tentseller

I have always been asked to show onward ticket when travelling to the Philippines and Indonesia out of HKG by ALL LCC check-in clerk.

As these are my NGO business we might buy inbound with one carrier and outbound with a different one due to cost. Have a printout of your onward ticket as email confirmation or phone apps on devices are not sufficient for many.

The only airline that did not ask for onward for these countries when checking in a oneway was CX/KA out of HKG. Probably due to my status with them? We usually buy inbound with CX/KA for luggage allowance and fly back empty-handed.

MSPeconomist

Why not at least skip MNL?

And are you sure that Brunei doesn't require a visa or something?

erik123

You can easily fake it. No one will care. They just need to see a piece of paper with an onward flight.

geminidreams

I have flown into Thailand on a one way on Air Aisa no questions asked and tried same on Malaysian and they would not let me board without an onwards ticket. Cebu pacific would not let me board to Manila without an onwards ticket. Air Asia did not ask but I had a return ticket with them so they could probably see that without asking.

tentseller

Really? Have you tried this with any of the LCCs SUCCESSFULLY?

nanyang

Vietnam immigration have always wanted to see return flight information. This might be different for US passport holders (assume this might be applicable here), as US passport holders need to get a visa of some kind, I believe. I have never had a visa for Vietnam, so not familiar with that process.

joe_miami

If nothing else, I'd like to visit the American Cemetery, plus I have a mountain of Hyatt points and the Grand Hyatt, which is apparently very close to the cemetery, seems to get great reviews here.

As for Brunei, I've never been there and a quick stop seems relatively easy, since it's such a small place and no visa is required. (Famous last words, etc.)

IAN-UK

As I understand it, the OP's problem is not the arrival process, but about being accepted for travel by check-in staff at the origin.

As I said, being turned away at he arrival airport's passport control because of no documented onward travel is unlikely, especially so if you fit the agents idea of a "clean" arrival. But sometimes agents get out of bed on the wrong side .....

HOWEVER it would be unwise and unreasonable to expect the check-in agent at the origin airport to make a judgement call on what might happen at the immigration desks of the arrival airport: he/she will have instructions to refuse a passenger with no documented onward travel, or call a supervisor to resolve things.

As long as countries have an onward travel clause in their requirements for entry, airlines will protect themselves from fines, and the costs of flying passengers back to the flight's origin, by checking details of onward travel. It's not a difficult concept to grasp.

889

No, I was talking primarily about check-in.

And if you read posts I and others have made here, we've warned that when travelling to the Philippines and Indonesia in particular, you can expect to be asked for a ticket out at check-in. But in other circumstances -- NO MATTER WHAT TIMATIC SAYS -- my first-hand experience and those of others posting here is that the real situation is very often far more relaxed, but with no guaranty in any given case.

Have you actually travelled in Asia with a one-way ticket? I have, and I have never been refused boarding.

joe_miami

I'm actually more concerned with immigration, as I'll be traveling with only a carry-on and expect to use online check-in and mobile boarding passes as much as possible. I fly on one-way tickets all the time in the Americas and have never been flagged for proof of onward travel using an airline's app. I hope the same is true for the airlines in SE Asia, but I suppose things could work differently there.

Are you speaking from experience in SE Asia or just speaking generally? I believe several of my usual destinations (Panama, Mexico) technically require proof of onward travel, but I've only been asked by an airline once and I've never been asked for it by immigration in probably 30+ combined trips to those two countries. Thanks.

ricktoronto

I had a paid J open jaw through HKG to BKK with the BKK-HKG exit from Thailand on a separate ticket due to wanting a stopover in HKG and a $600 cost on a normal R/T. At check-in for the (first) flight to HKG they asked if I was leaving BKK in 30 days (visa waiver limit) and I told CX I had an open jaw one-way BKK-HKG.

She did not ask for proof but something (like the computer) told her to ask and even though all on CX she did not see that booking. I think on a refundable J ticket she did not feel it necessary to ask for proof which of course I had which differs from the OP.

I'd not risk starting a trip by being turned down on the first flight but that's me. Then you have the risk your first SE Asia arrival they ask the same thing.

This was in July of this year.

camsean

Its a lucky dip generally, but you are almost certain to be asked when going to MNL.

Fredrik74

I was asked when going from Singapore to Siem Reap on Jetstar. That I had another ticket later on that pretty much proved I was leaving Cambodia on time didn't matter. It had to be for the actual ticket I would depart Cambodia with.

889

I can't figure out where you had your check-in experience, but generally the risk of being asked is greater on long-haul flights into Asia -- especially from the US on US airlines -- than on short-haul flights within Asia.

IAN-UK

I'm talking about SE Asia in particular.

And, like it or not, your potential problem is at the check-in desk, not arrival immigration.

Online check-in is a fine idea, but it doesn't always operate as smoothly as you might think. Best not to be smug about it. A one-way ticket, indeed any ticket, can land you with an "acknowledgement of check-in", with a requirement to pick up a boarding pass, with a document check, at the airport.

Again, airlines are simply protecting themselves from financial penalties by doing these checks. They might want to see proof of a visa, or eligibility for VOA/entry, that you have a passport with the required number of empty pages for stamping, a passport with the required validity, as well as proof of onward travel. If you get turned away at the arrival airport, the carrier can face fines for NOT carrying out document checks.

I have never, ever been asked for proof of onward travel at any arrival immigration desk, anywhere in the world. But travelling on one-way tickets in Asia I have very often, perhaps always, been asked for my onward itinerary: usually a PNR/flight numbers suffice. By now i am prepared for it, which is why I am hazy about "often" or "always".

I learned my lesson at Chennai (OK, not SE Asia!), on a one-way award ticket to Doha: it got quite sticky because i couldn't call up details of my separate Doha London flight on my phone.

You asked, but you seem to want a sunny, positive reply Your plans could work out fine, but there is a very real chance you will run into problems, somewhere: whether or not these can be resolved easily is in the laps of the gods. But it wouldn't take much effort, or expense, to avoid any chance of this happening, by providing yourself with onward travel documentation.