines price based on city pairings supply/demand and the competitive environment.
American is the only airline that operates CLT - DUB nonstop so they are able to charge a premium for the local traveler that values a nonstop flight. They price to get a slight premium in the Charlotte market for that nonstop convenience.
Now for RDU to Dublin via Charlotte... American no longer has a unique product for RDU to DUB (a nonstop). They ARE competing with Delta via JFK, United via Dulles, Air Canada via Toronto, et.... which puts pricing pressure on the one stop flight for the RDU traveler. Thus to price match a RDU to DUB one stop flight on Delta via JFK, AA offers DUB via Charlotte at a price that is actually lower than the CLT to DUB nonstop.
This happens at many hub airports where a nonstop flight is more expensive than one stop flights going through the hub from cities on either end of the hub. Nonstops are more desirable and when other airlines don't fly the route direct, the airline has more pricing power on that city pairing. Virtually any airline can offer a one stop connection somewhere though which creates a lot more competition / price lowering to outdo each other on the one stop option. People prefer not to connect, but will do it to save money or if no other option exists as the airlines compete against each other for best one stop pricing.
This is really interesting and makes perfect sense. I've often wondered why it wasn't cheaper to drive to Charlotte for a direct flight somewhere, rather than connect from RDU. Mystery solved!
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