Budget Travel - Cheap Open-ended ticket?

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum - looks like there's a ton of good info here!

I'm planning to go to Europe for the summer, the whole trip is flexible, including the return date. There's a lot of round-trip deals right now, but the return is end of May/ early June - too early! This all leaves me with a bunch of ideas, but I'm not sure which one is the best. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A) Buy a one-way ticket now, buy a one-way ticket later, when I know about coming home (probably not cheap)

B) Buy a cheap round-trip ticket now (presumably nonrefundable, nonchangeable), miss the flight home, and book a ticket for coming home when I have a date (probably not cheap, but maybe not horribly expensive)

C) Book an open ended ticket (through a travel agent only??)

D) Book a round-trip ticket with an end of summer return date, which probably won't be cheap, and the date may need to be changed


If I go with option B, will the authorities freak out that I've come and not left? I'm thinking they won't notice. Does anyone have a reliable/likeable travel agent in the NY area? Also, I fear that the closer I get to summer, the more likely the tix are to go up in price.

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

j

If I go with option B, will the authorities freak out that I've come and not left?

No, you're not in the Land of the Free anymore, so no, they won't freak out ;)

As far as getting a ticket back, that's another story. Summer is traditionally expensive to go to/from Europe, so that one way ticket back may be more than what you paid for your r/t :(

If you can wait till late September, prices may (and probably will) come back down when the tourist season is done. And of course if you can wait for the almost ratified "Open Skies Treaty" to be ratified (and carriers ready to put more aircraft in the air) prices will surely come down. Me, I'm not holding my breath :rolleyes:

BTW, welcome to FlyerTalk jsk218

EmailKid

Hi all,
[SIZE="2"][SIZE="1"]
I'm new to the forum - looks like there's a ton of good info here!

I'm planning to go to Europe for the summer, the whole trip is flexible, including the return date. There's a lot of round-trip deals right now, but the return is end of May/ early June - too early! This all leaves me with a bunch of ideas, but I'm not sure which one is the best. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A) Buy a one-way ticket now, buy a one-way ticket later, when I know about coming home (probably not cheap)

B) Buy a cheap round-trip ticket now (presumably nonrefundable, nonchangeable), miss the flight home, and book a ticket for coming home when I have a date (probably not cheap, but maybe not horribly expensive)

C) Book an open ended ticket (through a travel agent only??)

D) Book a round-trip ticket with an end of summer return date, which probably won't be cheap, and the date may need to be changed


If I go with option B, will the authorities freak out that I've come and not left? I'm thinking they won't notice. Does anyone have a reliable/likeable travel agent in the NY area? Also, I fear that the closer I get to summer, the more likely the tix are to go up in price.

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

j
Open ended tickets are only for folks who are not paying for their own travel -avoid like the plague.

But it's possible right now to go onto airline websites and book a return ticket at a reasonable price if you avoid the summer peaks. As an example I got this from the BA website today:

Outbound - Wednesday 16 May, 2007
1830-0625 JFK - Heathrow (London) BA0112
Inbound - Wednesday 19 Sep, 2007
1525-1805 Heathrow (London)-JFK BA0113
$ 507.58
- it's not changeable but the prices won't get any better

If you fly to other direct to other European countries with good connections - eg. Germany, Holland you can also avoid the absurd UK govt longhaul tax (see other posts) so check out other carriers.

Once inside Europe there is a myriad of budget airlines - plus trains, buses and boats.You can check out the budget airlines at www.skyscanner.net (www.skycanner.net)

If I go with option B, will the authorities freak out that I've come and not left? I'm thinking they won't notice.

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

j

They won't notice if you miss your return flight and choose to stay later, but they will notice if you overstay your allowable time on a tourist visa. From your post I can't tell exactly how long you are planning on staying in Europe, but remember that if you are a tourist, you can only stay in the Schengen countries for a max of 90 days in a 180 day period.

Overstaying your 90 days will likely cause problems upon your departure....

[QUOTE=farci;7356254] As an example I got this from the BA website today:

Outbound - Wednesday 16 May, 2007
1830-0625 JFK - Heathrow (London) BA0112
Inbound - Wednesday 19 Sep, 2007
1525-1805 Heathrow (London)-JFK BA0113
$ 507.58
- it's not changeable but the prices won't get any better



Hi All,

Thanks for the good advice. This one deal certainly sounds excellent... I'm hoping to not fly through London - I think they've still got a "you can't carry anything on you but your wallet and passport" policy these days, which is problematic if you've got camera gear, since the airlines won't insure you if they break what you check.

Has anyone found a similar deal on a non-British airline? I'll fly direct to just about anywhere in Europe...

Thanks again!

j

Has anyone found a similar deal on a non-British airline? I'll fly direct to just about anywhere in Europe...

Welcome to FlyerTalk jsk218

Now having said that, I'd also like to point you to a sticky in our forum, that says that fare requests are not permitted (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=565617).

We have been a little lax lately with posters pushing the boundaries of advice / fare request, and your second post is right on the hairy edge. We are here to help, but as the sticky points out, we are not a travel agency.

Thanks for understanding.

EmailKid
Budget Travel Moderator

[QUOTE=farci;7356254] As an example I got this from the BA website today:

Outbound - Wednesday 16 May, 2007
1830-0625 JFK - Heathrow (London) BA0112
Inbound - Wednesday 19 Sep, 2007
1525-1805 Heathrow (London)-JFK BA0113
$ 507.58
- it's not changeable but the prices won't get any better



Hi All,

Thanks for the good advice. This one deal certainly sounds excellent... I'm hoping to not fly through London - I think they've still got a "you can't carry anything on you but your wallet and passport" policy these days, which is problematic if you've got camera gear, since the airlines won't insure you if they break what you check.

Has anyone found a similar deal on a non-British airline? I'll fly direct to just about anywhere in Europe...

Thanks again!

j
As the moderator says we can't find fare deals but, to your point about 'carry on'.

The limit are imposed by EU governments not by the airlines. You need to read this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4789593.stm

[QUOTE=farci;7356254] As an example I got this from the BA website today:

Outbound - Wednesday 16 May, 2007
1830-0625 JFK - Heathrow (London) BA0112
Inbound - Wednesday 19 Sep, 2007
1525-1805 Heathrow (London)-JFK BA0113
$ 507.58
- it's not changeable but the prices won't get any better



Hi All,

Thanks for the good advice. This one deal certainly sounds excellent... I'm hoping to not fly through London - I think they've still got a "you can't carry anything on you but your wallet and passport" policy these days, which is problematic if you've got camera gear, since the airlines won't insure you if they break what you check.

Has anyone found a similar deal on a non-British airline? I'll fly direct to just about anywhere in Europe...

Thanks again!

j

Dunno about those rules, as I flew Delta to and from Manchester this past Thanksgiving (well after the terrorist threat) and had a backpack as carry on with my camera and stuff. The only thing I couldn't bring was water.

Welcome to FlyerTalk jsk218

Now having said that, I'd also like to point you to a sticky in our forum, that says that fare requests are not permitted (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=565617).

We have been a little lax lately with posters pushing the boundaries of advice / fare request, and your second post is right on the hairy edge. We are here to help, but as the sticky points out, we are not a travel agency.

Thanks for understanding.

EmailKid
Budget Travel Moderator

Sorry - didn't mean to step on toes! I'll be sure to read the stickies before posting more. Thanks again everyone!

j