Separate flights vs All-on-one-ticket?
 

Hi! I need to fly DEN-KUL on a semi-annual (or so) basis, because I live in Denver with my husband but I'm from Kuala Lumpur (and my family is still there.) Flights from DEN-KUL tend to be on the super-expensive side, IMHO, or maybe I'm just not used to getting charged $6000+ for a US-Asia trip (I've been flying between US and Asia for quite a few years now, and never had to pay this much originating elsewhere; paid 106,000 yen for TYO-DEN round trip in 2009.)

My mother really wants me home this December, but the absolute cheapest flight I've seen costs $3000 or so and requires me staying there a month. I'd feel terrible leaving my husband alone for a month, but just haven't been able to find any flights to make a two-week trip work unless I book DEN-LAX on one airline and then LAX-KUL on another. Besides, that $3000 is a LOT, especially now that I'm unemployed, we're living on my husband's income alone, and I start a MS program in January.

So after that LONG foreword, here are my questions:

1. How does it compare taking two flights on two different tickets for one final destination? What should I watch out for or be wary of? I'm already worried about flight delays and getting checked luggage... T_T

2. Any suggestions on doing it in a way that costs less than USD2000?

if you can find a lax flight that w/a layover that would leave enough time to get there on the next flight on the same airline, you have a bit of protection...

baggage can be checked thru when 2 tickets are involved....

why don't you post the 2 tickets that you want to buy w the carriers, route, & flight times....you could get specific comments/info...

You can book two separate tickets as long as you understand a few things.


1. It is two speparate ticktets so you are not protected should something go wrong. example. Ticket #1 your plane is 3 hours late or flight is canceled. Ticket #2 doesn't care and if you can't make the flight then too bad, you will have to see what the refund/exchange fees are (if any). Separate tickets will not protect you to get to your final destination should something happen.

2. You may be able to check your bags all the way through, or maybe not. It will depend on airlines, flight times, baggage allowances, ect. If you cannot interline baggage make sure you have enough time between flights to collect luggage and then check-in for the next flight.

I am sure there are more but these are two very important considerations.

you can call the airline you will take from den & ask about interlining bags w/the other....

Thanks for taking a look and commenting with advice!

Clacko, I wasn't seriously considering the $3000 ticket as it is out of our means, so did not think to write down the details of the flights, but it was 2-stop from Denver to KUL (I think Frankfurt was involved somewhere and it was on UA). :)

I had no idea you could interline bags! I will definitely ask if this trip actually turns out to be financially feasible on separate tickets. THANK YOU! <3

I put in a couple of random dates (I am on a seriously boring call, need something to do!) and I could find $2600 on Expedia with dates a couple of weeks apart, rather than a month. Play around with the dates, flying at peak times will cost more, but the dates I put in were 14th Dec and 29th Dec

This may not address your immediate concerns, but consider this...

If you're traveling that far that often, you might want to look into buying a series of round-the-world or "Circle Pacific" tickets (actually I think in your case RTW tickets make more sense.)

Here's why I'd suggest you consider this:

RTW tickets, which entail traveling around the world in either an easterly or westerly direction, crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the process, once each (no doubling back across oceans) are priced very differently depending on where one purchases the ticket and begins/ends the circle. (You have to end in the same country from which you originally departed.) For example, take a simple Oneworld (American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Japan Airlines, and next year, Malaysian) RTW itinerary for you, like Denver - Los Angeles - Hong Kong - KL - Hong Kong - Paris - Chicago - Denver (or, vice versa - DEN-ORD-CDG-HKG-KUL-HKG-LAX-DEN)

Purchased in the US and starting in Denver, this ticket would cost $3699 plus tax in economy class. However, purchased and starting in Paris, it would cost $800 less, so around $2900 plus tax. So if you could make your way to Europe (anywhere in the Euro zone - same prices) and start the travel there, you could travel to KL, visit your family, then fly home to Denver, but treat Denver as a "stopover" until your next trip to Asia, which you start by "finishing" the original ticket in Paris, then start another one. Rinse and repeat.

Now, on the surface that doesn't sound like a huge cost savings compared to prices you could buy over the counter today, and even less a savings if you have to shell out $$ to get to some "cheap" starting place like France. (Of course if you have some FF miles, you could use those to get to Europe to start.)

