Does flying different airlines mess anything up?

blackpearl77

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
We are thinking of flying Southwest to MCO and then on the return trip fly Jet Blue. (I would rather do Jet Blue roundtrip but the only Jet Blue flights are at 6 am and 9 pm so looked at southwest and the departure times are better - I just hate not having a seat number since it stresses me out. The return times for Jet Blue are doable). So if we were to fly Southwest down to disney then booked Jet Blue for the return - does that mess up anything? Magical Express or resort airline check in?? Thanks!
 
We are thinking of flying Southwest to MCO and then on the return trip fly Jet Blue. (I would rather do Jet Blue roundtrip but the only Jet Blue flights are at 6 am and 9 pm so looked at southwest and the departure times are better - I just hate not having a seat number since it stresses me out. The return times for Jet Blue are doable). So if we were to fly Southwest down to disney then booked Jet Blue for the return - does that mess up anything? Magical Express or resort airline check in?? Thanks!
Not at all you should have no problem as long as you give MDE the correct flight info
 


The only situation I can think of that would be a problem is if you had a connecting flight on a different airline. In that case, the connection could be in a different terminal from where you arrive, and that could be problematic.

But flying one airline one direction and another for the return trip? Never an issue.
 
We are flying Southwest to MCO and United on the return trip. We go by price and flight times that
work for us. We mix carriers all the time..
 


The only situation I can think of that would be a problem is if you had a connecting flight on a different airline. In that case, the connection could be in a different terminal from where you arrive, and that could be problematic.

But flying one airline one direction and another for the return trip? Never an issue.

We have had flights booked like that as well but it was offered that way. I think if you try to do a homemade version of this; book as 2 separate flights, you could run into trouble.
When we flew to Shannon, Ireland from Philly we took USAirways to JFK then switched to Aer Lingus for JFK to SNN. Our luggage was tagged for SNN so we didn't have to retrieve it when switched planes.
Then coming home we flew Aer Lingus to Boston, and USAirways to PHL. IIRC, one must go through immigration at whichever is the first US city to land. So I think we had to recheck our bags. It was booked as a RT ticket through Aer Lingus so they're the ones who decided how we'd reach JFK and BOS.

This was 22 yrs ago so things may have changed.
 
The only problem I can imagine is of the outbound flight had problems that affected the return. There have been times when my flight was delayed or cancelled, causing such a significant delay that the trip didn’t make sense anymore. In airline lingo, it became a “trip in vain.” If that happened on a single reservation, the airline would be required to refund your entire fare. If you’re booked separately, you can use one airline’s problem to get around the other airline’s policy.

Granted, that’s a rare circumstance and unlikely on a Disney vacation that’s more than a weekend getaway. And if Southwest is the return, their policies probably overcome any potential issue. And there’s always trip insurance.
 
We have had flights booked like that as well but it was offered that way. I think if you try to do a homemade version of this; book as 2 separate flights, you could run into trouble.

This was 22 yrs ago so things may have changed.

It is pretty much the same. Some airlines do sell tickets that involve travel on other carriers. As noted, as long as it's sold on the single ticket, you are protected. If your originating flight is delayed, the airline(s) will work with you to get you to your destination.

Like you wrote, if you purchase two tickets on your own and end up missing the connecting flight, you'll be on your own. That second airline has no obligation to help you out.
 
OP I assume the trips you’re making are just two normal one way trips. If so there will be no issues.


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I think if you try to do a homemade version of this; book as 2 separate flights, you could run into trouble.

Sure.

Then coming home we flew Aer Lingus to Boston, and USAirways to PHL. IIRC, one must go through immigration at whichever is the first US city to land. So I think we had to recheck our bags.

The difference now is that when flying from Irish airports to the US you pass US customs *in ireland*. So the baggage thing isn’t done anymore. You’re coming into the US as though it’s a domestic flight. It’s very cool.
 
OP I assume the trips you’re making are just two normal one way trips. If so there will be no issues.


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Sure.



The difference now is that when flying from Irish airports to the US you pass US customs *in ireland*. So the baggage thing isn’t done anymore. You’re coming into the US as though it’s a domestic flight. It’s very cool.

That is awesome!! I think I recall seeing something like that in London too but we weren't flying home from there so I didn't really pursue it. It was something like for those flying LHR to the US, we had our immigration officials right at LHR. :thumbsup2
 

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