You may be buying domestic airfare all wrong.
A one-way ticket to a domestic destination on a legacy carrier—American, United, Delta—used to cost almost as much as the roundtrip price. Thanks to competition from low-cost airlines (Southwest, Frontier, JetBlue, etc.) that promoted their airfares as one-way, the Big Three were forced to adopt the one-way fare pricing model, to consumers’ benefit.
Why you should consider buying separate one-way tickets for your next trip.
The major airlines’ pricing strategy conditioned travelers to buy roundtrip tickets, though, and it can be a hard habit to break. Why bother to check other airline websites when you can finalize your complete itinerary with a few clicks? But if you take the time to book two one-way tickets instead, you’ll enjoy not only more flight options but more often than not savings on the total fare, too.
Split-ticketing put into action.
Pre-pandemic, I helped family members purchase flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Denver (DEN) for a ski trip. There were only three carriers with nonstop flights from SFO to DEN: Frontier, Southwest, and United. All three pretty much matched prices on the route once checked luggage was included. The skiers preferred a morning flight, which eliminated Frontier. The Southwest early flight was $30 less per one-way ticket than United’s, making it the choice for outbound travel.
When it came to the return, United offered the latest evening nonstop flight out of DEN, which would allow the skiers a full day on the slopes plus ample time to get to the airport. As a bonus, the United flight was $20 cheaper than the earlier-by-an-hour Southwest one. United for the win on the return!
Bottom line? Split-ticketing saved $50 per roundtrip, plus secured the skiers a better departure time.
More airports mean more options.
For those living in or near metro areas with two or more airports (New York, Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC), split-ticketing stretches travel options even further. Find a cheap flight on Southwest out of Chicago–Midway (MDW) on a Friday night, but the Sunday you want to return is sold out? No problem. Check out the one-way returns to Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) for a flight on United, American, or JetBlue. Split-ticketing allows you to fly from neighboring airports on the same trip, which means more choices in airlines, preferred travel times, and airfare.
What about international flights?
While the split-ticket model works well on domestic routes, it mostly doesn’t on long-haul international ones. Ticket prices for flights to Europe, Asia, South America, etc. are still based on the model of expensive one-ways; booking separate tickets will rarely net a discount.
The market is starting to shift, however. When budget carriers like LEVEL and Norwegian began offering bare-bones one-way tickets to certain overseas destinations, traditional carriers introduced basic-economy fares to compete. They are also starting to price match one-way fares on routes to Mexico and the Caribbean where low-cost carriers like Frontier and Spirit Airlines are starting to fly.
Avoid some of the burn from change fees.
There’s another benefit to booking separate one-way tickets. What if you want to change your departure flight? With a roundtrip ticket, you’d have to pay any fare cost difference plus a change fee—$200 on a Big Three airline.
If you’d bought two one-way tickets instead, you’d simply book a new one-way departure. Yes, you have to eat the cost of the original departure flight, but you’ll likely save money overall because the average one-way flight will be less than the $200 change fee, even if booked at the last minute.
Two tickets, double the hassle?
Buying two separate one-way tickets does require extra time to find out what flights and prices are offered by other airlines. Google Flights and Kayak can do some of that extra work for you—look for the “Separate Tickets” (Google Flights) and “Hacker Fare” (Kayak) tags on their search pages. (Note: Be sure to check fares on airline websites before making your decision; search sites often omit add-on fees for things like checked baggage and seat selection from fare results.)
Twist’s Take: Spend a little time booking one-ways instead of roundtrips to save money and gain flexibility.
