If you purchase a round trip ticket, are you allowed to only use part of it? i.e. - not use the part to you destination but do use the part back home, or visa versa?

No, if you don't use the first part the second part is cancelled. Must use the first leg/destination.

You might try reversing your ticket which we did once. My husband drove to Alaska but flew home. We got a round trip ticket from Alaska to home and then home back to Alaska. He didn't go back to Alaska.

Why are one way tickets as expensive as round trip tickets?

Yes, for us it was cheaper to buy a one way ticket and only use the first leg to get my husband home. On another trip is was cheaper to include extra miles flying from Chicago to Denver to Anchorage than to fly from Chicago to Anchorage. We paid more money to go less miles.

I agree with what Gretchen said about having the second part of your round trip cancelled if you don't show up for the first part.

But I've always wondered what would happen if it was the other way around. What happens if you've book a round trip flight, use the first leg, but then don't show up for the return flight? It would seem there's not much they can do to you at that point (unless maybe charge back your credit card for the higher priced one-way fare?) Anyone have any experience with this?

By the way, I've found reasonable one-way fares on both Southwest & Continental.

I think you answered your own question, Judy24:

"it would seem there's not much they can do to you at that point (unless maybe charge back your credit card for the higher priced one-way fare)"

Which is exactly what they will do. Although I have no direct experience with this (I'm smart enough to not try), this is what travel articles warn will happen.

I have known people who have purchased roundtrip airline tickets and only used the first leg of the ticket. As I understand it the airline can charge you as though you purchased a one way ticket but I don't know anyone that has that happen to them. With my luck if I did that I would probably be the passenger they would make an example of, lol

It is not a problem to throw away the return unless you do this often on the same airline over and over.

What you should do is call the airlines - after you've flown the first direction- and TELL them you can't make the return trip home. this is nice too, in that the seat gets freed up for them to resell it.

Several times I've done this and I ended up being able to get a small amount of credit on a later trip, making that one way trip even cheaper!

PaulRabe - don't know what travel articles you've been reading, but chances of that happening are incredibly slim. Now, if one were to employ the strategy on the exact same route many times in a brief period, chances might be higher, but still not very.

dfrostnh, you do understand that less traveling is worth more when the net distance is the same. Which is worth more, a 6hr 20min nonstop from ORD to Anchorage or a 9hr trip with a connection?

I disagree with lcuy. Do not call the airline to cancel. Or you may actually get charged the price difference between your cheap roundtrip and a full one-way price. Please do not try this.

Airlines assume there will be some no-shows on flights. That's why they overbook.

The freakin' airlines cannot even find anyone to answer their phones....do you really think their crackerjack staff is gonna hunt you down and charge your credit card for not using the 2nd half of your ticket? NO WAY!

What if you DIED in the middle of your trip?

( Maybe you should set aside a little money for the airline in your will, just in case they come after your family!)

I do not call and cancel. I call and tell the airline I can't make the flight and will reschedule later. They have never, ever, sugested they would charge me more and I've done this many times on many different carriers.

I've actually used the second part of the ticket several times. After the $100 change fee, and the extra charges sometimes it gives me a bit of a break on the return, but sometimes it isn't worth using. I have two of these return tickets on "hold" at the moment.

My daughter bought a round trip ticket back to college for next week that was less than a one way and WAY less than a round trip ticket returning after the semester. We'll call and cancel after she get to schools, then either use the return next june or buy a similar ticket at that time.

I really like Hawaiian Air's policy of selling one ways at 1/2 price. Even their mileage awards can be bought in one way segments.

jorr posted,

Why are one way tickets as expensive as round trip tickets?,

once again.... allow me to explain.

Fares are based on restrictions. A cheapie R/T (let's make it $300) is based on Saturday night stayover, non-refundable, etc. A full fare R/T for the exact same flight (let's make it $1000) is based fully refundable and no restrictions.

What you would like to happen is that the cheapie if purchased one way should be half or maybe little more of the cheapie R/T. Imagine if that was true?

The full fares would be non-existent to the airlines. If I could buy 2 one-way tickets for (let's say $175 each way) for $350 total, then why should I buy the full fare. After all there would not be Saturday night restrictions anymore as both fares would be one-way only,

so, the one-way fare is based on the full fare, not the cheapie fare, thus making it $500 each way.

AA, thanks for the reply. That seems to make financial sence for the airline in order to get more people to go for the full fare tickets. But the airline can sell that "return" seat of that one-way ticket passenger to another person weeks before the flight, fill up the plane and make money off the second person. Charge a bit more for it than just half the round ticket cheap price to account for processing because they are making trasaction with two people instead of one. Does that make sence or am I still missing something?

how do you stop the same person for buying the return "one way" the next day? thus once again avoiding the full fare R/T and bypassing restrictions?

And if the airline prohibited John Doe from purchasing a cheapie one way return until "after"" Saturday, couldn't John Doe just buy another one way before Saturday from another airline?

Nobody would be buying the non-restrictive fares.

If the person bought a one way return the airline would make the same amount of money as the two way plus a extra small amount as I suggested regardless of the airline. One way to SAT on Delta and one way back to MPLS on NWA. They both made money one way and they both filled that seat when the passenger wasn't using it.

I think the whole thing revolves around what you said "Nobody would be buying the non-restrictive fares". Airlines make it inconvienient to buy low rate fares by adding Saturday overnights and non-refundable tickets.

I have never heard of the airlines charging you more for not taking the return--and I work in the travel industry. If you call before the flight time, you can even hold the unused amount for credit towards another flight. There will be a $100 (UA, NW, HP, etc) or $50 (DL, AS, sometimes CO) change fee that you will pay at the time you book your new ticket. If you do not call the airline to cancel the return, the ticket is considered suspended and you cannot use it for credit later.