I'm trying to book a one-way airline ticket for my sister who will be coming home from school for her winter break but it turned out to be like $552 from Expedia and Travelocity. Then for the heck of it, I chose a round trip fare and it turned out to be $376!! Why is this? And if the prices are really true, then what would happen if I purchase a round trip for her yet she doesn't show up at the airport for the trip back? Would she get penalized heavily? Thanks.

 

You don't have to use both tickets of a round trip ticket. The tickets are already purchased, there is no way to penalize you. As for why the round trip tickets are cheaper....dunno, I guess they just encourage you to fly more or something.

buy the round trip ticket then simply throw away the return ticket

 

just tell her that you'll save up to $176 if you book a round trip instead of a direct flight...

you have to pay more to arrive "earlier" <<--- that's the point

 

Three years ago we went to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis with my sister-in-law and her family who live in Antioch, IL, on the Illinois/Wisconsin border, roughly equidistant from Chicago and Milwaukee. I don't recall the exact prices, but a (round-trip) flight from LAX to Chicago, O'Hare was, say, $450, while a (round-trip) flight from LAX to Milwaukee was $275.

Not interesting, you say?

Oh, I forgot to mention that the LAX to Milwaukee flight had one stop: in Chicago! You took exactly the same flight from LAX to O'Hare--the $450 flight--then added a leg to Milwaukee, and they knocked off $175!. That's bizarre!

 

Round trips are cheaper because they believe that most people will use them and it'll fill up the flight and therefore divide the cost of the trip more evenly. Think of it like manufacturing and Economies of Scale. But to answer your other question, you do not get penalized for not using the second leg of a ticket. In fact some companies allow you to pay a fee to make it open ended or you can call and push the date back. In case you decide to use it later on.