loisco

I have been reading up on this and it seems it is ok...and in fact I may use the return later...however one of the posts indicate they can "track you down" by your frequent flier number..

So my question is if I plan to do this, should I not use my frequent flier number on that airline?...thanks for the help.

rkkwan

It is not an issue unless you do this often. Airlines will not track you down unless they see a pattern, particularly from travel agents who tend to book a lot of these flights for their clients.

BeachBoi

loisco...An important feature of any discounted ticket is that in most cases, the reservation must be cancelled prior to the scheduled departure of the flight.Don't be a No Show.Otherwise the remaining part of the ticket will be "suspended" and therfore useless.And if you plan to use the ticket, you must complete your travel within one year of the original date the ticket was purchased.

loisco

Hmm.Interesting...seems to me some of the posts said not to call...but I have been reading back to 2001!! Ok, I will call and just tell them I can't make it..

Also, what is a pattern?...would that be doing this once a year?...

rkkwan

You don't call if you're not planning to use the return trip.

If you plan to use it, then call and you have to pay a change fee to change it.

I think if you do this once a year, you won't have problem.

BeachBoi

rkk....If she doesnt call, she will be a no show and the ticket will disappear!! She can tell the airline she doesnt know when she will be travelling......If you are cancelled because you dont show up, your ticket goes into suspension...uselss.....

loisco

And does it matter where I buy the ticket?...directly from the airline is ok too?

Patty

<i>If she doesnt call, she will be a no show and the ticket will disappear!!</i>

Depends on the airline. With Delta, you can no show and it won't forfeit the ticket.

loisco,
Yes, you can buy directly from the airline. If you really plan to use the return some time later, check the individual airline's policy to see whether you need to cancel prior to the flight as policies differ. Keep in mind that if you call to cancel, you may need to pay a change fee at that time.

clevelandbrown

I myself don't see any disadvantage to calling the airline shortly before you fail to show for the return flight. You can just say that something has come up and you won't be able to make the flight. If you have a new return date, you could amend the ticket by paying the change fee (I don't know if there would even be a change fee if you have a pricey fully refundable ticket). I doubt you would get any kind of voucher, but you could certainly ask, and you would be making it easier for another flyer to get the seat you won't be using.

If you don't use your frequent flyer number, you won't earn miles, and isn't earning miles why we fly?

I don't know the particulars of your trip, but often there is a way to work around having to buy a round trip ticket by getting a multiple destination, or open jaw ticket. I recently saw that a cruise ship is making a transatlantic crossing (many do this twice a year) and I thought that would be a nice trip, to fly to Portugal, stay a week or two, then take the ship to the Caribbean, stay a week or two there, then fly home. But a one way ticket to Portugal was expensive. I had a creative flash and priced a multiple destination flight: home to Portugal, then Carribean to home; the price was much more reasonable, for flights I would be taking anyway, and I wouldn't have to worry about some zealous clerk noting that I had not completed a round trip to Portugal.

We had a similar problem when my son spent a term in Finland, as the tourist flights I found didn't allow one to stay over four months. That was resolved because he was a student, and there is a travel agency that specializes in arranging such flights for students.

rkkwan

Let me try one more time.

1. If you will use the return trip later, you need to call. For most airlines, you no show, and there's no value left with your ticket. But you most likely will need to pay a change fee.

2. If you will not use the return, then don't call. What's the advantage in alerting the airline that you're going to violate the fare rule? Depending on the airline, some agents will tell you that there's nothing they can or should do. If they cancel your return, they may have to change your fare to reflect the one-way ticket fare! <b>There is really no point</b> in doing it.

freeman0819

Loisco, if you intend on &quot;not using&quot; the return portion of a round-trip ticket, make sure you cancel the return AFTER you have used the outbound portion that you want to use.

If you get a cheap round-trip and call to cancel the return before you leave on your trip, the airlines will not let you on the plane for your outbound- you would be forced to reissue your ticket as a one way using just the outbound and more than likely have to pay the rate you were trying to avoid in the first place.

When you call to make your initial reservation, it's ok to say &quot;after I get to (insert destination here) and I decide I want to stay a few days later, what's the process/fees attached?&quot; That way you know in case you decide later to use that return. They don't have to know you don't intend on showing up anyway.