Airplane fare - single

[Ennue]

Hi everybody,

I'm from the Netherlands, I'll be moving to Minneapolis for my PhD in August. I've been looking at airfares and it turns out singles are way more expensive than returns! How have you solved this problem, or did you just buy a single? Is buying a return a problem with immigration/visa issues? And how difficult can airline companies get if you buy a return but don't use the return ticket - i.e. don't they care, or should I just buy a single to be on the safe side? I hope someone can help, the price difference is shockingly large!

Edited February 20, 2011 by Ennue

[a fragrant plant]

Are you planning to visit Netherlands regularly (like twice a year)? If so maybe you can buy an open return ticket. Some airlines allow you to do that.

BTW - I noticed that you're from Utrecht. I'm visiting Amsterdam this April with my family. Is Utrecht worth visiting? We'd like to see Dick bruna huis.

Edited February 20, 2011 by Peanut

[kaykaykay]

Are you never planning to go back to the Netherlands? Because you can use a lot of return tickets within a year. If not than still you can buy a return ticket, no one will look for you and drag you to the airplane, and there will be no questions when you get the visa (you could still return to visit!) . I did lose a few return flights during my long career as an international student.

[eklavya]

First, how much $ or euros are we talking here?

Also, try this - fly to Frankfurt first. I remember paying about 20 euros for this flight about 2 years ago. Then get tickets from big/cheap airlines that fly regularly from Frankfurt to the US. Few that come to my mind are Air India, Cathay Pacific, Delta, American Airlines and such. If flying directly to Minneapolis is expensive, choose other airports as your port of entry and then get another plane to take you to Minneapolis. Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, etc all can be good options. I think I paid about 500$ to fly from Frankfurt to Denver in June (can't remember the airlines). Just keep looking.. you'll get a good deal.

[Ennue]

Thank you both for your replies! I do plan to go back to the Netherlands, but I don't know when yet - an open return ticket sounds good! I was mostly worried about the visa/immigration issues

Peanut, Utrecht is definitely worth visiting. It's much quieter than Amsterdam and has a very different atmosphere. Especially April is a lovely time to visit! If the weather permits, you should rent waterbikes and 'cycle' on the canals. The Dick Bruna house is fun, and climbing the Dom tower is fun as well (the last bit is scary for those with claustrophobia, but you can stay on a lower level and just enjoy the view instead). Eating on a terrace on the wharfs is also great

[Strangefox]

Hi everybody,

I'm from the Netherlands, I'll be moving to Minneapolis for my PhD in August. I've been looking at airfares and it turns out singles are way more expensive than returns! How have you solved this problem, or did you just buy a single? Is buying a return a problem with immigration/visa issues? And how difficult can airline companies get if you buy a return but don't use the return ticket - i.e. don't they care, or should I just buy a single to be on the safe side? I hope someone can help, the price difference is shockingly large!

Ha, I've been thinking about that lately!

I am going to buy a return ticket and then not use it. I am afraid that buying an open return ticket may be more expensive that a regular return ticket and even without that I will pay plenty for my trip! And using the return ticket is also not an option. I want to go back home next summer (2012, I mean) and I can't buy a ticket for this time just yet...

[Henry Hudson]

You may be able to make it cheaper by baking it into two parts. Amsterdam to NYC can be fairly cheap, whether one-way or open return. And one-way from NY to Minneapolis can be very cheap .

Besides NYC, you can also look at Chicago.

[Kathiza]

I was told these "open return" tickets are only available in the US. At least in my country (Austria) there seems to be no such thing.

[kaykaykay]

I am from East of Austria (still in Europe). I would be very surprised if it did not exist in Austria. Open ticket at least here does not mean that you can leave the reurn time open but it means that it is valid for one year, you have to give a date of return but it is changable for a nominal fee. You should ask a travel agent because they have several different options.

In my experience tickets are much cheaper if you have to transfer. I got tickets much cheaper to fly Frankfurt -U.S. than my German friend because I was not taking a direct flight. (this means Mycountry-Frankfurt-U.S is cheaper than Frankfurt-US with the same company with the same flight) I would recommend taking a short flight to a Europen hub and try to get the long flight to directly your city in the US because US domestic flights are austere but that is just me.In my experience prices are almost the same in both combination but maybe from your countries it is diffrent.

Edited February 21, 2011 by kalapocska

[Kathiza]

Ah okay, I knew that you could change the return date for a fee. But I thought "open return" really means open return (as in: I let them know four weeks in advance or something like that). Thanks!

