Here I am assuming that your original file is in mp4
container, but the method should work for other containers as well.
One step method- (slightly more involved)
Also see the answer given by ptQa in the referenced thread. But here is the same with audio added:
ffmpeg -i inputfile.mp4 \
-filter_complex "[0:v]trim=start=10:end=16,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[a];
[0:v]trim=start=20:end=26,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[b];
[0:a]atrim=start=10:end=16,asetpts=PTS-STARTPTS[c];
[0:a]atrim=start=20:end=26,asetpts=PTS-STARTPTS[d];
[a][c][b][d]concat=n=2:v=1:a=1[e][f]" \
-map '[e]' -map '[f]' -strict -2 outputfile.mp4
This adds the audio stream and neccesary pads to get audio.
Provided for completeness:
The Easy Way: You could use the 2 step process which you are already aware of:
First Cut and extract the 2 pieces you want out of the full length video.
Second Join these 2 pieces together.
This should be the easy way out.
To cut a piece from say the third second to ninth second:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:03 -to 00:00:09 -c:v copy -c:a copy part1.mp4
You can repeat the process for the second part. If it is from 10th second to 16th second:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:10 -to 00:00:16 -c:v copy -c:a copy part2.mp4
Also, see this thread for more details.
Now you have 2 files which you can join. You can "concatenate" in at least 3 different ways. The way to do it without re-encoding is to do it through the demuxer option. Create a text file named (say) joinlist.txt with this content:
file 'part1.mp4'
file 'part2.mp4'
To join the two files place the 2 movies and text (joinlist.txt) in the same folder and use this command:
ffmpeg -f concat -i joinlist.txt -c copy joinedfile.mp4