At last, one-way tickets cost half of round-trip airfare

New pricing may mean savings for Web-savvy fliers. It also could facilitate shorter trips or travel to multiple cities.

By James Gilden, Special to The Times
12:00 AM PST, February 13, 2005

Until recently, one of the more inexplicable rules of buying airline tickets was the price of a one-way fare.

Almost without exception, a one-way ticket cost significantly more than a round-trip fare, which makes about as much sense as charging more for six eggs than for a dozen.

But nowadays the low-fare carriers are in the pilot's seat when it comes to dictating fare structures and rules, at least on domestic fares. In a bow to competitive pressure from low-cost airlines, Delta last month implemented its SimpliFares system-wide.

"We're expanding SimpliFares based on feedback from our customers, who are calling for simpler, more affordable everyday fares," Delta Chief Executive Jerry Grinstein said in a news release last month.

With the change, consumers can purchase one-way fares that are half the cost of a round-trip ticket. Other airlines, though not all, have followed suit.

"We broadly matched what Delta did," said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American Airlines. "The vast majority of the fares we sell will be able to be purchased one-way, including discounted fares."

For consumers, the competition may result in lower airfares. Leisure fares from LAX are down 14% for the week ending Jan. 26 compared with the same week last year, according to Harrell Associates, a New York-based airfare tracking service.

"For leisure travelers, the impact is more about the convenience of taking shorter trips without having to plan around a weekend stay," said Bob Harrell of Harrell Associates, noting that Saturday night stays are often no longer required for the lowest fares.

Savvy leisure travelers also may save by buying one-way tickets for certain itineraries such as trips that involve more than a simple round trip to a single destination.

I did a search using Orbitz to plan a two-destination trip for late March from Los Angeles to New York, then on to Norfolk, Va., and back to Los Angeles. The lowest fare it showed me was $374 using "multiple carriers" — Delta and United. The lowest all-flights-on-one-airline fare was $404.

Orbitz contends that "consumers do not need to shop for fares on both round-trip and one-way basis to compare costs," said spokeswoman Kendra Thornton. "Orbitz already calculates many available and applicable fares for an itinerary to offer customers the lowest available cost."

Note, though, that despite Orbitz's claim, many low-fare airlines are not searched by the big online travel agencies, such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia.

I checked JetBlue.com (which flies out of Long Beach and Ontario, not LAX), Southwest.com and Independence Air (www.flyi.com) to see whether I could cobble together one-way fares that added up to a cheaper total fare. What I found surprised me. I managed to put together a fare of $361, $13 less than what Orbitz found. But in a testament to the new competitiveness of the majors, I found a lower one-way fare on Delta than on Southwest for the Norfolk-L.A. leg, enlightening for those of us who think we will always find the best prices on low-fare carriers. Southwest had sold out its $99 Web-only fare for the date I selected for a return from Norfolk to L.A. Its next lowest fare was $182. Delta had seats available for $110 through Orbitz.

Remember that seat availability is nearly always limited for an airline's lowest fares. Travelocity's Flight Navigator tools, introduced last month, include a warning when a particular fare has three or less seats. It's handy for helping travelers determine whether they should book immediately.

Here are some tips for shopping airfares in this less restrictive new world:

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