Overheard a guy at the airport gate change my whole approach to cheap flights

I was waiting for a delayed flight to Nashville last month and this older dude next to me was on the phone explaining how he books two separate one-way tickets instead of a round trip. Said he saves like $80 on average because airlines price certain legs cheaper if you don't bundle. I tried it for my next trip to Denver and sure enough it worked out $60 cheaper. Has anyone else messed around with splitting up their bookings like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

williamh651mo ago

Eighty bucks cheaper just from splitting the tickets?

paul_thompson671mo ago

You read about this before? I saw a travel blog break it down last year. They said budget airlines like Spirit or Frontier sometimes charge way less for one-way tickets because they want to fill seats on specific routes. Round trip pricing is a scam half the time. The other catch is you gotta be careful with layovers or you might end up stuck somewhere. But yeah this method works for me almost every time I fly.