Philforest - depending on your occupation & the amount of advance warning you have, full-fare tickets are sometimes unavoidable, especially when you are flying somewhere remote at the drop of a hat and you need to be completely flexible once you get there.

There is nothing worse than being stranded in some dark corner of the earth and not being able to leave because of circumstances beyond your control & an inflexible ticket... resolving such a situation is often more expensive & unpleasant than paying full fare to start with.

One of my colleagues was once stuck on the same aeroplane for over 24 hours (no, he wasn't going to Australia), & spent another 18 on the same journey. According to the original schedule, he was due to leave before he had even landed... and if his ticket hadn't been flexible he would have been stuck in Calcutta until the London office sorted it out.

When flying into developing countries it is best to keep your options open...