Disadvantes to NOT booking a roundtrip flight

[Angeleyes1382]

I was looking at flights for June 2011 from DFW to SJU and back. Both Flights are $159 pp each way. We need to book a flight from DFW to SJU on 6/4/2011 (Saturday) and a flight SJU to DFW 6/14/2011 (Tuesday). Since we don't have all the money at this time we thought about booking the Saturday flight right now and the Tuesday flight later on. When I was looking up prices I looked at both one way and round trip. There was no price difference between the two ways. Are there any other disadvantages to booking them separately other than the chance that the Tuesday flight could go up in price?

[6rugrats]

No.

[vjmatty]

I've actually split flights like that so that I could get a better deal, one carrier might be a lot cheaper outgoing than incoming so I have taken advantage of that. Also, I don't mind flying Jet Blue or Southwest for the return after a cruise, but I generally don't like to risk non-legacy carriers when getting me to a cruise or an international flight.

 

Overseas one-ways on the other hand can be a different story, however I do know people who have taken Icelandair in one direction and AerLingus on the return. LOT is another airline I've seen with lower one-way fares on occasion.

[Globaliser]

Are there any other disadvantages to booking them separately other than the chance that the Tuesday flight could go up in price?

Yes: If you have to change your plans, you'll have to pay two lots of change fees.

 

Forgive my asking this, but this is discretionary travel, right?

[frugaltravel]

I was looking at flights for June 2011 from DFW to SJU and back. Both Flights are $159 pp each way. We need to book a flight from DFW to SJU on 6/4/2011 (Saturday) and a flight SJU to DFW 6/14/2011 (Tuesday). Since we don't have all the money at this time we thought about booking the Saturday flight right now and the Tuesday flight later on. When I was looking up prices I looked at both one way and round trip. There was no price difference between the two ways. Are there any other disadvantages to booking them separately other than the chance that the Tuesday flight could go up in price?

 

An advantage to two one-way tickets is similar to the "disadvantage" stated above re: change fees.

 

Say you need to change the outbound flight but not the return. Changing the outbound is generally considered a "cancellation" so you get docked the fee plus you must purchase a new ticket at then-current prices. If you have two one-way tickets and you need to change just the outbound flight, you pay the change fee, but you only pay the then-current price of the outbound ticket. You lock in the price of the return since it is a separate ticket.

 

If you change the return flight of a round-trip ticket, generally that still protects the fare you paid (though fare rules vary greatly so check the fine print of your fare rules). So in many instances, changing the return flight of a round-trip ticket won't matter as much.

 

Will you change/cancel? Well, of course you don't expect to. But there are both disadvantages and advantages of both options.

 

Above info is based on tickets for flights solely within the US and Puerto Rico.

[6rugrats]

Good point about the change fees. I assume this is on AA. The price of your flight, after taxes and fees is actually $182.10. You would pay a $150 change fee if you had to change the ticket for any reason.

[Angeleyes1382]

Change fees. That does give me something to think about. I highly doubt we would need to change the flight, but things do happen and plans sometime need to be changed. I might have to just take my chances. If any flight needed to be changed it would be the return flight anyways.

 

Globaliser - By discretionary travel, you mean travel for pleasure as opposed to business? I'm a teacher so we only get to travel for pleasure and unfortunately not as much as we need to.

[Texas Tillie]

 

Globaliser - By discretionary travel, you mean travel for pleasure as opposed to business? I'm a teacher so we only get to travel for pleasure and unfortunately not as much as we need to.

 

I "think" this was an attempt on Globaliser's part to say that he thinks that maybe you shouldn't be travelling if you don't have the money to buy a round trip ticket up front. This is a topic "cussed and discussed" often on Cruise Critic.

[vjmatty]

I "think" this was an attempt on Globaliser's part to say that he thinks that maybe you shouldn't be travelling if you don't have the money to buy a round trip ticket up front. This is a topic "cussed and discussed" often on Cruise Critic.

 

I don't know why so many people feel this way.... I think that if you can expand your horizons and see more of the world in whatever manner of budgeting that is required based on your financial circumstances, then good for you. I live around so many people here who care nothing of what lies beyond their town or county, and leaving NY state may as well be going to the moon in their eyes. It is refreshing to see people having a more worldly perspective.

 

Sure, traveling on a limited budget is not for everyone, and certainly not my style of financial planning, but I don't see why it is necessary to disparage the budgetary choices of others. In fact, am going to give Globaliser the benefit of the doubt, since he is often such a good source of practical advice, and assume he isn't intending to moralize the choices of others.

[frugaltravel]

I don't know why so many people feel this way.... I think that if you can expand your horizons and see more of the world in whatever manner of budgeting that is required based on your financial circumstances, then good for you. I live around so many people here who care nothing of what lies beyond their town or county, and leaving NY state may as well be going to the moon in their eyes. It is refreshing to see people having a more worldly perspective.

 

Sure, traveling on a limited budget is not for everyone, and certainly not my style of financial planning, but I don't see why it is necessary to disparage the budgetary choices of others. In fact, am going to give Globaliser the benefit of the doubt, since he is often such a good source of practical advice, and assume he isn't intending to moralize the choices of others.

 

I totally agree. And let's hope Globaliser comes back and clarifies why he asked the question. I am sure he will.

[klfrodo]

I "think" this was an attempt on Globaliser's part to say that he thinks that maybe you shouldn't be travelling if you don't have the money to buy a round trip ticket up front. This is a topic "cussed and discussed" often on Cruise Critic.

 

I didn't take it that way, but, I could be mistaken. I took it to mean a possible business or convention travel.

[Globaliser]

In fact, am going to give Globaliser the benefit of the doubt, since he is often such a good source of practical advice, and assume he isn't intending to moralize the choices of others.

No moralising at all. This is an intesely practical problem; if this is discretionary travel, so that it matters relatively little if it doesn't happen, and it's a long way into the future, the best thing to do may be to book nothing at this stage, for the following reasons.

 

If money is short, locking yourself in to the investment of an air ticket this far in advance may prove more costly in the long run if you end up having to cancel or change your plans, particularly if you end up not being able to afford the rest of the trip. Or, if you've bought the outbound tickets but not the return tickets because you can't afford them at that time, and you find that prices have in fact gone up and you can afford the return tickets even less, you might end up either spending money you can't afford to spend, or throwing away the money that you've already spent on the outbound tickets.

 

Hence, it might be better all round if you wait until you know you can afford all of the travel; that will be the time to book it.

[Angeleyes1382]

Well I guess if I can't afford the return flight then I can just never come back ;)

 

I'm not worried about not having the money for the trip, we set a certain amount of our paychecks for travel because we feel it is important to travel for education for our son and sanity for us. We also set a certain amount aside for an emergency fund, but I don't feel like paying for the airline tickets are an emergency or I would just use that.