FYI United.com sells the combination fare for only $1144.
They are even cheaper than all the OTAs 🙂

https://goo.gl/qDnKoI

Thanks Scott. I think this discussion should continue on a practical level.

For example, if I search ATL-BKK on UA for the above dates 01-08 September, I get surprising results depending on the OTA.

Expedia $1233 http://goo.gl/RItvSj via IAD
Orbitz $1159 http://goo.gl/LQNhT5 via SFO
Hotwire $1635 http://goo.gl/pWs9Lj via SFO S class, Return via ORD K class
Priceline (too slow to run from Southeast Asia)
Kayak http://goo.gl/78d5Y2 no United itinerary displayed but shows price at matrix as $1159. Tries to sell hacker fare to unsuspecting consumers.
Google Flights $1297 https://goo.gl/2J3xYr via ORD
Hipmunk $1283 https://goo.gl/MZY9SY

My own selected flights autopriced at $1175.78 with my GDS.
As you can see Orbitz/Cheaptickets ($1159 confirmed) knows how to exploit cheaper fare combinations better than the rest. I suspect Priceline can also do it.

Orbitz did use the SFO-BKK fare and added on the ATL-SFO domestic fare as a combination. They could be discounting the fare more OR are using a BULK fare since they sold below the GDS autoprice.

The example above should behoove consumers to shop around and find the best deal. You cannot simply rely on one search engine to give you the best result all the time.

I should probably consult you before I continue the series, but often I find I learn the most by waiting to see what people write in the comments. Thanks for the example, Tony!

To put this discussion in the practical world, consider this example. Suppose you live in Atlanta – a place where high fares is the norm – and you want to take a trip to Bangkok on United. If you simply took the THROUGH fares from ATL to BKK you will see this listing.

//MPM-PA 11073//MPM-AT 12638//
ATLBKK-UA 6MAY15
ADD TAXES * FED INSP FEES * SEG/PFC CHARGES MAY APPLY
LINE FARE RT FARE TRAVEL DATES TKT DTE RTG AP MIN/ BKG
NBR CODE OW USD EFF DISC FST/LST NBR DT MAX CDE
1 WLX33UTG R 1270.00 8FEB3 – – 590 ## 3/12M W
2 WKX33UTG R 1290.00 8FEB3 – – 590 ## 3/12M W
3 WLX0ANMF R 1309.00 2MAY5 6MAY5 – 502 ## 14/ 6M W

The lowest THROUGH Roundtrip Base Fare (before tax and fees) is $1270. Ouch!

However, if you look around, United has a cheap fare from SFO to BKK.
//MPM-PA 9506//MPM-AT 14106//
SFOBKK-UA 6MAY15
ADD TAXES * FED INSP FEES * SEG/PFC CHARGES MAY APPLY
LINE FARE RT FARE TRAVEL DATES TKT DTE RTG AP MIN/ BKG
NBR CODE OW USD EFF DISC FST/LST NBR DT MAX CDE
1 KHX0ZGM4 R 321.00 2MAY5 – L 2JUN 502 ## – / 6M K
2 KKX0ZGM9 R 321.00 2MAY5 – L 2JUN 502 ## – / 3M K
3 KLX0ZGM7 R 321.00 2MAY5 – L 2JUN 502 ## – / 3M K
4 KLX0ZGM8 R 321.00 2MAY5 – L 2JUN 502 ## – / 3M K

The base roundtrip fare for SFO-BKK is only $321 before taxes and fees.
So if you live in ATL, you can combine this international fare with a domestic fare for ATL-SFO.

United has a $320 roundtrip fare for ATL-SFO

ATLSFO-UA 6MAY15
US TAXES VARY / SEG/PFC CHARGES MAY APPLY
LINE FARE RT FARE TRAVEL DATES TKT DTE RTG AP MIN/ BKG
NBR CODE OW USD EFF DISC FST/LST NBR DT MAX CDE
1 KEA21AKN R 320.00 3APR5 – – 548 ## SU/ – K

Since UA allows for end-on-end combinations you can easily do an itinerary like this:

1 UA1900K 01SEP TU ATLSFO SS1 730A 946A/O $ J02 E
2 UA 837K 01SEP TU SFONRT SS1 1125A 210P#1/O $ J02 E
3*UA7971K 02SEP WE NRTBKK SS1 620P 1100P/O $ J02 E
4*UA7955K 08SEP TU BKKNRT SS1 1230A 840A/O $ J01 E
5 UA 876K 09SEP WE HNDSFO SS1 100A 620P-1/X $ J01 E
6 UA1197K 10SEP TH SFOIAH SS1 1225A 558A/O $ J03 E
7*UA3777K 10SEP TH IAHATL SS1 725A 1029A/X $ J03 E

* NONREF/0VALUAFTDPT/CHGFEE/NONREF/0VALUEAFTDPT/CHGFEE
* PRICING RULES VALIDATING CARRIER DEFAULT UA
** 01SEP DEPARTURE DATE/ 07MAY IS LAST DATE TO TICKET

TICKET BASE USD TX/FEE USD TKT TTL USD
ADT01 619.00 556.78 1175.78
*TTL 619.00 556.78 1175.78

*AS BOOKED
LOWEST FARE ALREADY BOOKED IN THIS COMPARTMENT
FBC ADT KEA21AKN*KLX0ZGM8*KEA21AKN
ADT ATL UA SFO148.83UA X/TYO UA BKK160.50UA X/TYO UA SFO160.50
UA X/HOU UA ATL148.83NUC618.66END ROE1.00 UA ZPSFOIAH XT
46.58US8.00ZP5.00XA11.20AY4.30OI30.10SW21.10TS400.00YQ
18.00XF ATL4.5SFO4.5SFO4.5IAH4.5

Note that the total ticket price $1176 (all in) is even lower than the THROUGH ATL-BKK Base Fare which is $1270 before tax and fees.

The Fare Components are: KEA21AKN*KLX0ZGM8*KEA21AKN
KEA21AKN is the ATL-SFO Roundtrip Fare that was combined with the KLX0ZGM8 SFO-BKK Roundtrip Fare.

Lesson: If people simply looked at the THROUGH fares between two cities they might miss the cheaper fares as a result of different fare break combinations.

Tip: Usually airlines kill each other by putting the fares from the competitor’s hub on sale.
Check if these bargains allow for end-on-end combinations and how much a domestic flight to that point will add.

Another version of this reduced fare phenomenon can be seen when Foreign Airlines allow a domestic carrier like Jet Blue fares for combination. If you live in the South, this could be a godsend.