One Airline vs. Multiple Airlines?

[Haley53]

Here's to hoping I'm posting this in the right place...

So I've only ever thought about and considered taking one airline, simply because it's always seemed the easiest way to go, but looking at summer prices and looking at mine and my SO's travel dates and seeing the significant price drop when it comes to multiple airlines vs. the same airlines... it's almost tempting to think about booking with multiple airlines. Here's the thing, I'm paying the air fare but my SO is the one travelling. :P I'd rather pay an extra hundred or so than put him through something that's going to be an absolute nightmare or at the very least, give him a headache.

But I'm curious, for those of you who have used multiple airlines, what is it like in comparison to flying with one airline? Would you fly with multiple airlines again? Why or why not? I'm also open to anything anyone's aware of of the difference. I want to know how much of a hassle it is for multiple airlines and if it's worth the $100-$200 to avoid it.

Thank you in advance!

EDIT: I also want to add in that my boyfriend will likely only be taking with him carry-on luggage, so the issue of checking bags is unlikely to be a problem; though I'm sure that's not the only issue with multiple airlines, I know it can sometimes be a bigger one with connecting flights, so thought I'd make note of it. :P

EDIT: Also, is it better to book directly through the airline or is it fine to use a third-party website, like Expedia?

[lucybelle]

When booking with multiple airlines you should really do it through expedia, priceline, kayak, etc. Make sure to check connection time. 1 hour is the ideal amount of time. There is no hassle what-so-ever. At the airport where he leaves he will get all the tickets printed out. It's just like flying with 1 airline. The only problem with booking via 3rd party is if you have to cancel or change. They will charge you up the ass and it will probably be cheaper to buy a new ticket.

[Minerva]

I'd actually give more than an hour between connections. I was connecting to another flight on the same airline. When booking, the airline tried to give us a flight that took off an hour after the first flight landed. I opted for a flight that was 2 hours later, just in case. Our incoming flight ended up 15 minutes late and it took us 45 minutes to get through security. Had we taken what the airline suggested, we would have missed our second flight. An hour isn't a lot of cushion should there be a delay. Too much can happen that can eat up time, and if you miss your flight, who knows when you can get on the next one, and if you're booking with a layover, you could be stuck somewhere you don't want to be for goodness knows how long. By "you" I mean "he" of course, hehe.

Also, if he does decide to check baggage, there's a chance it could get lost if he's switching planes. So it's really good if he just has a carry-on. Will go much faster as well.

[Haley53]

I was paranoid I would lose my bags heading there (I brought a carry-on, a personal item, and checked, heh; heavy packer... but I wanted room for souvenoirs!). :/ Since there were no options for non-stops.

I appreciate the information from both of you! @Minerva, I generally do a 2 hour min connection. Because I was departing from Dublin, I didn't have to through customs on the way home, when I landed in New York, because you go through a pre-clearance at Dublin - talk about helpful! - but I left a 2.5 hour time frame when I thought I would have to. I made it through both JFK and ATL in less than an hour, but I still would never risk less than 2 hour layover.

I'm thinking that it might be worth it to do a longer layover in case any of the airlines are delayed; he says he'd have no issue waiting a 4 hour layover, for instance. Because multiple carriers and booking through something like Expedia, Kayak, etc. definitely saves money. We would work with what we got, really, meaning there's unlikely to be any changes whatsoever to our chosen flights. I have a very supportive mother and sister if anything were to go horribly wrong, i.e. I found out I couldn't make it to the airport due to scheduled class time or an exam, for example (I'll likely be booking before I have my spring quarter schedule). But I simply wanted to know if it would involve him going through different ticket counters or any additional steps that are unnecessary for him to go through. It's nice to know it's less hassle than I thought!!

Again, thank you both!

EDIT: I apologise for this post/response being a bit hard to read through. Too many "because"s and "but"s starting my sentences. o.o But I'm in a rush and have to turn my laptop off for class, haha, so again, thank you, and I'm sorry for any sore eyes after wading through it. :P <3