A traveler planning a European trip discovered an absurd airline pricing anomaly: a round-trip ticket costs €800, but one-way for the exact same route is €1,400. The question on r/TravelHacks: can you just book the round-trip and not take the return flight?
The answer is complicated, legally gray, and highlights how airline pricing has become divorced from actual costs.
Why Airlines Price This Way
The pricing logic seems backwards because it is. The reason is market segmentation, not costs. Business travelers often book last-minute one-way flights and expense them - they're less price-sensitive. Leisure travelers book round-trips well in advance and comparison shop heavily.
None of this justifies €1,400 one-way when round-trip is €800. It just explains why airlines do it: because they can.
The Throwaway Ticketing Question
This practice is called "throwaway ticketing," and it exists in a legal gray area. It's not illegal - you're not breaking laws by not showing up. But it violates airline terms of service.
Potential consequences: they can cancel your ticket (including the outbound you wanted), charge you the difference retroactively, or ban you from future flights. Frequent flyer accounts can be frozen.
The Detection Risk
How likely are you to get caught? It depends. If you check luggage on the outbound flight, it will be checked through to your final destination - easy detection. Doing it repeatedly on the same account will get flagged. Major carriers like Lufthansa and Air Canada (mentioned in this case) actively monitor for this behavior.
Better Alternatives
Rather than throwaway ticketing: book two separate one-way tickets on different airlines, use multi-city booking, check nearby airports (pricing can vary by hundreds), be flexible with dates, or monitor prices and book strategically.
For the specific case of €800 round-trip versus €1,400 one-way: can you do it? Technically yes. Will you get caught? Maybe. Is it worth the risk for €600? Probably not on airlines known for enforcement.
