Flight hacks

• 

  Split ticket

  How it works

  Instead of one airline's fare for the whole journey, this books two separate one-way tickets through a connecting city. Each airline prices only its own sector, and that sector often sits in a different, more competitive market than a through-fare would. What you hold afterwards is two independent tickets, not one itinerary.

  Example

  Sydney → London, booked as Sydney → Singapore and Singapore → London.

  Watch out for

  Two separate tickets means you carry the risk of a missed connection, and bags usually need collecting and re-checking at the stopover.

• 

  Positioning flight

  How it works

  A short flight to a cheaper departure city, booked as its own ticket ahead of the expensive long-haul sector. Airlines price a cabin by where the route starts, so the same seat can cost less from a different city than it does from home. The long-haul sector is then booked separately, starting from that cheaper city.

  Example

  Melbourne → Paris, booked as Melbourne → Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur → Paris, so the long-haul starts from Kuala Lumpur instead of Melbourne.

  Watch out for

  The positioning ticket isn't protected by the long-haul airline, so its own fare rules and any visa or transit requirements at that stopover still apply.

• 

  Economy on the short leg

  How it works

  On a split ticket, the shorter of the two sectors is booked in economy while the longer sector keeps your chosen cabin. Airlines price each sector on its own, and the short one is a small share of total flight time, so most of what a premium cabin buys still sits on the long leg.

  Example

  Sydney → Barcelona, booked as Sydney → Singapore in economy and Singapore → Barcelona in business.

  Watch out for

  The cabin changes at the stopover, so you carry the same connection-time and re-checking risk as any split.

• 

  Open-jaw

  How it works

  Two one-way tickets, flying into one city and home from a different one, instead of a return built around a single airport. Airlines price each one-way independently, which sidesteps a return fare that assumes both ends of the trip use the same city.

  Example

  London → Sydney, then home as Melbourne → London on a separate ticket.

  Watch out for

  Arriving in one city and leaving from another means arranging your own way between them, on your own schedule.

• 

  Points on the long leg

  How it works

  A redemption that spends frequent flyer points on the long-haul sector specifically, where a premium seat costs the most points relative to what it would cost in cash. The airline releases a limited number of these seats, priced in points plus a smaller cash charge instead of the full fare.

  Example

  Melbourne → Los Angeles, points cover the long-haul sector while the connecting flight is paid in cash.

  Watch out for

  Award seats are limited to what the airline releases on that date, and fare rules on a connecting leg can be stricter than the main ticket's.

Photos: Unsplash