So, as I continue to think about my next trip to Italy, which is coming up extremely slowly -- September is still six months away!!! -- I am starting to look at air fares to see how badly I will be abused by a major carrier.
(I'm still angry about the scandalously high season fare that I was charged when I traveled to Rome in January. Almost $1,300, simply because I left the weekend following New Year's, a time that was still considered to be part of the Christmas-New Year's holiday period for the purpose of airlines. Curse you, Air Canada!)
So imagine my surprise today when, puttering around on the Air Canada website (I'm a glutton for pain, it seems) I came across a remarkable different in fares between flying in and out of Rome compared with Milan.
For the sake of comparison, I punched in Ottawa-Toronto-Rome, and return, leaving on Saturday, Sept. 13 (landing in Rome on Sunday, Sept. 14) and then returning on Sunday, Sept. 28. There are no direct flights to Italy from Ottawa, so I usually go through Toronto to get to Rome. (There are Montreal-Rome flights, but they're hard to get.)
Anyway, the return ticket to Rome came to almost $1,900!!! The basic fare is $1,568. Plus $256 fuel surcharge, etc. etc. for a grand total of $1,894.76. Shocking!!!
In dramatic contrast, the basic fare from Ottawa to Milan comes to a mere $678. Return. Add the usual fuel surcharge, etc., for a grand total of $1,031.54.
Can you believe the difference in fares????? I'm pretty astounded and am also pretty sure that I'm going to try to book my ticket for the Milan routing quite soon.
For the Milan route, I would fly Air Canada from Ottawa direct to Frankfurt, then take Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Milano (just a one-hour jaunt) So, no direct flights on either route. Now, there is an extra German airport surcharge of $10 on the Milano route, but because I wouldn't need to fly through the extremely expensive Pearson International Airport in Toronto, I save about $15 on Canadian airport charges!
I can only assume that the explanation for the difference between the Rome route and the Milano route is that Air Canada must be promoting its new daily non-stop flights between Ottawa and Lufthansa's main hub in Frankfurt, which takes affect in June. That's also about the same time that Lufthansa's new Calgary-Frankfurt non-stop daily route also begins. Whatever, the reason, I'll be glad to take advantage!!!!
The two airlines are both partners in the 17-member Star Alliance, which also includes United Airlines and US Airways of the United States, Scandinavian Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
Comments (4)
That is so strange that there is such a difference in price! When I priced Rome and Milan, both were the same (almost $1900 with the extra charges). Zurich however was a little cheaper. I just checked recently and the fares went up by $300! I would suggest booking the Milan fare asap before they raise the price once again.
Posted by girasoli | March 20, 2008 2:56 AM
Posted on March 20, 2008 02:56
I can't believe that you didn't buy it right away. I'd be afrain that the next time it would be double. This is why I don't gamble.
Posted by Jerry | March 20, 2008 7:20 AM
Posted on March 20, 2008 07:20
Believe me Jerry, if I could confirm my holiday time off work, I'd be on that ticket by now. Soon, I hope, soon.....
Posted by Sandra | March 20, 2008 10:42 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 22:42
I have completely given up trying to understand AC's fares! Out of Halifax, our cheapest flights are usually the charter airlines, although of course those only run from about May to Oct. Those are also the fastest because fly direct to London or Frankfurt. With the larger carriers, our options often seem to involve 2+ stops.
Posted by Anne | March 21, 2008 5:01 PM
Posted on March 21, 2008 17:01