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

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:

* The low-fare airlines may not always have the lowest fares. Because seats at these fares are capacity controlled, it could pay to shop around some of the majors for a lower one-way fare. For example, you could book an outbound one-way ticket on Southwest and return on another airline if Southwest’s lowest fare on the return was sold out.

* When shopping the low-fare sites, make sure the price you are seeing is the complete price so that you are comparing apples to apples. None of the three low-fare airline sites I visited quoted fares that included taxes and fees at first glance.

* On multiple-destination itineraries, consider one-way fares. It may be possible to put together a lower-priced itinerary by shopping the various low-fare airline sites that aren’t searched by the big online travel agencies. If you don’t have the time, use a multi-destination feature on a site such as Travelocity or Orbitz and let it do the heavy lifting for you, at least of the major airlines.

* Be flexible. “We find if you’re looking for a low fare, shopping around your dates and your airports” is the best strategy, said Tracey Weber, Travelocity senior vice president in charge of air. Many websites allow you to search a range of dates or nearby airports where you can often find lower fares.

* Stay on the same airline between origin and destination if possible. “Connections involving two or more airlines can be a challenge, sometimes requiring longer walks between gates or rechecking luggage in rare cases,” said Orbitz’s Thornton. The exception to this rule is a strategy I use when flying to Europe. I book a round-trip fare to a major hub such as London, then use low-fare European carriers, many of which have one-way fare pricing.

If you are uncertain of your return date and are staying for an extended period, think about a one-way fare. You’ll still need to purchase a return ticket in advance to get the best fares, but you won’t get hit with any change fees. This could work for college students, for example, or open-ended family emergencies. The risk is that you could have gotten a better return fare by booking in advance. Know the rules and fees for changing a ticket so you can weigh the risk to benefit.

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James Gilden can be contacted at www.theinternettraveler.com. Travel Insider welcomes comments but can’t respond individually to letters and calls. Write to Travel Insider, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012, or e-mail travel@latimes.com.