harvardalumna

Please bear with me if this topic has been addressed. I did a search and came up with nothing.

Can CX deny boarding if one is unable to produce a copy of the return itinerary? I'd booked my husband on a different carrier returning to the USA but forgot to forward it to him - last minute plan and CX at SFO refused to let him board because he could not produce the return leg. They made him purchase the return portion of the ticket at the airport, before issuing the boarding pass. He was not able to get a hold of me because of the 15 plus hr time difference, otherwise, I'd have given him the details - my fault, I know.

My question is - can CX do it? The reason why I'm asking is because I just travelled on CX, out of SFO and my return flight is on SQ. Nobody at CX asked me for my return flight detail. In fact, I've never been asked by CX to show my return leg of the trip (that's when I'm flying different carrier). For that matter, I've never been asked by SQ either.

Thanks in advance.

QF Lad

The same thing happened to me at HKG last week, but I was saved by a lucky chance.

I flew LHR-HKG in F then at HKG when I went to forwad the onward flight to MEL I was told they could not find a ticket number for the reservation, did I have a copy of my reservation, and I was basically refused boarding until I produced it.

As luck would have it, I had a list of booking references numbers in my bag, and they rang QF and I was let on the plane. It turned out I had flown LHR-HKG on an unissued QF ticket. First time for everything.

So yes, a similar scenario happened to me last week, and I would have been denied boarding unless I produced something.

Often1

Yes. But, it has nothing to do with having to purchase the return ticket:

1. CX is responsible for assuring that all paperwork which would permit you entry to the destination country is in order. If your husband is denied entry, CX is liable to a very large fine and for paying all of the costs associated with returning him to SFO (not just the air ticket, but the security and holding).

2. If the country of destination requires proof of onward travel, CX needs to see the e-ticket receipt (not just the itinerary, although that generally suffices) for onward travel.

3. In this situation, it might have been best for your husband to call the onward carrier and ask them to fax / email the e-ticket receipt to the CX counter or at least confirm for a CX supervisor that the ticket exists).

Yes, there are a million work-arounds which make this a largely nonsensical requirement, not the least of which is that anybody intending to stay could purchase a fully refundable onward ticket and then cancel it after arrival. But, the fact is that it's a requirement, it's CX's duty to check it and CX took the easy route (no pun intended) rather than picking up the phone to help out OP's husband.

The earlier in the process the better. Remember, the later, the less time there is to get the problem fixed and the greater the likelihood that you won't get the focused attention of a supervisor.

harvardalumna

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply, QF Lad and Often1. I really appreciate i

I was surprised, and still am, to a large extent, when I read his email. He said that the SFO ground staff were rude and unhelpful without other options but to purchase a return ticket. In retrospect, he should've called the airline for his PNR. Ignorant of him and careless of me for forgetting. I didn't expect the ground staff to being rude and all. He's travelling in business class. I flew out of SFO only 3 weeks ago and not once, was I asked about my return flight, let alone, produce the confirmation. The CX staff was very friendly too. I've never been asked and even though I don't fly International a lot, but still, it's 3 times a year to Asia and 2-3 times a year, to Europe.

Now that I know, I will make sure to have the printout confirmation whenever I travel!

Top of climb

The reasons behind the requirement have been canvassed but FYI this is the actual operative provision in the general conditions of carriage (which form the contract between CX and you the passenger) which permits them to refuse travel:

14.2 TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
Prior to travel, you must present to us all exit, entry, health and other documents including passports and visas required by laws, regulations, orders, demands or requirements of the countries concerned. If we ask you must allow us to take and retain copies and deposit your passport or equivalent travel document with a member of the crew of the aircraft for safe custody until the end of the flight. We reserve the right to refuse carriage if you have not complied with these requirements, or your travel documents do not appear to be in order.

unfrequentflyer

I know someone who was denied boarding by CX. She had a full fare RT J ticket returning the following week. Her US passport expires in 1 month

ernestnywang

I believe this is a completely different case, since it has nothing to do with being (potentially) denied boarding on not meeting the custom and immigration requirement. OP's case is that a valid return TKT is needed, whereas in your case you simply don't have a TKT on the segments you are travelling.

e39ng

AFAIK if you are the resident/citizen of a country, airlines will allow one way travel back to your home country. If not, you will be required to show proof of any return tickets back to your country.

travelbug38

Many countries now require six months passport validity beyond the period of intended stay or after your planned departure date from that country.

