Any CONS to booking one-way flight till other half of trip opens up??

[beattyfamily]

I'm thinking of booking my flight down October 30 with Jetblue and then booking the flight back when they open up November.

Has anyone ever done this?

Are there any CONS I'm not considering?

Thanks!

 

[debster812]

The only CON I can think of is that you might get flagged by TSA for additional screening, since you will have only one way tickets. But if you go in, realizing that this is a possibility, I would say no worries.

I'll be doing this in a couple of weeks, booking our outbound flight for Feb school vacation on the 331 day mark, then waiting a week for our return.

 

[Aisling]

This is exactly what I just did for our July trip, but with Song.
The fare going to MCO dropped to $87, and the return was something like $147.
So I booked the one way for $87, and waited until the return fares came down. Two weeks later, they did! I then booked our return for $87.
So now I have 2 e>tickets for each of my party, one-way going , one way coming back.
Since I'm a mom traveling with kids, I don't think I'll raise too much of a red flag. But if they want to do an extra search on me, let them, Disney World awaits!

I really can't think of any cons.

 

[sgtdisney]

Usually the airfare is cheaper if you book round trip flights as opposed to 2 one-way tickets, but I would imagine that depends on the airline. Also, as someone else mentioned, one way ticket holders are flaged by the airlines and the TSA as possible candidates for more stringent searches. If the ticket prices are the same for two one-ways as opposed to one round trip and you don't mind the possibility of an additional search, I can't see any additional cons.

 

[safetymom]

As others have mentioned you will be subject to extra security because you have one way tickets.

They don't care who you are when they see that so be prepared for the extra screening and allow time for it.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Aisling
This is exactly what I just did for our July trip, but with Song.
The fare going to MCO dropped to $87, and the return was something like $147.
So I booked the one way for $87, and waited until the return fares came down. Two weeks later, they did! I then booked our return for $87.
So now I have 2 e>tickets for each of my party, one-way going , one way coming back.
Since I'm a mom traveling with kids, I don't think I'll raise too much of a red flag. But if they want to do an extra search on me, let them, Disney World awaits!

I really can't think of any cons.

Your parental status means nothing to the computer. One way tickets do raise a red flag, often. I would be prepared for an extra search, for all of you.

 

[Julia M]

I just booked a one way fare on SWA for July 30. When the schedule opens up, I'll either cancel my one way and rebook a round trip or just book the way home (for Aug 14). We wanted to fly on a specific day and time, so I didn't want to wait until the schedule opened up, in case that flight filled up.

Luckily, my kids are older (will be 7, 9 and 12 this summer), so the extra security isn't such a big deal (no more carrying on car seats, strollers, diaper bags, mucho toys and so on)

I will allow a little extra time, though, that's good to know

Julia

 

[kilee]

I actually don't know anyone who has booked one way and wasn't subject to extra search. This included a toddler!! Also, I wouldn't cancel the first flight once you book it, you'll pay a cancellation fee for each ticket. Doesn't really save any money in the end doing it that way.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by kilee
I actually don't know anyone who has booked one way and wasn't subject to extra search. This included a toddler!! Also, I wouldn't cancel the first flight once you book it, you'll pay a cancellation fee for each ticket. Doesn't really save any money in the end doing it that way.

There are no cancellation or change fees on SWA.

 

[spectromagic fan]

I booked with SWA today for our trip to MCO (from ORF) on 7/8. I've been watching since the date opened up, and today's rate to MCO was the lowest I've found (61.40 + tax/etc.). The return trip on 7/17 was $92, so I'm going to wait to see if the return goes down. If the flight to MCO goes down, we can rebook and use the difference to help pay for the return trip. We don't mind if we get flagged for extra security, as the savings will be worth the inconvenience. I should have booked our flights when the rates first came out, but I was holding out for lower fares and now the return is higher. Last Sept. we got round trip tickets for 2 from ORF to MCO for a grand total of $190--that really spoiled us.