Save on Flights with Separate Tickets

Separate ticketing involves booking two or more one-way tickets for less than the equivalent return or multicity trip. Simply put, it consists in purchasing each journey of an itinerary as a standalone tickets (e.g. outbound and inbound) if it comes down cheaper than buying it as a whole. The resulting savings can happen for two reasons:

1. You are purchasing flights that cannot be issued on a single ticket, typically because they are operated by different airlines without codeshare agreements.
2. Even if the trip could be issued on a single ticket, the pricing algorithm is offering a lower fare for the separate tickets - sometimes, even with the same airline.

Separate ticketing is not a particularly concealed booking approach and most airfare search engines serve these suggestions in search results. However, some established tools occasionally fail to display a separate ticketing option that would bring savings, even with that functionality built in.

See our Guide to Airglitch Booking Strategies to learn about other strategies covered by Airglitch and how they work.

What is separate ticketing?

Separate tickets involve booking two or more one-way tickets for less than the equivalent return or multicity trip.

In this example, you are booking different tickets for the outbound and inbound flights instead of a single roundtrip, saving $100.

Why would I book separate tickets?

Primarily for the savings, though you might also choose to book separate tickets for added flexibility or to purchase them at different times.

How can I book separate tickets?

Separate tickets are generally displayed in search results by most airfare search engines, such as Google Flights or Kayak. It is worth searching for each ticket manually as metasearch tools sometimes miss a good deal. Airglitch is tuned to look for separate booking arbitrages on any search, whether it is the same airline or not, so you have good chances of finding it on first try with our platform.

Can I get in trouble for separate ticketing?

No. Separate ticketing simply means that you have two tickets instead of one. It changes nothing to your baggage allowance or the way you are treated by the airline. There is only one scenario to be aware of: if you are planning a short stay with separate tickets and the first flight is disrupted or delay, the airline won't be able to accommodate anything on the second ticket. Especially if you are flying with different airlines. With a roundtrip or multicity trip booked on the same ticket, they are more likely let you change the second flight for free.

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