I saved money by buying 2 one-way tickets on 2 different airlines
Jun 9th, 2008, 02:55 PM
#1
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I saved money by buying 2 one-way tickets on 2 different airlines
This is what happened: I needed 2 tickets Newark>Ft. Lauderdale>Newark. I looked at Continental's rates and thought they were high. Then I realized that the Newark>Ft. Lauderdale leg was rather cheap but the Ft. Lauderdale>Newark leg was much higher.
To make a long story short, I bought the Newark>Ft. Lauderdale leg with Continental and the Ft. Lauderdale>Newark leg with JetBlue. I saved a total of $230 which is not bad at all IMO (and yes, I did check the roundtrip price with JetBlue and it was high as well). I've now learned not to get stuck on booking round trip just because.
My questions are: Was this a fluke? Does anyone else do this? If so, am I the last one to have thought of saving money that way? Would love to read your experiences if you've done this. I'll take any tips to fly cheaper these days!
To make a long story short, I bought the Newark>Ft. Lauderdale leg with Continental and the Ft. Lauderdale>Newark leg with JetBlue. I saved a total of $230 which is not bad at all IMO (and yes, I did check the roundtrip price with JetBlue and it was high as well). I've now learned not to get stuck on booking round trip just because.
My questions are: Was this a fluke? Does anyone else do this? If so, am I the last one to have thought of saving money that way? Would love to read your experiences if you've done this. I'll take any tips to fly cheaper these days!
Jun 9th, 2008, 05:07 PM
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It is not a fluke. On routes with strong competition with the "low cost" carriers that sell tickets each way, the "legacy" carriers often match their fare structure. That explains why CO sell discount one-way fares to Florida.
Search engines like Kayak or itasoftware will find them and will display the lowest fares as "multiple carriers", which is basically two single tickets on two different airlines.
Search engines like Kayak or itasoftware will find them and will display the lowest fares as "multiple carriers", which is basically two single tickets on two different airlines.
Jun 10th, 2008, 12:49 AM
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Good tip |
I don't know about the US but the same certainly applies with budget carriers in Asia and also main carriers sometimes in both Asia and Australia.
When fares are quoeted per trip sector ( ie one-way ) many people automatically without thinking go for a retun with the same airline, though a retun with another carrier could be cheaper.
Also the carrier you use to 'go' with might not have as convenient flights coming back, so sure worth checking on.
I don't know about the US but the same certainly applies with budget carriers in Asia and also main carriers sometimes in both Asia and Australia.
When fares are quoeted per trip sector ( ie one-way ) many people automatically without thinking go for a retun with the same airline, though a retun with another carrier could be cheaper.
Also the carrier you use to 'go' with might not have as convenient flights coming back, so sure worth checking on.
Jun 10th, 2008, 08:21 AM
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I did this to California from Florida. Continental had a cheap early morning ticket to SFO, and Delta had the later departure from SFO back to FLorida. I also get "activity" with my frequent flyer miles with both airlines.