Often1

This and all the other examples in this thread, have nothing to do with what the carriers "allow" and everything to do with what the government of the country involved requires.

Whatever is required by the destination (and frankly connection, if any) countries, is what the air carrier is responsible for checking.

For those who want to see exactly what the check-in/GA people see, the IATA database TIMATIC is available without charge on Delta's website. If you provide: 1) Origin country; 2) Destination country; 3) Connecting country; 4) Citizenship; 5) Residence, you will see exactly what the carrier will see and you can check off to make certain that you have what you need (at least to board).

beep88

And for all those trips, the different airlines flown were on the same tickets as your CX flights, so check-in people could see what your return flights were.

RevJim

Often1 has this all exactly correct. You can also get the IATA TIMATIC database for free on the Star Alliance website here.

The Philippines is one of those countries that require proof of onward journey in order to enter on a tourist visa. Many years ago I got snagged at HKG (after I had already flown from the US, where they didn't notice) and they refused to allow me onto the CEB flight until I bought a return ticket. So of course I bought a fully refundable ticket and refunded it later.

I have a friend who buys one-way tickets to Borneo on cargo boats in CEB or MNL. He said they only cost $30 USD or so, and you can laminate them and carry them with you for months as proof of onward journey.

I don't think you can really blame CX for being unhelpful in this instance because the destination country sets the rules. If CX boards a pax with deficient documentation, CX will be responsible for delivering the pax back to the country they came from. And they don't have access to every itinerary of every other airline to search through. You need to give them something to work with.

harvardalumna

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to reply and educating me regarding this issue. I really appreciate it.

The very stressful thing is that when my husband purchased the ticket at the airport, he could not print out the confirmation as he did not have a printer. Instead, he showed the CX counter staff the confirmation/eticket detail on his computer. The counter staff told him that unless he printed that out, they would not accept it - he had the confirmation, record locator and eticket numbers, in his computer. So my husband called the carrier and explained his situation and the ticketing agent told him to pass the phone to the CX counter staff. The counter staff at first did not want to speak to the carrier ticketing agent at all. This. This, I find it to be extremely unhelpful too and really, mind bloggling as to why the counter staff reacted the way she did, all hoity-toity and refusing to help. Maybe as a female, I'm a little more "petty", I don't know, but if it were me there, I would've probably "flipped"! Did my husband need to print out the confirmation? Was the record locator/eticket numbers/confirmation not sufficient? Is it normal protocol for her to refuse to speak to the carrier's ticketing office?

My husband also said that the CX counter staff told him that she was going inside to get a waiver form for him to sign, so that he could board - she literally told an "untruth"...

Still, I am very grateful to everyone, for the very important information. This has never happened before and it will never happen again.
Thank you all, for all the valuable information!

cxfan1960

It is always a good idea to bring along a printed copy of the itinerary and the e-tickets. I always do. I have encountered all types of strange questions and even lost segments in the past.

Passing the phone to the CX agent could not help. The agent could not verify the other party. Even if she trusted your husband, CX would still be liable if the immigration official on the other side did not accept the explanation. They might not accept electronic confirmation, and CX could not produce proof that he had the outbound ticket. I flew with my friend to TPE before. He is a US citizen, but was asked (randomly) to produce his outbound e-ticket. OTOH, I have never been asked to produce an outbound ticket in all my trips to Taiwan.

In the end, you have to think in the way the airline and immigration think.

harvardalumna

I guess so. He was at the airport 4.5 hrs before departure. It took 3.5 hrs to resolve. The cx staff asking, was sort of an afterthought. She did that just after giving him his boarding pass and telling him the direction to the lounge. She did essentially "lied" by telling him about the non-existence waiver form and in my opinion, did her best to not help my husband (I'm not saying this because he's my husband).

Oh well. It's my fault to begin with, for forgetting to tell him the locator. Oh, I forgot to say this - Yes, CX could've found and confirmed his onward ticket easily because his onward flight is on CX.

Still, I can understand that I should think from the airline and immigration's perspective.