[graspinghandsandfeet]

I'd recommend buying a return ticket. It's cheaper and you might be able to use to go home for Christmas or the summer.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the immigration officer at the airport might ask you if you have a return flight. I've been on an F-1 visa for almost four years (did my undergrad in the US) and I remember being asked about my return flight a couple of times. I guess not planning on going home might look like you don't have close ties to your home country and might want to stay in the US. Remember that the F-1 is a non-immigrant visa!

Hi everybody,

I'm from the Netherlands, I'll be moving to Minneapolis for my PhD in August. I've been looking at airfares and it turns out singles are way more expensive than returns! How have you solved this problem, or did you just buy a single? Is buying a return a problem with immigration/visa issues? And how difficult can airline companies get if you buy a return but don't use the return ticket - i.e. don't they care, or should I just buy a single to be on the safe side? I hope someone can help, the price difference is shockingly large!

[Strangefox]

You can buy a return ticket and not use it. Airplane companies don't care

People who will give you the visa won't care either And of course you can explain them the situation if they ask. How can they be concerned about a return ticket is all they worry about is that you won't return?

[adinutzyc]

There are ways to get a roundtrip with an open return... although you may want to try a travel agency, and it will probably be more expensive. But are you really saying that you found rountrip tickets less expensive than one-way tickets? I mean, dividing by 2 will turn out less expensive, but if you're not using the return then you shouldn't divide by 2...

Anyway, after this trip, you should buy rountrip tickets starting in the USA, because you will always know when you have to get back to school, as opposed to when you will leave school! Good luck!

[tew]

Yeah, there are some cases where return tickets are at least the same (total) price as one-way tickets. Especially with "traditional" airlines. No one cares if you don't show for one leg of the flight, did that once. I already booked my flight to the US, which will be with Air Berlin - as with most low-fare airline, their one-way tickets are really just half the price of a two-way ticket. I'm not too worried about immigration, as I'm going for a 5-year program after all, and there's no way to get tickets that far in advance ^^ .

On another note, some of you may know it already, but this site is my favorite resource for finding tickets, almost always gives equal or cheaper results than any other site I've tried so far. Disclaimer: I'm in no way affiliated with them.

Edited April 8, 2011 by tew

[Strangefox]

On another note, some of you may know it already, but this site is my favorite resource for finding tickets, almost always gives equal or cheaper results than any other site I've tried so far. Disclaimer: I'm in no way affiliated with them.

Cool site, thanks!

[onomatopoeia.]

Buying a return ticket and not using the return is called throw away ticketing. I'm in a similar position and did some research on the internet. I think the consensus that it's fine as long as you don't keep doing it. You won't get your miles for the return flight though.

[Strangefox]

I think the consensus that it's fine as long as you don't keep doing it.

And what if you keep doing it??

[Ennue]

Thank you all so much for your responses, it has really helped!

[onomatopoeia.]

And what if you keep doing it??

Frankly speaking, I have no idea but I remember someone writing that he/she got a warning letter from the airline for engaging in such 'airline booking ploys'

But given that airlines typically overbook flights to help offset no-shows , maybe they'll actually be glad that you didn't turn up.

[Strangefox]

Frankly speaking, I have no idea but I remember someone writing that he/she got a warning letter from the airline for engaging in such 'airline booking ploys'

It seems so strange! What ploys??? I mean, If I paid money for a ticket, I can do whatever I want with it - use or not use - it's not their business what I choose!

[beanbagchairs]

This is somewhat unrelated. I couldnt buy a one-way ticket since my visa is not done yet. It's just the rules of many airlines here. So, I ended up buying a round-trip ticket. My return date is "open" and good for six months. A pain.

[onomatopoeia.]

It seems so strange! What ploys??? I mean, If I paid money for a ticket, I can do whatever I want with it - use or not use - it's not their business what I choose!

The airlines have their own 'contract of carriage' which may indicate that if you throw away your return ticket, they can pursue the price difference if u had bought single instead of return. Some may indicate a no show fee.

There are some good discussions online about this issue, whether they actually enforce these practices, whether they can pursue these 'infractions' successfully in court, whether such pricing practices are up to date with the rise of budget airlines etc.

Quite interesting actually. U can google for more if you are really interested.

[Strangefox]

Quite interesting actually. U can google for more if you are really interested.

That is very interesting indeed! Thanks for the link!