Can 2nd leg of RT flight not be used?

[rinshin]

Hi all - I hope you can answer some questions. We are booked on Golden Princess going from NYC to Venice in May 06. When we booked this trip, our friends who will be cruising with us checked the flight from SFO to NYC and from Rome to SFO and came up with something over $3000. Since I did not have an access to computer easily at the time of booking, we decided to go with the air with Princess air deviation. The flight cost is $897 with Princess. Princess told us that we would know our flight information somewhere between 60-30 days before our trip and at that time we can either decide to go with the chosen flights by Princess or propose our own. We knew that we had to do air deviation since we will be staying in Italy 1 week post cruise and flying out of Rome to SFO.

 

Well, after reading these boards, 60-30 days may be too late for getting flights of our choice. After trying different methods (ie multiple cities, RT, and single flights) of getting cost analysis, I found the cheapest and best flights (least no of stops and schedule of our choice) as follows:

 

SFO - JFK (one way ticket) at the cost of $169

 

Rome - SFO (Round trip) at the cost of $700.

 

Any problem with not using the return leg or the 2nd leg of Rome to SFO? One way ticket from Rome - SFO is something like $1400.

 

Thank you so much.

[Globaliser]

If you don't do it regularly, you're unlikely to have any problems. Airlines know that people miss flights all the time and have to make alternative arrangements so they usually don't go chasing after someone whose never done it before. They're usually only interested in people who are doing it regularly for the purpose of deliberate evasion of fare rules. I've never had any comeback on the occasions when I've done it.

 

However, technically they could ask you to pay the extra, and they may even have a legal case for that. But as I say, I very much doubt they will.

[DEL67]

Before you book, try AirlineConsolidator.com. It may not help, but we were able to get one way fare from JFK to Barcelona for $300 when the airlines wated over $1,000.

[DanJ]

Since you are an American, it shouldn't raise too much of an issue, as Globaliser says. If you did this in another country, or somebody from another country did this in the US, it might cause an issue, since there won't be a record of you leaving.

 

To prevent them from going after you for the fare difference from a one-way, you can always show up at the airport too late to check-in for that return flight. Once they deny you boarding, you can stomp off saying you'll never fly them again, and you are going to American or whoever to get you back to Italy. Hey, it might work LOL

[Globaliser]

Since you are an American, it shouldn't raise too much of an issue, as Globaliser says. If you did this in another country, or somebody from another country did this in the US, it might cause an issue, since there won't be a record of you leaving.

I'm not sure that's really much of a concern. Airlines don't report people to immigration just because they've failed to use a return ticket - there are hundreds of perfectly legitimate reasons why someone might fail to show for a flight which don't involve any immigration transgressions. If you don't use the return half of that ticket to leave the country, but you're supposed to leave the country and you do in fact leave by another flight, there will be a satisfactory record of your departure for immigration purposes.

To prevent them from going after you for the fare difference from a one-way, you can always show up at the airport too late to check-in for that return flight. Once they deny you boarding, you can stomp off saying you'll never fly them again, and you are going to American or whoever to get you back to Italy. Hey, it might work LOL

I like the idea, but what happens if they immediately offer to reaccommodate the passenger? (As has always happened to me on the rare occasions that I've missed flights, even on the cheapest most inflexible tickets.) :D

[DanJ]

.I like the idea, but what happens if they immediately offer to reaccommodate the passenger? (As has always happened to me on the rare occasions that I've missed flights, even on the cheapest most inflexible tickets.) :D

 

In that case, I suggest renting "Airline" the TV show, and work on how those people who check in 4 minutes before the flight leaves act. I doubt you'd get re-accomodated immediately LOL.

[Globaliser]

In that case, I suggest renting "Airline" the TV show, and work on how those people who check in 4 minutes before the flight leaves act. I doubt you'd get re-accomodated immediately LOL.

Ah, I knew I was doing something wrong ...

 

:D

[rinshin]

Thank you all for information. Still looking at different options. I like the airline consolidator site - however, on our route, still getting over $1400 for one way ticket.

 

Don't understand why one way would cost anywhere between $1400 to $3000, but RT cost only $650-$800. We are willing to pay $1000 for one way ticket, but not $1400 to $3000.

[Globaliser]

Don't understand why one way would cost anywhere between $1400 to $3000, but RT cost only $650-$800. We are willing to pay $1000 for one way ticket, but not $1400 to $3000.

This is a function of the airlines' business need to extract from each passenger on the flight the maximum that they are prepared to pay for their journey, not just what the passenger would like to pay - notwithstanding the fact that passengers paying different amounts get the same hardware on board the aircraft.

 

Most people who set off on a long journey need to fly home again. The restricted but cheap return tickets are therefore aimed at them. The people who buy one way tickets are usually business travellers who need to buy a one-way but who can afford to pay a lot more for the ticket. So the high pricing of the one-ways is intended to make sure that they pay what they're prepared to pay, not just what they would like to get away with. The upside is that the one-way tickets come with a lot of flexibility, which these passengers also need.

 

Similarly, those business travellers are made to pay more for their round-trip tickets by the imposition of conditions on the cheap tickets that they cannot live with - so they buy more expensive but less restrictive tickets.

 

People on one-way cruises do get caught by this trap. An expensive one-way ticket is usually far more flexible than they need, but correspondingly more expensive. This is why it's often a good idea to do your air tickets through the cruise line if you're on a one-way cruise, as the cruise line can negotiate with the airlines for leisure pricing for the one-way tickets even if you can't as an individual.

[LHT28]

Don't understand why one way would cost anywhere between $1400 to $3000, but RT cost only $650-$800. We are willing to pay $1000 for one way ticket, but not $1400 to $3000.

 

One way tickets are not restricted you can cancel for full refund anytime.

 

some of the cheaper RT are non -refundable so they still get their money even if you miss the outbound flight.

 

If you do not use the return ticket you CAN be billed later for a full fare one-way (outbound portion) depends on if the airline decides to check on you. It may even be a month or so later.

 

See if you can do an Open Jaw ticket with a consolidator or your TA.

[rinshin]

Now I'm getting really good rates going from either Venice or Vienna to Dublin (stay over in Dublin 3-4 days) and from Dublin to SFO for $550-$600. My husband and I would love to see Dublin so we may opt for this one. We already booked our flight from SFO to JFK for $159.

[winewanderer]

DH and I did this once and didn't have a problem. I think as long as you don't make a habit of it, you're fine.

[greatam]

Now I'm getting really good rates going from either Venice or Vienna to Dublin (stay over in Dublin 3-4 days) and from Dublin to SFO for $550-$600. My husband and I would love to see Dublin so we may opt for this one. We already booked our flight from SFO to JFK for $159.

 

American has been running sales to Dublin very frequently. If it is American, make sure you check the dates. American has been running the Dublin run on weird days and cancelling on other days. If it is Aer Lingus, make sure you can live with the intra-Europe weight allowance. You are not checking baggage through to the US, so the lower weight allowance MAY come into play on the European flights. Seeing Dublin sounds like a good plan, but make sure you check all the "gotcha's".

 

http://www.flyaerlingus.com/cgi-bin/obel01im1/Services/checked_bag.