Brazil - TAM Ticket to Brazil

Hello everyone. This is the first time I would like to get a one way ticket from JFK (New York) to Sao Paulo. Oddly enough it's the same price to get a one way ticket as it is a round trip. I've read that this normal with all airlines and TAM said it's the way they bill. They advised me to get a roundtrip and to put it way out in advance of when I would ever use it and just pay a penalty to change it when I know I will return. Is there any other way? I hate giving the airline a huge loan only to pay them even more money to get the day I want. It's crazy in my eyes. Thanks.

gringoflyer, most, if not all, airlines charge more for a one way ticket than a round trip ticket. Sometimes it costs more to go one way than round trip. It doesn't make any sense, but they get to make the rules.

Some airlines, like AA give you the option to purchase one way tickets with miles/awards. Maybe that would be an option for you.

3 or 4 years ago I found a good price for a one-way U.S.-Brazil ticket through Priceline (also using TAM). I could only get the good price out of MIA, and we were leaving from Washington, so I first bought my own ticket on AA to MIA, then used the TAM ticket from Priceline. AA was able to check our bags all the way through to Brazil, but we had to get out TAM boarding passes when we got to MIA.

You might check sites such as Expedia, Kayak, etc. to see if you can find any lower one-way fares (many, such as with Copa or Avianca, would involve a stop but you could save money). Picking an arbtirary December date, I found fares as low as $769, on Copa, requiring a change of planes in Panama. A good travel agent might also be of help, since one-way international ticketing is somewhat of a "specialized" market.

Air fares are based on supply and demand, and the trend is for prices to go up. You're not making a loan. You're paying what the market will bear. For domestic flights, I find one-way fares much less than r.t. International fares somewhat different but not always so. Good luck.

3 or 4 years ago I found a good price for a one-way U.S.-Brazil ticket through Priceline (also using TAM). I could only get the good price out of MIA, and we were leaving from Washington, so I first bought my own ticket on AA to MIA, then used the TAM ticket from Priceline. AA was able to check our bags all the way through to Brazil, but we had to get out TAM boarding passes when we got to MIA.

You might check sites such as Expedia, Kayak, etc. to see if you can find any lower one-way fares (many, such as with Copa or Avianca, would involve a stop but you could save money). Picking an arbtirary December date, I found fares as low as $769, on Copa, requiring a change of planes in Panama. A good travel agent might also be of help, since one-way international ticketing is somewhat of a "specialized" market.

Air fares are based on supply and demand, and the trend is for prices to go up. You're not making a loan. You're paying what the market will bear. For domestic flights, I find one-way fares much less than r.t. International fares somewhat different but not always so. Good luck.

Some years ago I flew Brazil to US oneway using a fairly priced TACA-ticket.

http://www.stitravelinc.com/brazil/flights_to_brazil.php sells one-way tickets for less than rt.

Also useful for one-way flights beginning in the U.S. is www.bt-store.com Friends have booked with them and had absolutely no problems.

As mentioned many times before on FT, if you are not a Brazilian national or permanent resident, you may not be allowed to board in the US, nor clear Brazilian immigration since in both cases you would need proof of onwards transportation.