Flying Two Different Airlines in the Same Trip?

[poohs_hunny]

Has anyone had experience with flying down using one airline and back with another? I've found the times to be better for me doing my flights this way, and the price difference is very slight. Are there any drawbacks to doing this? Will we be flagged for extra security checks since I'll be purchasing one-way tickets for each airline? I've heard that Southwest does this sometimes by not allowing online check-in, but I'm not using Southwest. Opinions? Thank you!

 

[TDC Nala]

I do that a number of times and have not been flagged for security checks. I travel alone, too.

I always book all my Southwest flights as one-way flights. I have never had trouble checking in for one.

 

[vacation dreamer]

Has anyone had experience with flying down using one airline and back with another? I've found the times to be better for me doing my flights this way, and the price difference is very slight. Are there any drawbacks to doing this? Will we be flagged for extra security checks since I'll be purchasing one-way tickets for each airline? I've heard that Southwest does this sometimes by not allowing online check-in, but I'm not using Southwest. Opinions? Thank you!

we have never been flagged for buying one-way tickets or using different airlines for a trip

 

[shoes99]

We have done this before, in fact, we are leaving Friday flying JetBlue and returning on Continental.

 

[kato0627]

We flew out of Philly in Aug. We flew SWA down to MCO and AirTran back. No problems at all. Have a great trip

 

[keishashadow]

We've used both the same airline & multiple stops/what appears to be 1 way tix since 9/11.

DH & DS (same name, evidently on watch list) nearly always receive extra attention...price we pay in this day & age I suppose. No big deal other than me getting stuck dragging all their carryon stuff off the belt.

 

[sbakersub]

We do this about half the time we fly, and are doing it again next month...Alaska Air to Orlando and US Airways back. I like to balance cost with convenience, and find the two one-way flights usually work best for that. I've never had a problem with security.

There are a couple downsides to this, though --

** If you're buying non-refundable tickets, and need to change your travel plans and that affects both flights, you would have two different change fees (two different tickets) instead of just one. Some airlines charge higher change fees than others (e.g., Alaska is $50 and US Airways $100) so I take that into consideration. I've always been pretty sure of my dates when I book and haven't needed to change plans yet, but it could be more costly if I did.

** By spreading my patronage around, I'm never going to get enough frequent flyer miles to go anywhere free

But given the choice, if two one-way flights are cost effective and convenient, go for it!

 

[Suzyq9241]

Hubby and I did this ... we flew southwest down and airtran back... no prob...

But we did like southwest better than airtran...