Airlines charge more for over 30 days return ?!?!?

[Dogwood_Poet 16]

I have been searching for tickets for my wife and I's return trip to the Philippines and when I put in a return date of over 30 days (give or take a day) they add another $300 to the ticket price! She was wanting to stay about five weeks, but we may settle for just a month.

All the travel sites I have searched do this, so I guess this is standard procedure.

Anybody have any idea why? Or is it just another airline policy?

[Gigli2008 70]

Flight costs vary/change through out the year depending on high or low seasons, availability, demand and various other situations.

[dale_trisha 3]

Your correct in that any stay globally over 30 days costs more. All the major airlines do this and have for years.

[Donna-marie 0]

I didnt find that to be true, my Stay for nearly 90 days was cheaper than normal, depending on when i booked the return flight. My return flight was in May not particularly a high season so got cheaper flight, the duration of my stay made no difference just the date of return.

[NickD 202]

I didnt find that to be true, my Stay for nearly 90 days was cheaper than normal, depending on when i booked the return flight. My return flight was in May not particularly a high season so got cheaper flight, the duration of my stay made no difference just the date of return.

Again you can go nuts, many of the cheap airfare sites will automatically find the cheapest for "Domestic Flights" only given a range of departure and arrival dates, but haven't found one for international flights. Wife and I got frustrated, went to a travel agent in town, he wanted an extra 10% of the ticket price, but got on his computer and was playing around like we were, we said no thanks and walked out after sitting there for an hour.

Day of the week makes a huge difference, we normally found a Wednesday, Saturday, and a Sunday are the lowest rates, buts can make a huge difference:

Leave and return on a Saturday

Leave and return on a Sunday

Leave on a Sunday return on a Saturday

Leave on a Saturday, return on a Sunday

Are the four combinations that multiply like crazy if you add a Wednesday.

We found orbitz and expedia to be the best multi-airline sites, but could even find better rates by going to directly to the airline sites that serve your destination, no rhyme or reason to this. Takes perseverance. And you can find better rates for over 30 days, we have.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I don't know how long they've been doing this (someone else said it's gone on for years), but I do know that many airlines are hurting for money. An airline inevitably ends up losing money and in today's economic climate, they're probably doing whatever is necessary to earn more. As the old joke goes, "What's the best way to become a millionaire? Invest a billion in an airline."

[ccndyeth 0]

It depends on the date that you'll be returning.. prices of the tickets varies from the date and how book the flight is.. the more the flight is booked the more expensive the tickets is..

[Stardust72 0]

Yes, it depends on whether or not you are returning in a different season, and what day of the week the return flight is on. But also, airlines generally charge more for tickets with a later return date. A ticket with a return date 30 days later is considered more flexible than a ticket with a return date a week later. For those more flexible tickets, it usually also costs less to make a change once the ticket has been issued or to cancel completely. And the more flexible the ticket, the higher the fare.

[Craneman 2]

This is not rue, I travle extensively and the price of the ticket varies according to demand, you could change you travel by one day and the price change substantially. I book the wifes return flight six months from her arival for half what it would cost with a one week return.

My last flight to Brasil was less than $900 and I flew down on Friday and back to the U.S. on Monday.

Around trip there in late January and return in Feb will set you back over $2500, Crnival, supply and demand.

Your correct in that any stay globally over 30 days costs more. All the major airlines do this and have for years.

[Craneman 2]

I buy directly from the airlines website, beats the others or travel agents everytime.

www.delta.com

www.contionetal.com etc

I didnt find that to be true, my Stay for nearly 90 days was cheaper than normal, depending on when i booked the return flight. My return flight was in May not particularly a high season so got cheaper flight, the duration of my stay made no difference just the date of return.

Again you can go nuts, many of the cheap airfare sites will automatically find the cheapest for "Domestic Flights" only given a range of departure and arrival dates, but haven't found one for international flights. Wife and I got frustrated, went to a travel agent in town, he wanted an extra 10% of the ticket price, but got on his computer and was playing around like we were, we said no thanks and walked out after sitting there for an hour.

Day of the week makes a huge difference, we normally found a Wednesday, Saturday, and a Sunday are the lowest rates, buts can make a huge difference:

Leave and return on a Saturday

Leave and return on a Sunday

Leave on a Sunday return on a Saturday

Leave on a Saturday, return on a Sunday

Are the four combinations that multiply like crazy if you add a Wednesday.

We found orbitz and expedia to be the best multi-airline sites, but could even find better rates by going to directly to the airline sites that serve your destination, no rhyme or reason to this. Takes perseverance. And you can find better rates for over 30 days, we have.

[ccndyeth 0]

yep!! it is basically depends on how the flight goes to the market.. means the more booked the flight is the higher the ticket price..

I used to work with one of the major airlines that's usually how it works..

[Imua 0]

I was in Nepal last year for 90 days - the fare was no higher than otherwise. It was in late May-early July which is low season for Nepal.