hlsess

Looking to book one way ticket for daughter. And I know that I need to make it round trip even though she will only be doing it one way. Coming home from Spain. If it originates there we pay in Euros. If originates from home- dollars. Just wanted to confirm that she will still be booked on flight if she doesn't depart on first leg of ticket

Dukey1

NO do not make the first leg of the ticket the one you plan not to use. If she does not use the first leg the whole trip can be cancelled. Book it so the first leg is the one she WILL use.

What is this paying in Euros stuff? You will usually pay in the currency of the country in which you booked the ticket.

hlsess

Ok thanks. That's what I thought. I'll call the airline and find out

surfmom

Book the one way.

We did it last summer and had international flights booked as one ways (and it was a multi-city flight). We were never asked for our return details.

janisj

>>I'll call the airline and find out<<

Find out what? You definitely don't want to tell them you plan on only using one leg of your booking.

Several airlines will do one-way tix w/o you needing to book a round trip and tossing the return flight.

If you <i>do</i> end up booking R-T it MUST be Spain > US > Spain and not US > Spain > US.

jacketwatch

Don't tell them you plan to use only 1 way of a RT ticket. This is illegal. I believe it was in 2012 that we got stuck in Madrid due to the hurricane hitting the East Coast of the United States and united airlines wanted to send us back five days past The day we were supposed to go which was impossible for us . I ended up booking a round-trip ticket home as it was actually cheaper than a one-way . When I call the airlines to tell them we did not plan to use the return ticket they told me that this was fraud and that it was illegal . Do not tell them you plan to not use one leg of the flight .

eliztravels2

Why does it need to be a return ticket?

doug_stallings

@hlsess I think you are under a mistaken impression that one-way tickets are necessarily always cheaper than round-trips. That is simply not the case any longer. And the place from which you book (in this case the US) dictates the currency of the transaction, not the direction of travel.

If you were to, say, log onto the Spanish version of British Airways site, then you'd be quoted prices in euros, but not if you log onto the US site for British Airways.

And everyone who is warning you about not using the first leg of a round-trip ticket is correct: it violates the contract of carriage, and the return will be cancelled if you don't take the initial trip. However, it's not illegal, but it is "illegal" in that it violates the contract with the airline.

Southam

"Illegal"? Does anyone know of a case in a court of law where a traveller has been prosecuted for not using the second leg of a round-trip ticket? The airline has been paid the money it demands for the cost of both flights and there is no request for a refund. Any contract the customer enters into is only implied, no matter what legal jargon the fine print contains. If the ticket is your property you can do what you want, although probably not resell it. There is legal precedent (at least in Canada)that a customer does not give up his rights by making a purchase no matter what the seller claims. Change your mind; change your plans; change your itinerary -- not illegal.

abram

Legal, or illegal, it is my understanding that if you book a round trip ticket and don't show up for the 1st leg, your entire reservation will be cancelled.

Gardyloo

No, it's not illegal, it's just counter to airline policy, and yes, if you no-show for the first segment on a trip, the remainder of the reservation will be canceled. This can be reversed, usually with a fat fee, if you contact the airline and explain you missed the flight due to some circumstance.

The OP needs to return and explain more about his/her plans.

jacketwatch

"Illegal" is what the UAL rep told me. So if it isn't that's cool.

jacketwatch

Doug that is why we purchased the R/T to get us home from Madrid to Chicago. The one was was way higher.

Abram and Gardyloo thanks for the clarification.

Much to my surprise UAL refunded our entire fare even though we had flown them from Chicago to Rome, then Rome to Madrid. They initially said a partial refund would be forthcoming given the circumstances which I was fine with. I was astounded they refunded 100% of the purchase price.

As we as usual purchased trip insurance, this time from American Express our fare from Madrid to Chicago via Munich and Hearhrow was also refunded. We got Lufthansa to LHR and UAL to Chicago. Initially UAL wanted to book us home 5 days later which for work reasons we could not do so all in all we came back one day later.

TheFlyingScotsman

It is not always true that if you skip the first leg the return will be cancelled.

I mistakenly booked a Paris-Marseilles round trip which departed at 8:00pm thinking that it departed at 8:00 am because I didn't pay attention when booking the flights. I needed to be in Marseilles for the day so I took the TGV. Air France honored my return ticket even though I hadn't used the first leg.

I would not, however, be willing to gamble that this would always or even occasionally happen.