$2k vs. $500 on DL out of Europe

Old Aug 14, 2018, 12:50 am
  #1  
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$2k vs. $500 on DL out of Europe

Hi FT,

Will Delta let me book ZHR-JFK as a round trip ticket even if I have no intention of using the return ticket?

When looking at availability out of Europe on Delta and the oneway fares are like $2k each, but if I do a round trip search they're only $500 each. Kinda figure this is too good to be true? Will Delta or immigration ask me why I have a Europe origination return ticket booked?

Or is this just a known throw away ticket and I can book this fare no problem?

Thanks!

Last edited by Mark Garretson; Aug 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 1:47 am
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Any ticket can be a throw away ticket if you don't take the return leg. You have every right to book a return ticket from Europe - I'm assuming given your location that you're a US citizen, so no reason immigration would worry about you heading back to Europe. I've flown plenty of Europe origination return tickets on DL over the past few years without an issue as a US citizen.

The only thing is that DL might (at least theoretically) frown upon you repeatedly throwing away tickets, so if you're going to do this repeatedly, it might be wise to leave your frequent flier number off the reservation.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 4:39 am
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Book the return leg on a date far in the future. Pick a date you have at least a 1% chance of making.

Last edited by RRDD; Aug 14, 2018 at 4:44 am
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 6:58 am
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Don't make this a habit, and you'll be fine.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 7:08 am
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Originally Posted by Mark Garretson
Hi FT,

Will Delta let me book ZUR-JFK as a round trip ticket even if I have no intention of using the return ticket?
Thanks!
Delta has no way of knowing what your intentions are, and they aren't going to ask. As long as they get your money they aren't too concerned with what you're going to do with your ticket.

Book the round trip. And like @RRDD said, maybe you can actually fly the return leg if you book it way in the future. Even a chance of changing it with a fee to another day.

All that said. I do take issue with your logic in that a one way is $500 this way. If you're going to throw away the return portion, you just paid $1000 for a one way ticket, not $500. Delta isn't going to give you the other $500 back.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 7:09 am
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Originally Posted by Weekend Away
All that said. I do take issue with your logic in that a one way is $500 this way. If you're going to throw away the return portion, you just paid $1000 for a one way ticket, not $500. Delta isn't going to give you the other $500 back.
Huh?

He said the round-trip ticket was $500.

If there happens to be a significant schedule change on JFK-ZRH (unlikely, but possible) before his return, he probably could cancel and get half the $500 back, making the one-way cost only $250.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 7:18 am
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Originally Posted by RRDD
Book the return leg on a date far in the future. Pick a date you have at least a 1% chance of making.
Plus far enough out there are likely to be schedule changes. If that happens, you can even cancel the return portion (not sure if DL does prorated refunds or what - I believe they do if its an involuntary change) and maybe get some of the $500 fare back.

If not, you can reroute it into something else you want to use, use the credit on any other flight, or just have a legit reason to tell them I'm not using the ticket on the originally scheduled date because of the >60 min schedule changes.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 10:15 am
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Put it as far in the future as possible, and at some point Delta will change the schedule by >1h and you can try to request a pro-rated refund.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 12:10 pm
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Originally Posted by Weekend Away
Delta has no way of knowing what your intentions are
Unless, IDK, you post on a public forum with your name and proposed itinerary stating what your intentions are.

Technically this is a violation of the conditions of carriage, but in practice the chance of enforcement is pretty close to zero.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 1:42 pm
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Originally Posted by Mark Garretson
When looking at availability out of Europe on Delta and the oneway fares are like $2k each, but if I do a round trip search they're only $500 each. Kinda figure this is too good to be true? Will Delta or immigration ask me why I have a Europe origination return ticket booked?
Thanks!
Originally Posted by ijgordon
Huh?

He said the round-trip ticket was $500.

If there happens to be a significant schedule change on JFK-ZRH (unlikely, but possible) before his return, he probably could cancel and get half the $500 back, making the one-way cost only $250.
Maybe the OP should clarify, but he said $500 each, which made it sound like he was referring to the segment cost of the round trip. I suppose this is more a problem with the English language than with anything else.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 2:00 pm
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Originally Posted by Weekend Away
Maybe the OP should clarify, but he said $500 each, which made it sound like he was referring to the segment cost of the round trip. I suppose this is more a problem with the English language than with anything else.
Each could also mean per person when a group is traveling together, although IMO it's implicit that airline ticket prices are normally discussed on a per person basis, unless there's some special companion offer.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 5:44 pm
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What is ZUR?
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 7:03 pm
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Originally Posted by bonoman
What is ZUR?
I'm assuming ZRH.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 7:14 pm
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Originally Posted by jinglish
I'm assuming ZRH.
But when you assume.
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