Ticket Prices Return/One way?

Question

I've been looking to book tickets online for my trip to Canada. I've found that Return tickets are cheaper than one way. Is this right? How does that make sense? Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

I live in Australia, if anyone knows any good cheaper airlines, could you also let me know. Thanks.

Answer 1

To a point, this is correct.  The return tickets are usually used by leisure travelers.  However, they carry many more restrictions including a Saturday-night stay requirement, advance purchase, specific travel days and have limited availability.  If you don't care about which airline you fly, try using Priceline.  Otherwise just use a major meta-search engine.

Regarding choice of airlines, it depends on which route you are looking to travel over.  The U.S. / Canada market tends to be higher due to limited competition.  Westjet is the "low fare" carrier in Canada (also trans border), but has limited routes.  Also, there is a high amount of surcharges on a ticket due to NAVCANADA navigational fees.  Good luck!

Answer 2

yes, it's right.  No, you're not doing anything wrong.  If you are immigrating to Canada, book the cheapest round trip and just don't use the return half!  If you are just visiting, but don't know when you want to return:  look for a fare with lower change fees; might be a more expensive fare to begin with, but could save you $.  Also, pay attention to maximum stay--usually 1 year is the longest you can find