BUT, here's the catch. Using the ticket I describe above, you have one year to complete the trip, and you have up to 16 flight segments you can use in the process, six of which can be within North America (including Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada.)

So in addition to getting to and from KL to see family, you could also use the same ticket for whatever additional travel - within North America, within Europe or Asia - you want. So visit your folks in KL, come back to Denver, then maybe go on holiday to Alaska, or the Caribbean. Or take business trips to New York or... anywhere. No additional charge (and no charges for checked baggage - the RTW tickets are inclusive of bag fees.)

If you want to change dates, date changes are free. If you want to change the overall route, you can change the sequence of flights, or the cities visited, etc., for $125 (any number of changes at once).

In addition, you'd earn frequent flyer mileage (usually at acceptable rates) for the flights, and depending on your route, could probably achieve elite status with a participating airline in the process, making life simpler (and cheaper) going forward - no bag fees, "free" preferred seating, fast-track check-in, etc.

So anyway, this would require a couple of things, most immediately that you start thinking of travel as a "strategic plan" part of your life. Think in terms of one- or two-years' travel wishes, and see if it might make sense both financially and in terms of where you want to go.

For more information on RTW or similar products, you might want to visit the "Global Airline Alliances" boards (all three major alliances offer RTW products, each with its good and bad points) and start the education process. Who knows, you might join the (large, growing) numbers of international frequent flyers who use these terrific products.

Why don't you just fly from Denver to Singapore instead and take a separate flight or bus from there? Tickets from the US to Singapore tend to be priced way better than KL. Bangkok and Hong Kong may also be ok alternatives.

From Orbitz:
$1,283 + $410 taxes & fees = $1,693 USD per person
Leave

Tue, Dec 6

United Airlines 765
United Airlines

Depart:
7:07pm
Arrive:
8:34pm



Denver, CO (DEN)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
2 stops

Economy
2hr 27min
Airbus A320
View seats


Change Airline. Time between flights: 1hr 46min


Cathay Pacific 883
Cathay Pacific

Depart:
10:20pm
Arrive:
5:55am



Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG)


Economy
15hr 35min
Boeing 777


Change planes. Time between flights: 3hr 5min


Cathay Pacific 723
Cathay Pacific

Depart:
9:00am
Arrive:
12:45pm



Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL)


Economy
3hr 45min
Boeing 777

Total duration: 26hr 38min

This flight arrives two days later.

Choose this return

Return

Sun, Dec 18

Cathay Pacific 720
Cathay Pacific

Depart:
9:25am
Arrive:
1:10pm



Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL)
Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG)
2 stops

Economy
3hr 45min
Boeing 777


Change planes. Time between flights: 0hr 55min


Cathay Pacific 870
Cathay Pacific

Depart:
2:05pm
Arrive:
10:00am



Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG)
San Francisco, CA (SFO)


Economy
11hr 55min
Boeing 777


Change Airline. Time between flights: 4hr 50min


United Airlines 338
United Airlines

Depart:
2:50pm
Arrive:
6:16pm



San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Denver, CO (DEN)


Economy
2hr 26min
Boeing 752
View seats

Total duration: 23hr 51min

Good find, timzheng!

As an alternative you could look for tickets from DEN to anywhere AirAsia flies and just tack on the short hop at the end. Try SIN, for example...

Good luck!

Wow. You guys are FANTASTIC. :-:

Gardyloo, the RTW idea is fantastic, and definitely worth looking into. You're right in that it isn't an immediate fix, but definitely something worth looking into both for me and the husband, especially once we're BOTH employed again.

Henwurst and florian, I'd originally thought about flying into SIN and then going up to KL, but in both cases (bus or flight) I would have to overnight in SIN and I don't like SIN that much. :) All the flights I found were "arrive at SIN late at night".

Timzheng: holy cow, I need to learn from the master. *kowtows* That was PERFECT. Would jump on it now too! Except things have JUST changed; yesterday I just got a call for a job interview and I need to be in the USA next week. My husband also REALLY doesn't want me to go, not just financially but also because he gets lonely, so in the interests of marital harmony (and because he's paying for the MS) I won't. But now I know Orbitz is FAR cheaper than Expedia and I will be using it instead to search!

Again, wow, you guys are FANTASTIC. :-: This is why I come to Flyertalk to ask questions about stuff like this! :D