Separate Tickets for Flights
I'm venturing into new territory here. I've never bought separate legs like this before and I'm not sure how to feel about it. Legs of flights, I mean.
My mother and I are going to Paris in a few months and in an effort to keep costs low, I purchased two legs separately. Transferring in the Atlanta airport. Sounds like a suicide mission, right? Busiest airport in the world, risking missing a flight... I'm a little nervous. Add in the fact that we are traveling right around Easter, yeah...
There was an offer when I checked in to take an alternate flight, never a good sign. We checked into both flights early and printed our boarding passes from home. I recommend this. Know that if you had checked luggage, you'll have to leave security and come back through, so give yourself plenty of time! Mom and I have 3.5 hours between arriving and departing, so hopefully all will go smoothly. I'm just hoping that we don't need a security squiggly mark on our boarding passes to show we were checked or anything. Only time will tell.
So, here I am, after the trip, ready to talk about separate tickets. It actually went great. There are many risks that need to be considered when you decide to buy separate tickets, but it is simple, all things considered.
Here's the Story:
A separate ticket is when you purchase a flight from one airport to another and then purchase separately a ticket between that airport and another.
This is a way that travelers can use to get around costly bookings from one airport to their final destination and is customarily frowned upon.
There are risks. Keep that in mind.
Your luggage will not be transferred from your first flight to your second.
If your first flight is delayed, you are not guaranteed a seat on your second flight
If you are flying internationally, there could be visa requirements to land there
I'm going to tell you how to mitigate these risks. Really simple.
1. Luggage not transferred with you
Easy! Pack in a carry on. There are so many good articles and pointers to help you pack your needs for a trip all in one or two bags and to make it easier to travel light, so to speak. Even I have one, check it out here. Thanks, y'all!
2. flight delays
There are a couple of ways to handle this one. First, book your flights with enough time in between them to allow for at least a half hour delay in either direction. Though, I know that understanding both where you will land and where you will fly from can be challenging, you need to know that having at least twenty minutes to traverse an airport, coupled with the thirty minutes of leeway for delayed flights means that if you are bnooking your flights separaetly, you should allow at least an hour between your flights, I recommend ninety minutes or more. That is your call, but I have been delayed, several times and know that i would rather spend a little time killing time the airport where I'm supposed to be then fighting with the desk about what flight I shoudl have been on. That being said, there are many airlines that will allow you fly standby on the next departing flight, provided you show up within two hours of your original departing flight time.
Shoudl this happen, I have more advice for you. First, Go directly to the desk for your airline. Many airports have these desks positioned inside terminals so that you no longer have to leave the secure area to get this done. Second, after she helps you understand that you were late and that you want to be on the next plane, run your butt off to get to the next gate. Once you hit the gate where the next flight is departing from, go up to the person who is working there and make certain that your name is on the stand by list. Believe it or not, I have had tro fly this way before. Before I took my long backpacking trip in the summer of 2012, I was late. I woke up late and flew like the wind to get to the airport. It turns out that if you arrive within a certian number of hours, they will fly you standby for free. Yay!
Long story short, get there when you can, find the desk, run to the terminal, get on the standby list.
3. international flights
I admit right now, here before you, reader. I do not know what happens if you hit an international airport where they expect you to stay. DO you have to go through customs? DO you have to have a stamp? Do you have to come back through seciruty? These are answers I do not know. But, you! traveler, you need to know to research these thi9ngs in detail from people who have experienc eon the topic BEFORE you book the flights as separate into an international aiorport. SO, yeah. Go do that.
Other than that, that's all I have for y'all here. It worked out well for me and for my mom on our latest trip, so I do recommend it if you find yourself in a situation where split tickets are decidely cheaper than combination and you can mitigate the risks along the way. Good Luck!
Thanks, y'all!
