Q. Why is it that British Airways currently has a fare from Orlando to Mumbai for $970.00 for the months of Nov, Jan and Feb? I cannot get a round trip to London for less than $1,133. It doesn’t make sense considering Mumbai is twice the distance! I just can’t figure it out!
A. There are a couple of things at play here. For starters, there’s not a lot of competition on the Orlando-London nonstop route. Airlines often charge more for nonstop flights than for connecting flights, because nonstops are in higher demand.
Then there are taxes, a whole lotta taxes! When you depart from any UK airport (excluding Belfast), you pay a passenger duty of about $130. If you’re merely transiting through London, you don't have to pay that duty.
In fact, that duty makes up most of the discrepancy you're seeing.
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