travelnews: Recent airline changes to airline fares

Fri Apr 8 12:05:27 PDT 2016

Dear UO Travelers and Travel Coordinators -

You may have read or heard about some recent changes to airline fares for multiple destination itineraries and some round trips.

The traditional way to purchase an airline ticket is using a round trip fare.  However over the past year or so, airlines quietly started pricing tickets as one way fares, modeling the Southwest Airlines method of selling flights.  Besides being able to collect more money in taxes and fees, this also gives the airline the opportunity to double their change fees - one per leg - should the need arise to change or cancel a ticket.  In most cases, the consumer was not even aware that the ticket they just purchased on Expedia or Orbtiz contained multiple one way fares unless they read the fine print.  Smart consumers and our UO contract travel agencies made sure to ticket only round trip fares so as not to be tricked into these exorbitant change fees.

What changed this week?  The airlines have now instituted fare pricing that doubles and triples a multi city itinerary and some round trips, essentially forcing the traveler to purchase one way fares to save money on the initial purchase.  The downside?   If you buy one way tickets to save money, you should be absolutely sure of your itinerary.    Because if you need to cancel your ticket or make changes to several segments, each segment will have a separate fee and added together, may be more than the value of your ticket.  This used to be called a "Throw Away Fare" when tickets first became non- refundable.  Your ticket essentially has no value towards a new ticket purchase.

What can you do to be a wise consumer, protect yourself and your departmental funds?

*         Use our travel agencies! Our UO contract agencies can quickly check your pricing options and guide you to best value and flexibility.

*         Do not purchase airline tickets too far in advance.  The earlier you book a non-refundable/changeable ticket , the bigger chance of having to make a change.  Excepting holiday and summer travel, 4-6 weeks in advance will still offer good flight availability and fares.

*         Be sure of your business schedule.  Do not book air travel until you have received a conference agenda, confirmed your meetings and appointments, or arranged your hotel.

UO Contract Travel Agency Information:  https://ba.uoregon.edu/content/air-travel#travel-agency-information

Feel free to contact the travel office with questions.  Thank you and have a nice weekend,

[cid:D409AF7E-A065-4B03-9E7F-72A60DB7E5EF]
Laurie Jacoby, CTC
Travel Manager
Business Affairs Office
University of Oregon
lajacoby at uoregon.edu<mailto:lajacoby at uoregon.edu>
541-346-3158

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