There should be something of a parity in official fares regardless of the direction of travel. In real life there is often a large discrepancy, as many have pointed out. One of the reasons I think that lies behind it is to do with official IATA exchange rates. They take into account not just the current market rates but also the relative buying power of each currency and cost of living. They tend to overrate weaker currencies (like euro and sterling) and underrate US$, so as not to price airfares out of reach of target customers in each country. I don't know what they are, but I suspect 'official' IATA exchange rates may be more like $1.70 to sterling and $1.15 to euro, rather than current levels of 1.42 and 0.87.

And this explains such drastic differences as what Patrick mentioned above -- more than double from Miami to Paris than from Paris to Miami?

Of course it isn't the whole story, but a factor to take into account. Other factors mentioned like market forces, different holiday patterns, proportion of business/leisure travellers all have bearing on prices charged.

Alec, your theory about the offical IATA exchange rates is not true. Airlines price tickets in the local currency in most countries (so flights originating from the US in US$, originating from most of Europe in euro, originating from Japan in yen, etc.) What you see on your ticket as ROE is the rate of exchange in US$, which closely follows the real exchange rate on the currency markets. <BR>The differences are just caused by supply and demand. Look at prices for tickets between Europe and most of Africa. The market is more or less fixed (very little leisure travel, so most travel is for people who have no choice), so prices are very high. <BR>I think most Europeans compare prices for travel to North America with the costs of a European vacation. If it were more expensive to go to North America, many people would just not go. With current flight prices, the cost of a vacation to Florida is comparable to the cost of a vacation to Spain. If it was much more expensive to go to Florida, nobody would go. <BR>

There was a thread on this very recently and it was definitely true, which surprised me. I posted on it because I did a test, comparing exact same route on same dates on Air France, one starting and returning US and the other the reverse from Paris and the French flight was about 25 pct less as I recall.<BR><BR>Maybe I should search for that thread, but I was trying to remember the name of the web site someone gave that was a UK-based airline ticket site which good deals (it was a consortium of some airlines, including Air France, as I recall). Does anyone know the URL I'm thinking of?<BR><BR>I remember wondering why this situation occurred and asking if it had anything to do with some taxes or something in the US we aren't aware of (I know the US taxes some foreign products at a very high rate, French cheese as I recall). Maybe not, I don't think anyone knew exactly why. Supply and demand doesn't seem right to me as whenever I fly Air France in summer, all flights are pretty full whether starting in Paris or the US. Maybe, I just wonder.....

Christina,<BR>The web address you are looking for is www.opodo.co.uk

ttt.....interesting thread

It's got one-and-a-half-year-old mold growing on it! It's not so interesting as to warrant being topped!

Sorry you're feeling moldy. Hope you get well soon.

The topic is an interesting one, and I wondered if anyone else might have a fresh insight on comparing the difference in travel prices.

HI Brim..actually we have friends who have a house in the UK and one here..so they have a regular schedule of flying back and forth.
It was cheaper for them to buy a 1 way ticket to UK one time..then from there on but round trips from UK back to US. She figures they save about $5 or 600 a year.

Whenever I have checked RT prices from Prague to US, they have always been significantly lower than trips originating from the US. Can't speak for Western Europe, as I don't check for those fares. Don't forget, the slaries in Eastern Europe are about 75% lower than US salaries. I actually buy tickets for my Czech friends to come visit me in the US, as none of them can afford it on their slaries.

Janis, are you sure you aren't confusing pounds with dollars? I too generally found that the prices were higher UK to US, than for US to UK. But perhaps they are fewer pounds than dollars. Although I do know last year American Airlines had a special promotion for flights originating in Europe, and yes the prices were lower!!!