Originally Posted by
Larryuno
The girl at the Airline's desk suggested I buy Y fare at nearly $1800, and if she get the visa, cancel for refund, and re-book at the lower fare. Is that unethical, or common practice? Isn't it prohibited in many airline's rules, as double booking?? Do I risk having the procedure rejected?
One thing to be aware of is that if she gets the visa only a few days before the flight, there may not be any lower priced tickets left (on that or some other airline). In which case, she may have to use the $1800 full fare ticket, costing $1200 more than the $600 restricted ticket that you would have otherwise bought for her.
The alternative is to book the $600 restricted ticket; if she does not get the visa in time, it will cost you something to change or cancel it (often $100, and often the remaining funds can be used only on another ticket on the same airline -- but check the specific airline) plus whatever difference in fare for any new ticket you buy.
In other words, you'll have to consider how much you have at risk in each scenario, and what you estimate the chance of the more costly situation is, in order to figure out which has the lowest expected cost for you.