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Disadvantages in buying two sets of air tickets

Posted by on

We have a safari in Kenya and Tanzania in July of this year. I have been checking airfare on kayak.com, matrix air and Delta.

I have many Delta sky miles that I want to use, but can't use them for a trip for the entire trip to Africa. However, I can use them on flights from the USA to Europe (say Amsterdam, London, Paris or Rome). Then, I would buy a separate ticket from Europe to Africa.

I can purchase the needed open jaw tickets all the way to Africa and return for either $1908 pp (with no break in travel) or with a break in travel at $1860. Breaking up travel would involve having one full overnight in Europe on the way to Africa then a week or so on the return trip.

If I acquire sky miles award tickets for the trip to and from Europe, the cost would be less than $100 pp unless we pick London then it runs $200 pp. The flights from Europe to Africa vary in cost. The cheapest would be on Turkish Airlines or Qatar Airlines from Rome for about $700 pp.

My question is this, are there any significant disadvantages to stopping over or buying two sets of tickets?

  1. I would allow more than 24 hours between the arrival from the USA in the European city that I choose and the departure of our flight to Africa. We could avoid the terrible back to back long flights and jet lag would be far less.
  2. We would have a several days to do some touring in Europe on the way back to the USA.
  3. If I purchase the separate tickets and have to cancel, I can get my skymiles back, no problem. If I buy the entire trip from Delta nonrefundable, I can get no refund and even rescheduling the flights would cost a bit.

on the negative:
4. Assuming that we get our required COVID19 tests prior to departing from the USA (according to Kenya online, 72 hours prior to departing), will I need to be retested in Europe before departing? I can't tell from the guidance on the internet how the Kenyan government would apply that rule. Still, we could get tested again at the airport before leaving for Nairobi.

  1. The possibility of catching COVID19 while in Europe would be huge if it happened on the way to Africa. Still, we could stay in an airport hotel and not do any touring on the way to Africa. On the way back to the USA, we would plan some touring, but at least we wouldn't miss our safari.

Opinions, experiences, etc.

Posted by
8913 posts

I think there is an advantage to an overnight at the airport hotel on the way to Africa. You do your time change on that first flight and that impacts you. The flights are long and nice to break them up a bit. You don't want to arrive for your safari completely spent.

I also like the idea of spending time in Europe on the way back. It makes for a nice transition back home and many of the flights tend to be red eye.

Posted by
4088 posts

Ask Delta how far your points will take you and what the extra charges amount to. Better to put all your arrangements on one itinerary instead of piecing together flights by yourself. It may be easier to talk directly to an airline agent rather than trying to do it via a website. A stop-over for several days is often possible with a multi-destination ticket. It will complicate co-vid rules.
In general, co-vid cancellations have to come from the airline, although there can be varying circumstances and some tickets with guaranteed refunds. Again, advice directly from the booking airline should clarify what is possible.

Posted by
6813 posts

July is still a long way over the horizon. We all hope that by then COVID will be heading for the exits, or at least dwindling to the point where it's just a minor annoyance for most of us (and current models suggest it may be headed that way) -- but there is still great uncertainty about what's ahead. A lot can happen before (and during) July.

While we've seen COVID burn across Europe and the US multiple times, Africa, as a whole, is not highly vaccinated (much of Europe is). I would not be quite so sanguine as to worry primarily about getting stuck in Amsterdam or Rome on your way back.

I have flights to Egypt booked for next October. Fully cancel-able and fully refundable, of course (for the foreseeable future, there's no way I would book any expensive flight that wasn't). I have no idea if we will go to Egypt in October, and I'm fully prepared to pull the plug on that trip. The uncertainty of the COVID situation in Africa is the primary reason.

It's great to have a positive outlook, and signs do point to better times ahead -- but we've been there before (recall say, last August-September). That was before Omicron popped up. It's really tempting right now to have high expectations, but I think it's unwise to count on that. I do think we see light at the end of the tunnel, but there could be another tunnel a hundred yards down the road after we exit this one. So I would plan any trip, but most especially one to Africa, with contingency plans in place, just in case. YMMV.

Posted by
5649 posts

I'd suggest first using Flight Aware to check the existence and dependability of the flights in which you are interested. Last year we were sold flights that hadn't been flying for the previous 18 months, which resulted in six changes/cancelations. And I do like your idea of 24+ hours in your initial layover, as after our SIX flight cancelations, our flight was completely canceled in Chicago, [#7 change] and the next flights across the pond were the next evening.

Good luck and safe travels!

Posted by
1744 posts

Pre-covid, I broke up our flight to Namibia, with a transit in Frankfurt, by spending 2 nights (3 days--because our flight to Joburg left in the evening) in Mainz. We were really glad we did this. We enjoyed our brief visit to Mainz, and we were a bit more rested before our 10+ hour flight to Joburg followed by a shorter hop to Namibia.

Now, again, this was pre-Covid, so you may have to add that into your risk assessment, but I think it's a great idea, in general.

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