Airfare Question. Does this work

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OldTimer
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Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by OldTimer »

I am planning on a a trip to Europe after Covid and have started looking at airfares. I really love Icelandair (Saga Flex) and since my travels over 6 weeks will end in Reykjavik, Iceland I looked at their web page. I want to fly from Denver to Copenhagen and 6 weeks later from from Reykjavik to Denver. In between I will be traveling on land and end with a cruise ending in Reykjavik. The Icelandair webpage will not allow me to book this as multiple cities, but here is a way that works. I can book a roundtrip Denver to Reykjavik with 6 weeks between the flights, then book a separate Icelandair flight, one way between Reykjavik and Copenhagen during the 6 week period. Has anyone ever done this? There are other airlines that can match this itinerary, not through Reykjavik on the outbound flights, but cost 50% more. Is there any risk to my idea?

I have called customer service at Icelandair but did not get a straight answer why the multiple cities option on their webpage did not work.

Thanks for your help in advance.
rooms222
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by rooms222 »

This should work and not run afowl of any rules. I would post this on flyertalk.com where many people who no all the ins and outs reside.
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OldTimer
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by OldTimer »

Thanks, I will check it out.
THY4373
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by THY4373 »

So separate tickets present their risks, I use them quite a bit to mix long haul travel on points with paid cash fares short haul. I assume you are booking DEN>KEF round trip on one ticket and KEF>CPH one way? If so you have two risks potentially that may or may not be much of a risk depending on the policies of Icelandair.

If your outbound DEN>KEF flight is late and causes you to miss the KEF>CPH flight the airline does not have to accommodate you on later flight. This sort of protection is built into a single ticket but not separate tickets. Assuming your flights are with the same airline they most likely will accommodate you. Of course you can build in a longer layover to reduce your risk.

Some airlines (British Airways is one for example) will not check you bags through on separate tickets. So if you need to check luggage then you might when you arrive at KEF (you'd need to check on the situation at KEF) have to collect your bags, pass Iceland immigration, check in to your KEF>CPH flight and check in luggage and go back through security. You'd need to check with FT or Icelandair to figure out if they have an issue with this or not.
Last edited by THY4373 on Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
thousandaire
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by thousandaire »

This is completely fine, I've done it a bunch. Just know that if you plan to connect the two itineraries on the same day, give yourself a lot of time (5+ hours). When you land in Reykjavik, you will probably need to go through immigration, customs, and baggage claim, as if you are leaving the airport. Then you'll have to turn around, check your bags in for the new flight and go back through security all over again to make your flight to Copenhagen.

The flights are not connected officially, so the typical connection process (including bags) does not apply.
Flyer24
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by Flyer24 »

Topic moved to Personal Consumer Issues (travel).
centrifuge41
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by centrifuge41 »

Looks fine. Won't run afoul of any rules. It's a manual connection so there is a chance that you'd have to grab your bag, go through custom/immigration, get back to the front of the airport (land-side), re-line up, re-check in, re-check bag, grab KEF-CPH boarding pass, re-enter security, then continue.

I'd allot at least 3 hours between landing at KEF and the onwards journey if possible. But I guess you don't control the flight timings, and the flight is timed so people can make a typical onwards connection with bag being forwarded by airport staff. Flight is probably not timed for manual connection.

While you want to be prepared for all the logistics/hassle, see if you can contact Iceland Air to link or merge the itineraries within 24 hours of buying the ticket. That will give you better protection (e.g. if DEN-KEF is late, they'd be accountable for your KEF-CPH leg). In addition, this might allow for grabbing both boarding passes at DEN, bag forwarding, etc. You still need to enter Schengen upon landing at KEF, and you might have to go through security again (I forget) but you won't need to go full land side during the lay over.

If Icelandair can't link/merge the itinerary now, you can ask again when checking in at DEN. If it fails again, then the above manual layover at KEF may be the only way.
Cruise
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by Cruise »

Suggest that you overnight in KEF to make a connection. Too much can go wrong, even with a 3-5 hour layover. Lots to do in KEF, and there are tours that will pick you up at the airport an drop you off at a hotel--and the reverse.
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OldTimer
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by OldTimer »

Thanks Cruise: That is one option, the other is a layover of 9 hours.
dbr
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by dbr »

I like to check some kind of flight stats to get an idea of how likely a late or cancelled flight might be.

Also if you stay overnight you also have some defense in case your first flight is cancelled rather than late and they manage to rebook you the next day.

And a planned one day layover is a lot more fun than a planned 9 hour layover.
centrifuge41
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by centrifuge41 »

dbr wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:27 pm And a planned one day layover is a lot more fun than a planned 9 hour layover.
And, given the way you're booking the tickets, there's no "charge for stopover", which is nice. You can get a "free stop". The only charge is if the next day's KEF-CPH (or the prior day's DEN-KEF) costs more due to market factors or if there's an extra Iceland departure tax in the ticket.

Such a shame OP to hear that iceland air won't let you book multi-city DEN-CPH, and KEF-DEN. What about two one ways: DEN-CPH + KEF-DEN? Prices out higher than the above?
seawolf21
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by seawolf21 »

Book thru an online travel agent or just call Iceland Air to book over the phone as multi-city DEN-CPH and KEF-DEN. That's likely the cheapest option as it would be a transatlantic roundtrip fare.

If you book DEN-KEF and one way KEF-CPH, there is a chance it will cost more and if your DEN-KEF is delayed, you could be subject to penalties to go on a later KEF-CPH flight up to having to buy a last minute KEF-CPH ticket.
rooms222
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by rooms222 »

Some airlines have protection on separate tickets on the same carrier and some do not.

Some airlines will allow checking through on two tickets of their own, and some will not.

Icelandair generally offers free stopovers, or at least they did a few years ago.

Phone reps can often offer things that the computer cannot on multi-city tickets or merged itineraries, so it is worth a call to them to see.

I hope the people at flyertalk can help with the specifics on Icelandair above. Also note, as a new member you are limited in the number or replies and posts you can make the first 24 hours you are a member.
GG1273
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by GG1273 »

rooms222 wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:19 pm This should work and not run afowl of any rules. I would post this on flyertalk.com where many people who no all the ins and outs reside.
+1 on Flyertalk

here is the link to "other european airlines" with a few Icelandic Air mentions
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other-e ... lines-469/

Posting a question should garner responses
oxothuk
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Re: Airfare Question. Does this work

Post by oxothuk »

The morning flights from KEF to Europe are all timed for short connections with overnight arrivals from North America. I've often had to hustle to make my connection, but my checked bags always made it; I doubt that would work if you had to collect and re-check your bag.

Connecting to an afternoon flight from KEF to Europe should be no problem. If your layover is long enough you might want to work in a visit to the Blue Lagoon, which is very close to the airport and has facilities for storing your luggage.

As others have suggested, you could also spend the night in Reykjavik and leave the next day. This works best if you get an afternoon flight to Europe - one has to get up VERY early in order to make one of the morning flights.
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