[Enigma]

From doing research on Skyscanner, I've found that instead of buying one ticket to a location that it's cheaper to buy two separate tickets (in certain situations). One to a intermediary destination within the US and then another ticket to your final destination.

For example, I live on the east coast of the US. I want to go to SEA. If I buy a ticket to Seattle or San Francisco then buy a separate ticket to Thailand, it's actually much cheaper (like 25-50%) than buying a ticket directly to Thailand from the same departure location.

I will probably fly into the Phils first and last I checked it was even cheaper to do Seattle/SF, Japan/Korea, then the Phils (all separate tickets) than it is to do Seattle/SF to Phils or flying straight to the Phils. I'm assuming it would be the same flying from the west coast to the east coast first to save money on the way to Europe.

To be clear, I'm not talking about stops. I'm talking two to three separate tickets that may or may not include their own stops.

Would this actually work? Obviously, it's cheaper to fly within the US which leads to the savings but I'm worried I'd get hit with some crazy, hidden fees (I've heard Skyscanner is good with booking fees though). It just seems too easy.

[TheBulldozer]

It can, but if you're just making connecting flights and not spending any time at a location as you hop around, your checked luggage will run into problems, (likely you'll have to go to baggage claim and then recheck it) or you'll have to change terminals if switching carriers.

If you do this, it's best to spend a few days in your layover destination.

[Enigma]

(10-04-2012 05:49 AM)MaleDefined Wrote:  

It can, but if you're just making connecting flights and not spending any time at a location as you hop around, your checked luggage will run into problems, (likely you'll have to go to baggage claim and then recheck it) or you'll have to change terminals if switching carriers.

If you do this, it's best to spend a few days in your layover destination.

Word. Thanks for the info.

I was planning to have a short layover in those places anyways as I haven't been to the west coast or Japan/Korea. I may end up spending the money I saved on tickets during the layover but at least I'll get to see more places for the same amount of money aka more bang for my buck. Maybe pick up an extra flag

[hun73r]

If you are looking at a few stops in around Asia, consider buying a round-the-world ticket. It's often cheaper to use a company like http://www.airtreks.com/ or others and make several stops instead of just a direct flight to your destination.

[Enigma]

(10-04-2012 04:38 PM)hun73r Wrote:  

If you are looking at a few stops in around Asia, consider buying a round-the-world ticket. It's often cheaper to use a company like http://www.airtreks.com/ or others and make several stops instead of just a direct flight to your destination.

I'm mostly just looking to get to SEA for as cheap as possible. I will be traveling to different countries throughout the area but I will likely be staying in certain countries for an extended period of time. I wouldn't mind seeing Japan or Korea if it were saving me money but otherwise I probably wouldn't visit those particular countries during this trip.

I've looked at the RTW tickets but I don't think it's the cheapest option for what I want to do. Thanks for the suggestion though. I had not been exposed to that particular site before and it may come in handy in the future.

[DoctaWho]

Connecting flights can be a real chore especially since if you do not book with the same airline there is sometimes no guarantees about another flight if you miss yours. Another option if you live on the east coast is to fly to somewhere in Europe and take a cheap air asia flight from there. There are some fairly cheap fares from dc and nyc to places like England.

[Sourcecode]

how much baggage are you taking?

I've done this before. it's only a hassle if you let it be.
I flew a lot with no more than a large back pack. changing flights want bad. depending on the airport and carrier you might end up going through security twice.

like said above, it would be best to stay a bought or in the city.
if you have a stowed bag, you have to account for the time getting off the plane, getting your bag off and re checking it then going through security again.


I took the choice to stay in the city for a night. if i would have tried to connect in the airport.i would have missed my flight because if his long it took to get through customs.

you also need to check those airline websites and see how much they charge with bags. especially the cheaper airlines. i ended up paying almost thirty dollars more because my bag was too heavy. i converted lbs to kg wrong though.

i used sky scanner also. just make good note of the times between flights.
because of all the random variables, i would want at least 4 hours between flights where you have a checked bag

[Baze_Backinthegame]

Just become a flight attendant .. free travel

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

I suppose this is always an option if you want to shave 100% off the cost of the ticket: http://blogs.app.com/saywhat/2010/06/08/...ding-gear/

[The Duke]

Enigma, I've done this a couple of times and it worked out fine for me. Flights from Europe often are very cheap to NYC and you can save hundreds of dollars using this tactic, especially for one-way travel. For going to SEA, it's good if you have an Alaska Airlines Frequent Flier account (Alaska has a hub in SEA). You can go from Newark to SEA spending only 12.5k miles on Alaska Airlines.

