How much do airlines make on each ticket?
Posted in Travel Managers on 08/23/2008 09:21 pm by admin
Helping to decide asked:
I have a friend who works for an airline compay and they have offered to buy me plane tickets with their employee discount.
I have a friend who works for an airline compay and they have offered to buy me plane tickets with their employee discount.
The thing is, i only travel from Melbourne, Australia to El Salvador to visit family and usually i get charged 2,500 to 3,000 (Australian dollars) per economy ticket. This flight goes through the US (stop over in LA) and then straight to El Salvador.
But my friend says he could get them for 1,200 – 1,500 (US dollars). That is a HUGE savings, if they are right. I’ll be getting them almost at half price.
Could this be real?? Is there a set amount airlines charge on each tickets (20%-50% etc..)???
Thanks
ORVILLE
08/27/2008 at 5:10 am
RICARDO
First of all, check exchange rates which change daily, then the earlier you book, the cheaper your flight will be. Last minute flights are usually much higher.
08/28/2008 at 12:46 am
TERRENCE
The answer to that is quite difficult to answer because there is no set amount that the airlines make. there are a lot of factors involved. The biggest factor is the cost of fuel, but there are all kinds of contractors that need to be paid also. The ironic thing is that most airlines do not make a large profit on passenger travel. Most airlines make their money on cargo and mail services. Passenger travel barely pays for the fuel and ground services in some cases. This is the reason that most airlines offer their employees “stand-by” tickets. They want to at least try to break even before giving seats away. If you want a confirmed seat it usually does cost at least 50% of the price so that at least part of the ticket price can be obtained.