using 2 airlines question
 

Are we crazy...but I found flights from Chicago to London ($690) using 2 separate airlines that are almost $200 cheaper than using a single airline ($880). We are traveling in June. This is the deal...we would leave Chicago at 2:30 on Delta, have an hour and half layover at JFK. Then fly to Dublin on Delta. In Dublin, we would switch to Aer Lingus after another hour and half delay where we would fly on to London. I know it sounds inconvenient, but we would only add an extra 1.5 hours on to the flight by doing this and save almost $200 per person (there are 3 of us going.)

Anyone try this and what should we do before making a decision about booking?

Well you'll have to pass through immigration at Dublin and it's likely that you'll have to collect your luggage and recheck it. Also how will you get checked in for the connecting flight?

Finally, given the number of flights between Dublin & London I can't see why you want to risk missing the connection because you wanted to get to London quickly

Have you checked prices for Air France to London City, BA to Gatwick, BMI to Heathrow and Ryanair to Luton & Stansted?

That's a gamble only you can decide whether to take or not. If your flight into DUB is late and you miss your connection, you probably need to buy a roundtrip DUB-London. You can lower your risk somehow by booking a later flight to London.

Even bigger risk coming back. May want to overnight in DUB.

Good thing is that DUB-London is competitive route. Even if you have to buy last minute, it still won't cost you a fortune. The $190 savings will likely to be gone, though.

I don't think those 90 minute connections are long enough, especially when you're flying two different airlines.

Thank you for everyone's input. This is pretty much a new thing for us so I appreciate the input!

Plus the two airline thing is a real mess if there is a schedule change and a misconnect. That happened to me with flights booked through Orbiz in August. Was able, after a hassle, to get a refund from Orbitz and new tickets on the same airline, albeit,more than I would have paid doing it to begin with.

I’d be very uncomfortable with the 90 minute layover in Dublin; too short for a long overseas trip and changing airline. I did a similar thing going from Chicago to Rome, switching airlines in London, and <b>boy was I glad</b> I booked the later departure out of London! (A three hour layover instead of 90 minute.) And that was with carry-on only. I know were not talking the same routes, but I think it’s the same lesson.

I would not do it. Too many things can go wrong. I know saving money is a good thing, but sometimes convenience and peace of mind is worth a piece of cash too :-)