McTravel

I will be traveling with my daughter who is going to be studying abroad for a couple months, I need a round-trip, she will need a one-way ticket. And, I'm not sure of her return flight. I will probably choose non refundable tickets because they appear to be 1/3 of the price. I just checked and the round trip is cheaper than the one-way, is there any reason why I can't purchase a round trip ticket for her even though she won't use the return flight?

thanks,

inthechips2

Why won't she be using the return flight? Does she plan to stay indefinitely? I ask because our daughter is doing a study abroad in Melbourne, AU and bought a RT ticket (for a 6-month duration) as a student fare, saving her about $1,000. As long as she had the student visa, she could do that. Otherwise, she couldn't ticket a 6 month visit.

sunshine007

I haven't done any research on this yet, but since this thread is here... I'm moving to Egypt in January to live for an indefinite period of time. I've been thinking that a one-way ticket would be better since I don't know when I'll be back in the U.S. I assume there's a limit on the length of time during which a round trip must be completed. I'm joining McTravel's question. Or would love one of those nice answers that tells me everything I might want to know about this.

Thanks!

LoveItaly

Hi McTravel. Since your daughter is going to be abroad for a couple of months buy the roundtrip ticket and then pay the fee if you have to change the date on the return ticket. Seems like from what you have said that is the least expensive way to go. Also have you thought of calling your airline and getting their advice? I have always gotten good help from the airline I use. Good wishes.

McTravel

thanks for the responses, I could make a guess as to when she will return but it appears to be unsettled as of today. That would certainly be the best bet. I will try to contact the airline, but it seems that if I purchase the least expensive fare it also has the most restrictions. Either way, it would there would be cost savings.

best regards,

clevelandbrown

Technically, the airline could charge you for the obsecenely higher price of a one-way ticket, if they discovered that you bought a round trip ticket and didn't use the return segment. However, they would have to catch you, and the only instances I have heard of where they acted on this problem was when they caught some frequent-flyer members gaming the system, and all they did was to dock some of their miles.

For students, there are organizations that can handle the problem of an indefinite return date. I've forgotten their names, but the school office of studies abroad should have the information.

Another option would be to pick a return date that is clearly achievable (three weeks after the end of the term, for example, allowing for some tourism), but many of the lowest priced tickets have limitations that would foil this (typical conditions might be that a saturday night stay is necessary, travel must commence within 28 days, and be completed within 45 days, etc., etc.).

I don't know you or your daughter, but I'll throw this in anyway. My children would have felt a bit childish had I or my wife accompanied them; I think they gained a lot of confidence by doing it on their own.

For an adult (non-student) I would suggest looking closely at what costs and restrictions there are on amending one of the non-refundable low cost tickets. Often the fee charged is fairly reasonable, but I think it is also fairly common that you have a limited period of time during which you can make the return flight (a year comes to mind, but better to check with the airline). The other alternative would be to buy a more costly fully refundable ticket, but again you should check with the airline to see what the restrictions are on this.

rkkwan

Others have given valid advice on finding open-end or long-return tickets via various channels.

But if at the end, you still want to buy her a roundtrip and throw away the return, it's totally okay. Unless you do this often, they will not find you.

However, do not link your itinerary with hers. Or the airline will ask you what's happening with your companion. Buy the two tickets seperately.

bkjewett

I used to be a travel agent. Usually RT's are cheaper than OW's. I would recommend however that you contact a travel agent because they can make reservations through a consolidator (who will only book via Travel Agents). A lot of times the consolidators have OW fares depending on the cities.

bkjewett

Also, I forgot to add that consolidators sometimes have fares that allow for a longer stay (3 months etc) and then if you need to change it you can pay the change fee and have the agent change the date for you. It would be a lot cheaper that way. Are you flying in and out of major cities?