Round-Trip or One-Way

[luvtocruise74]

Has anyone ever booked two one-way tickets instead of a round-trip ticket?

[Bowie MeMe]

Sometimes 2 one ways could work but usually an open jaw or roundtrip is cheaper for the flights I book. ITA matrix can give you an idea of possible combinations and the price for one way and for roundtrip to compare. If you give city pairs or ideas of what you wish to do we can be more helpful.

[cruzngrl]

I book one ways all the time. Have 99% of the time found it cheaper. My next cruise we booked one ways, saw a price drop and changed the flights and got an even better deal (southwest)

[luvtocruise74]

I'm looking to leave from DEN and go to FLL in April. I'd like to fly Southwest but they only have until April 6 available. I know the rest should be up after November 10 but I'm getting anxious.

[Zach1213]

I routinely do. Just did today, actually. Wanted to fly out on one airline and back on another. It's rarely if ever more expensive for domestic US trips.

[alcpa1]

Flying domestically it can be a very practical option and when you do your search for mainline carriers often flights open that are not available while booking a round trip ticket. Do it all the time.....

[Bowie MeMe]

I book one ways all the time. Have 99% of the time found it cheaper. My next cruise we booked one ways, saw a price drop and changed the flights and got an even better deal (southwest)

 

Note Southwest is the odd airline here that books all flights one way and 2 one ways make a round trip. They also allow changing flight or rebooking for a change of time or change of fare and charge no change fee and money is not refunded but is good up to one year on your account.

[grandma*knows*best]

For domestic tickets, booking two one way tickets is usually the same price as a roundtrip ticket (international tickets are a whole other story).

 

If you're flying Southwest, there's no reason not to book the outbound ticket now and your return when dates are released.

[jagoffee]

I book one ways all the time. Have 99% of the time found it cheaper. My next cruise we booked one ways, saw a price drop and changed the flights and got an even better deal (southwest)

 

 

What airlines do you usually use? I am trying to understand why you would almost always find it cheaper to book two one ways instead of round trip. Is it because of when you book each segment?

I pay a lot of attention to air fares and I usually do not find it less expensive to book two one way fares on AA. Actually lately I have been finding it to be more expensive more often which was never previous the case except for International flights.

 

I am always looking for ideas on how to find good deals on flight therefore thank you in advance for your input.

[NW Pacific]

I have booked one-way on different airlines (vs r/t on same airline) to get

flight times that worked for us. Compared R/T maybe a few dollars more, but not so much that I did not book. Some times convenience is worth the extra $. This has been domestic

Edited October 30, 2014 by NW Pacific

[frugaltravel]

There are tons of city pairs/routes that offer one way fares with the legacy airlines. It definitely is not just a Southwest thing and definitely not just on routes that Southwest flies.

 

The main drawback to two one-way tickets is in case you need to make changes/cancel the flights, you might be subject to two change fees vs. one if you booked a round trip on one ticket.

[mitsugirly]

We do it all the time and have found some great deals doing it that way, so I always double check before booking. Also, sometimes I will see a price for one of them and later find that the price went up. So I will book 1 way and wait to see if the price of the other comes back down before booking it (and usually it does).

 

 

Another thing that I have learned is if you are traveling with a large group (last time we had 8 in our party) that you can get a cheaper rate by not booking them all together. There may only be 4 seats left at the cheapest rate, so I'll grab those 4 seats and then book the other 4 at the new rate (which sucks for them, but at least some were able to save). :)

[waterbug123]

 

if you are traveling with a large group (last time we had 8 in our party) that you can get a cheaper rate by not booking them all together. There may only be 4 seats left at the cheapest rate, so I'll grab those 4 seats and then book the other 4 at the new rate (which sucks for them, but at least some were able to save). :)

 

Just my .02, but if all 8 are traveling together, and have all agreed that 1 person is in charge of booking the tickets, it only seems fair to add up the total cost of the 8 tickets and divide equally. ;)

[mitsugirly]

Just my .02, but if all 8 are traveling together, and have all agreed that 1 person is in charge of booking the tickets, it only seems fair to add up the total cost of the 8 tickets and divide equally. ;)

 

 

Yes, that may be how you (or anyone) might do it. However, I cruise with my kids (ages 6 to 28) and also grandchildren. While my youngest son is only 19 and just holds down a grocery store job (for the last 3 years and is a really good kid), I know that he saves forever to be able to go on a cruise with us, so I let him have the discount seat. Then my oldest daughter is well established and makes good money, so she always agrees to take one of the more expensive seats. Then we go from there. It all depends on who is going and what their situation is. Actually this time around, I bought my sons air-flight tickets...just because. ;) So I guess what I'm saying is I would rather pay for the more expensive seats and let my kids reap the benefits of the cheaper seats because I know I'm in a better financial situation than them...so why bother to split it. :p Just my .02 cents. :D

[waterbug123]

Yes, that may be how you (or anyone) might do it. However, I cruise with my kids (ages 6 to 28) and also grandchildren. While my youngest son is only 19 and just holds down a grocery store job (for the last 3 years and is a really good kid), I know that he saves forever to be able to go on a cruise with us, so I let him have the discount seat. Then my oldest daughter is well established and makes good money, so she always agrees to take one of the more expensive seats. Then we go from there. It all depends on who is going and what their situation is. Actually this time around, I bought my sons air-flight tickets...just because. ;) So I guess what I'm saying is I would rather pay for the more expensive seats and let my kids reap the benefits of the cheaper seats because I know I'm in a better financial situation than them...so why bother to split it. :p Just my .02 cents. :D

 

My bad. When you said "sucks for them" it almost sounded like you were gloating over getting a lower price while leaving others to pay more. ;)

[luvtocruise74]

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this thread.