Keep in mind that long-haul international flights are almost always on-time as these flights get priority over domestic flights. Domestic flights are more likely to get delayed so give more of a safety buffer for them. Be sure you include plenty of time for going through immigration, getting your baggage and going through security again. Also consider the time of day when you are making your connection. At 11am, the airport might be very busy and lines can be long. One time my second flight was only three hours after my first flight landed, and it worked out, but I suggest you have a larger buffer than that.

[Seadog]

Yes this works I've done it many times. As others have stated, find out all the details with regards to customs/baggage/terminal changes etc. then double that time estimate to be safe. Over night is really best if you can. I like flying to Singapore coming from North America, I can often arrive on flights 1230am-330am(many cities don't have flights at these hours), spend a short night in the airport jetlagged and wide awake. There are tons of connections all over Asia, and its a great airport, just like a big mall. So I grab one with Airasia or whoever at 6am-9am and off we go.

flyertalk.com if you want to learn all the ins and outs of finding deals along with making the most of airline miles.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Good idea but it seems this works only for Americans. I checked on Expedia.ca and a YYZ BKK for example goes for 1550$ while YYZ-YVR is 560 and then YVR-BKK for about 1250 totals about 1800$. And that's for the cheapest airfare going with US carriers and flying through the US which is the worst scenario possible. Anyone knows of a legit site where the fares to Asia from Canada (preferably YYZ but could do from YVR if the deal makes it worth it) are more reasonable? I wouldn't mind paying 1500-1700 if flying with Etihad, Emirates or Cathay but United, Delta? Hell no!

[Duke Castile]

(10-04-2012 01:30 PM)Enigma Wrote:  

(10-04-2012 05:49 AM)MaleDefined Wrote:  

It can, but if you're just making connecting flights and not spending any time at a location as you hop around, your checked luggage will run into problems, (likely you'll have to go to baggage claim and then recheck it) or you'll have to change terminals if switching carriers.

If you do this, it's best to spend a few days in your layover destination.

Word. Thanks for the info.

I was planning to have a short layover in those places anyways as I haven't been to the west coast or Japan/Korea. I may end up spending the money I saved on tickets during the layover but at least I'll get to see more places for the same amount of money aka more bang for my buck. Maybe pick up an extra flag

Not necessarily. If your airline is partners with the airline of the next ticket they can forward it for you. For example, I flew Delta into L.A. and American Airlines into Santo Domingo. Saved 20% and Delta checked it all the way through.

[Seadog]

(12-03-2012 12:53 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

Good idea but it seems this works only for Americans. I checked on Expedia.ca and a YYZ BKK for example goes for 1550$ while YYZ-YVR is 560 and then YVR-BKK for about 1250 totals about 1800$. And that's for the cheapest airfare going with US carriers and flying through the US which is the worst scenario possible. Anyone knows of a legit site where the fares to Asia from Canada (preferably YYZ but could do from YVR if the deal makes it worth it) are more reasonable? I wouldn't mind paying 1500-1700 if flying with Etihad, Emirates or Cathay but United, Delta? Hell no!

Without getting too into it (finding deals on airfare is a study as invovled as game) here are the things you can try:

1) If you're in YYZ drive to Buffalo. US has fewer taxes. +1 on US airlines being shite though. Lounges too.

2) Throwaway leg. I can fly to Jakarta, trasiting in Singapore, for hundreds of dollars cheaper than flying to Singapore as the final destination on the same flights. Add on a leg, and see how that affects your price.

3) Break up the flight. I was looking at YHZ-CGK. That flight was over $2k. I booked a multi-destination flight on Expedia as flight 1 YHZ-YYZ, then flight 2 YYZ-CGK leaving a few hours after the first for $1400. All AC flights, bags got checked all the way through.

4) Research research research. I almost exclusively use ITAsoftware.com to reserach flights now. They don't sell them but they use the same engine as Orbitz so you can usually find it there. It's a little bit complicated software if you want to use it to its full potential, but it's very powerful searching broad swaths of dates, desitnations, specifying transit cities, airlines, even specific flights or airline alliances. Look for out of the way transfers in hubs. I flew Texas-Singapore specifying a transit in EWR. A little out of the way but saved hundreds. Especially if you're trying to get miles for status.

Also, unless you're on a schedule for like work, time is likely less valuable than money for you. Look at all the Asian hubs (NRT, HKG, BKK, SIN, ICN etc) you can probably save money. Then airasia or jetstar to wherever you want to go. You are much more likely to find a deal getting an extra flight on the Asian end, simply because Canada doesn't have discount airlines, taxes up the ass, and you're already leaving from the main Canadian hub.