Multi Leg Flight Search

Do not use the Multi-City Flight Search

So it'?s about purchasing air tickets to several towns. Perhaps you are trying to move through cheap towns or consolidate several stages of your journey in one simple bookingstep. Regardless, it can be enticing to click on this multi-town flight search feature to enter your different targets at once, right?

because I' m currently investigating air travel to Belgrade, Serbia. because it' less expensive than going from Seattle. Either I can try to make a separate flight booking: I can also use the "Multi-City" function, which allows me to search and reserve the whole route at once:

First I found a flight from LAX to BEG that I liked. I have a flight I like from LAX to BEG, so I have to find a good flight from SEA to LAX. Do not want to miss my flight to Belgrade! It' much better than the $500-ish flight from Seattle, which was 40hrs (!!!!) of the trip.

However, at this point I was curious: Could a multi-level flight search be better and spare me the effort of having to book two separate tickets? Results of the multi-town flight search. That' $82 more per pass than to book them seperately! The next thought I had was that maybe I was just looking at the fake one.

Perhaps the search results have lowered the choices I initially looked at. Finally I do not see here my initial route - the one with 8a Seattle followed by 1:07 Los Angeles. Okay, that's just B.S. No matchflight? So for whatever reasons, kayaking does two things when you use a multi-town flight search:

It limits the type of flight that will be grouped. It is not clear whether this increased effort is due to the charges kayaks apply for the "comfort" of a multi-city flight search, or to the restricted flight possibilities in the bundle they use. One way or another, the general agreement is as follows: using the multi-city flight search to reserve your flight is an absolute trick.

You' re much, much better off making separate bookings. Altogether, the separate reservation of these tickets saves us $164 for two persons. That' not a checkout - that is several overnight stays, a few pleasant dinner parties, a flight or a few train rides between the towns... that is a biggie!

TechDirt Mike Masnick came to the same conclusions when he found that using the multi-city flight search function on Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak and Travelocity was at least $150 more costly than compiling the itinerary itself. Now it is important to know that there are some disadvantages to book a flight separately: You could book your connection flight:

It is possible (even if it is so small) that the flight you need for your flight will somehow be reserved when you buy your flight. I sometimes even await to make my flight connections in the hope that the fare will drop, so - it really was never a problem. Usually, if you reserve your ticket seperately, your pocket cannot be screened all the way to your final location.

Please be aware, however, that many multi-city ticketing packages do not provide this anyway: carriers' regulations are complex, but baggage is usually only screened if you use the same air company or affiliate - you must have an air travel contract. You can outsmart flight delays: When your first flight is extremely late, you can miss your second flight - they won't keep the airplane for you.

Buying bundle fares from the same carrier or affiliate means that they sometimes keep the connection aircraft. When that happens, there's a chance you'll get a new flight. When you are seriously concerned about flight delay, changes or cancellation, you can always take out your own personal tour operator policy. Note, however, that in the course of several journeys you are likely to be spending more cash on your own personal health cover than on a flight exchange charge during the unique extraordinary opportunity when something goes bad!

Well, the lessons learned: That's why you should never use the multi-level flight search. Booking these tickets seperately and knocking yourself on the back - think about all the cash you just made!