Summary

  • Returns are generally cheaper per flight.
  • One-way tickets are better for point redemptions.
  • Round-trip tickets are cheaper for non-domestic flights.

Fare pricing is one of those mercurial black boxes that consumers find difficult to get a read on – sometimes you stumble upon a fantastic deal, but when you try to replicate the strategy, you can’t find such a bargain ever again.

Even with scores of third-party ticketing websites scouring the web to find the cheapest deals, there are still certain methods customers can utilize to get the lowest prices. When considering how airfare pricing algorithms have so many changing variables, formulas, frequent flyer redemptions, and more, the water seems rather muddy.

But fret not, as not all hope is lost – there are still things to learn that could help passengers save money where needed. One of these is whether to purchase a single round-trip ticket, or to book your journey as two separate one-way flights.

Returns are generally cheaper per flight

While not a rule set in stone, there are often savings to be made by buying a return ticket instead of two one-legged tickets. This is because airlines want to encourage passengers to fly both legs of their journey with the same carrier, rather than having them book one leg with a competitor.

American Airlines aircraft at Miami International Airport MIA shutterstock_623365943-1

Photo: Nadezda Murmakova | Shutterstock

The savings may be small, but definitely add up for those who travel a lot, or are booking a more expensive long-haul flight. Let’s put this to the test on booking website Skyscanner by searching for a return flight (in this example, Atlanta-Los Angeles with American Airlines), then checking the cost of booking the two exact same legs separately.

Screenshot 2024-07-14 182317

Photo: Skyscanner

At $350 for a return, a search for the same fares individually works out at $360 in total, amounting to a modest $10 in savings. Speaking from experience, long-haul flights generally offer larger savings when booking returns given the higher base price of each fare.

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Photo: Skyscanner

When are one-way tickets cheaper?

Although it’s not always the case, one-way tickets are more often than not favorable when using frequent flyer or credit card point redemptions. Since point redemptions or bookings are strategically quoted within a fixed range of prices, passengers often grab the opportunity to book two one-way tickets instead of a single round-trip since the number of points required would not necessarily change.

Several Spirit Airlines aircraft parked on the apron at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.

Photo: YES Market Media | Shutterstock

While this advantage does not make any of the two one-way tickets any cheaper, passengers tend to save on additional fees that would incur. One-way tickets provide much more flexibility – such as not being at the mercy of single scheduled flight days and timings and factoring in the possible accommodation, transport, and insurance costs typically incurred if return-ticket trippers wish to adjust their schedule.

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One-way tickets are also considered the cheaper alternative for passengers who prefer to travel with multiple airlines along the same trip, albeit mainly for domestic flights. To further entice this type of passenger, airlines like low-cost carriers offer special deals or discounts specifically for one-way tickets on selected routes, making the ticket type cheaper than buying a return ticket for the same period and same route.

Want to know more? Check out Simple Flying’s guide on when to book long-haul vs short-haul for the biggest savings

The primary hassles in these cases would be for passengers to keep track of two or more separate reservations and airline schedules and hope that there are little to no flight delays during the entire journey.

What about round-trip tickets?

Much like cheaper one-way flight tickets on select routes, airlines also offer cheaper round-trip flight tickets depending on the route and carrier. As mentioned previously, this is primarily done to encourage passengers to fly the outbound and inbound sectors with the same airline.

A British Airways Boeing 777-300ER flying in the sky.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Round-trip tickets are also typically cheaper when bought through airline and travel consolidators, since these businesses purchase tickets in bulk from the airlines and get to resell them to passengers or third-party travel agencies at a heavily discounted rate. In fact, the discounts are sometimes heavier than the discounts offered by the airlines themselves, saving passengers quite a sum of money.

An Emirates Boeing 777 departing JFK.

Photo: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa | Shutterstock

Another option where round-trip tickets are considered the less expensive alternative is when passengers book an open-jaw flight – whereby the airlines allow passengers to book a flight to one destination and a flight back from another destination in a different direction but on the same ticket/reservation. So, instead of pricing these two flights as two one-way trips, the airline mainly prices them quite similarly to a round-trip.

What is the final verdict?

After all that back and forth, the conclusion on the cheaper ticket type depends on the passengers’ travel situation. If the passenger is booking a trip without using any mileage redemption and considering a non-domestic flight, round-trip tickets are often the cheaper alternative, particularly for long-haul journeys.

A Ryanair Boeing 747 taxiing at Liverpool AIrport

Photo: Jason Wells | Shutterstock

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But suppose the passenger plans to fly domestically using mileage redemptions or has significantly flexible timings and itineraries, one-way tickets may be the way to go. You will probably find that the savings are minimal when booking two separate one-way flights, but sometimes you can find valuable bargains.

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