Re-scheduling Fee
 

Hey there!

I'm not sure, if re-scheduling fee is the right name for it, but this is what I want to ask:
I want to buy a return ticket, departing in August 2012 and returning in May 2013, but I can't do that, since the latest date I can choose at any website for a return flight is late-March.
How much would it cost, if I bought a return ticket, with the return flight scheduled for February or March and then, in a few months, contact the airline and reschedule it for May? Do you think it would be cheaper to just wait with the purchase until May or June, when May 2013 dates become available, or would the rescheduling come out cheaper?

Thanks a lot in advance!

I assume you do not have status with the airline. But generally it is around a $150 fee to change the date, plus any difference in fare if the price has gone up. The exact fee varies by airline.

from where to where?....does carrier matter?....have you looked at 1 way prices?.....you want the cheapest?.....

if you will return for holiday in the middle, buy two tickets....

is this an academic trip?

This is generally the fee for changes to domestic USA tickets. For international tickets exUSA, the fees are typically $250 but sometimes $400 to change the dates. Note that if you try to change the date before the outbound journey, the airline is likely to reprice the ticket and make you pay any increase in fare in addition to the change fee. So the OP wouldn't be able to change the return until the fall.

Carrier doesn't really matter and I'm not planning on a return during the holidays. I've already looked at one way prices and they're literally almost the same. So do you think I should rather wait until June, when late May 2013/early June 2013 dates become available? Don't you think it's gonna be too expensive by then?

Edit:
Forgot to mention, it's a EU->US flight.