Has anyone booked each person's airfare separately to save $?

[frannn]

I was able to save $60 with Jetblue by booking 2 people's airfare separately. I will have to pay the higher fare for the 3rd person unless the price drops. The only drawback I can think of is that we may be in separate boarding groups since we have 3 different confirmations. I booked all 3 seats in the same row, but worried there will be no overhead space once the last person boards. Has anyone ever done this and am missing any other potential problems?

 

[sponica]

The problem my friend has run into when her mom books everyone on different ticket locators for fare reasons, is that when there's travel disruptions getting the right people rebooked on the same flights is interesting

 

[sheilafri]

You might try calling the airline to have the reservations linked.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I’ve done this in the past but avoid doing it when I can, especially for the reasons mentioned above re: travel disruptions.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

In theory (and it's only a theory), there might have been only 2 tickets available at the lower rate. Searching on 3 tickets pushed you up to the next price level for all 3. So when you looked for less than 3 tickets, you saw a lower rate - and the 3rd ticket is higher. Sorry if that was obvious to others, and didn't need mentioning!! I've definitely seen that when booking SW flights over the years, and have taken advantage of separate purchases.

I agree the biggest issue could be if you need to cancel or rebook for some reason. Other than that, I think you should be fine - could even be in the same boarding group. And $60 is $60! On JetBlue, that probably goes towards checked bags....

 

[lorimt]

I do this a lot on SW and haven’t had any issues.

 

[Sykes]

This kind of situation happens a lot. Generally speaking it shouldn't be too much of a headache. It'll require some extra effort if there is a significant delay or cancellation that requires rebooking, but that's something that an agent can work out. (Don't bother asking them to link the reservations--while it's technically possible, it basically is a free text note that is placed somewhere that no agent ever looks unless they have another good reason to, so it's really just a waste of time.)

 

[sam_gordon]

My concern would be if there is a flight disruption forcing people on different flights, that might separate you. Depending on the people, that might be doable. I'd assume the airline would try to work with you to keep you together, but it might be a later flight for everyone.

About 7 years ago, DS had an international trip with the state soccer team (so ~20-25 people). There was some kind of delay returning and the group ended up separating in Atlanta. One group got in about an hour later than scheduled, the second group got in about six hours later than scheduled.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Absolutely. I always first do a search for a ticket for 1 person to see the cost before I do a search for 4 people (or however many are in my party). If the cost for 4 people is noticeably more than 4 times the cost for 1 person, then I will book a party of 1 and a party of 3, or 2 and 2, whatever is cheaper.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yes, 4 people. Bit of a pain in the behind doing the bookings and making sure everyone checked in but we were all adults so we accepted the following issues

Main issue- IROPS: When things go wrong during the trip you could end up on different flights, even on different days.

Secondary potential issue- re-booking: if JetBlue changes the schedule gotta try to get everyone rebooked on the same flight. This is particularly problematic for you OP because JetBlue is changing their schedule a lot these days, to the point long standing flights are even being given the ax.

 

[_19disnA]

Guess you need to ask if it worth saving a few dollars in the event there is some sort of delay (i.e. weather, mechanical, etc.) and your party having separate tickets get split up onto different flights? What about the ground transportation logistics if you arrive on different days?

The only reason I could see it costing less was as someone else mentioned that only 2 tickets happen to be left at the lower price, so your party of 3 ends up with one ticket at a higher fare. While that can happen, I would rather we all travel on a single reservation.

 

[ngtod]

In theory (and it's only a theory), there might have been only 2 tickets available at the lower rate. Searching on 3 tickets pushed you up to the next price level for all 3. So when you looked for less than 3 tickets, you saw a lower rate - and the 3rd ticket is higher. Sorry if that was obvious to others, and didn't need mentioning!! I've definitely seen that when booking SW flights over the years, and have taken advantage of separate purchases.

I agree the biggest issue could be if you need to cancel or rebook for some reason. Other than that, I think you should be fine - could even be in the same boarding group. And $60 is $60! On JetBlue, that probably goes towards checked bags....

That's exactly what happened to me before using SWA. If I booked 2 the price was cheaper than if I was going to book 3. So I booked 2 at the cheaper fare and 1 at the higher fare. Just had 2 reservations to deal with instead of 1.

 

[Halle]

All the time.