ARC: One-way ticket purchases growing in popularity
Booking one-way flights separately for each leg of a trip is now not such a bad deal, according to the latest data from Airlines Reporting Corp.
The long held wisdom that a return flight booking is the cheaper option is slowly disappearing as the average premium is shrinking.
ARC said so far this year 42% of travelers are opting to buy one-way flights, up from 29% three years ago.
"The long-held belief that it is better to purchase round-trip tickets whenever possible to get the best fares is simply no longer true," ARC said.
While ARC gave no reason for the change in purchasing habits, competition from low cost carriers offering basic fares without a one-way premium are a likely reason, at least in part.
However ARC offered a caveat in the report, with the risk of higher change fees for passengers who need to make changes to both legs of a journey.
"If the full itinerary is changed, the traveler may incur two change fees and that may make round-trip ticketing a better option in some cases," ARC said in the report.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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