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Booking one way now return later?


TSUmom
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Many on my roll call are booking the first leg of their flights as one way - our booking window is not yet open for the return trip.  I know this is probably a silly question but wouldn't it be a less expensive option to wait and book round trip?  I am looking at AA if the airline makes a difference.

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Not always.  If it is all domestic then it can sometimes be cheaper or the same, to book 2 one ways. For example, I'm going to San Diego in Jan/Feb (non cruise, just a visit) and it was a little cheaper with  better flight times (for me) for me to go out on Delta and back on American.  Now if going overseas, then from what i have seen and experienced it is better to book the whole thing (over and back) as one trip.   But these are just my experiences and I'm sure there will be folks who disagree with me.

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Just now, TruckerDave said:

Not always.  If it is all domestic then it can sometimes be cheaper or the same, to book 2 one ways. For example, I'm going to San Diego in Jan/Feb (non cruise, just a visit) and it was a little cheaper with  better flight times (for me) for me to go out on Delta and back on American.  Now if going overseas, then from what i have seen and experienced it is better to book the whole thing (over and back) as one trip.   But these are just my experiences and I'm sure there will be folks who disagree with me.

These are flights to Rome - I just did a quick check on AA and a one way is so much more

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That sounds about right.  If you don't need to be on AA (for elite status and milage earning) I would check other airlines as well. You might get lucky and find a cheaper option via London, Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt for example.  Or check with Delta and United.  Of if loyal to AA, the London via British Airways or Madrid on Iberia you can still credit the miles to AA as they are in the same alliance.  Just tossing out some other things to check out. 

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23 minutes ago, TruckerDave said:

That sounds about right.  If you don't need to be on AA (for elite status and milage earning) I would check other airlines as well. You might get lucky and find a cheaper option via London, Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt for example.  Or check with Delta and United.  Of if loyal to AA, the London via British Airways or Madrid on Iberia you can still credit the miles to AA as they are in the same alliance.  Just tossing out some other things to check out. 

Thank you I will check out the others.  I was going to use miles but the flight options are horrible!!  I will just save those for my Alaska cruise.

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For international flights out of the US (and most other places), it's rare to find one-way tickets that are half of the roundtrip...it's almost always more expensive, often significantly, to book two one-way trips.

 

Domestically in the US, it's the opposite - it's extremely rare for a roundtrip and two one-ways to be different prices...so booking one-way tickets usually creates no price difference. 

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You need to  compare,   your exact  dates,  airlines  for flight options,  There isn't any detailed general answer.    There are discount airlines now doing the Europe run from the US, but, service and comfort may not be the "same.    So it depends on you.   There isn't any magic track to follow.   It's more guessing game actually.  😉    

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Many transatlantic routes still charge a very heavy premium for one way tickets compared to round trips. The exception tends to be routes that are also sold by Ultra Low Cost Carriers like Norwegian where the ULCC sells cheap one ways and the legacy carriers will often sell reasonable one way tickets in the name of keeping it competitive.

 

If you're a cash buyer looking at flying on a legacy carrier, it's generally worth it to just wait a little longer and book the whole routing at once. The times it makes sense to book one ways is for the ULCCs that will only have a handful of cheap seats at those low 'teaser' prices on each plane or if you're chasing a scarce premium cabin frequent flyer redemption award. 

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I have noticed that premium and business class seem to book quickly on AA's direct flight from DFW to FCO....I am guessing two reasons, it is a long flight and people do not want to have the layovers at LHR or Madrid....that is why we are looking at those flights too.  I will just wait a few more weeks and book round trip.  Thank you all for your input.

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