Do you think there could be a problem booking flights to and in Europe and one back to U.S. but only flying the one back to the U.S.? In other words, book flights but only take the final flight. Will there be a problem when trying to board the final flight if you haven't taken the others? I am talking about flights that are about a week apart in time.

You can take the first flight and not show up for the second or last segment. But if you don't show up for one flight, any afterward on the same reservation will be cancelled. It's how it works, no way around it.

I should have mentioned, my answer above assumes discounted, rather than full-fare tickets. If you've paid full fare then the terms are flexible, it's what you pay for and changes can be made.

MmePerdu, that's what I figured.

Diane, have you considered buying the ticket in the other direction, making the flight you want to take first, rather than last? I'm assuming you want to take advantage of a cheap RT fare? Or maybe you have the ticket already and plans have changed.

Except that USA-Europe-USA might be priced differently than Europe-USA-Europe, even using exactly the same airports.

Jeff, of course, but in case she hadn't thought to investigate.

Tickets are already bought. We were going to Moscow and now my hubby is concerned with what has just happened in front of the Kremlin. We've gone to Moscow before and loved it. We're not gong until September so perhaps things will cool down by then.

There's a thread going on safety in Russia right now, find it under "Europe - Russia" if it interests you. I suspect Russia is like so many places we travel to, perfectly safe for the average person including tourists, or maybe I should say, no less safe than any other place. I'm sure no less safe than when you bought your ticket or the last time you were there. Try to keep "events" in perspective.

Here it is:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...is-it-safe.cfm

MmePerdu has put things in good perspective, as she usually does.

1) Your trip is still six months away. A lot could change between now and then.

2) The chances of a visitor getting caught up in an event like this one is almost zero.

Jeff - I agree. Of course this happening right in the Kremlin area - guns -is a bit off-putting.

The incident wasn't random and if the person who was the target had been un-newsworthy, we'd have heard nothing about it, as is often the case right here at home every day. No one else was harmed. I think it would be a mistake to cancel your plans for that reason alone.

I understand if you cancel because you've been put off by the political atmosphere in Russia in general which made that shooting possible. Think of the incident as a symptom of the dysfunction, not as the dysfunction itself. I'm not encouraging you to go to a place you don't feel safe, but to just see the bigger picture as you make your decision. The alternative may be never leaving home.

My husband is more the concerned one than I am.