asda28

I just had an interesting situation. For the last couple of weeks I was looking for the good fare to Milan or GVA or ZRH. Yesterday I found a relatively good ($200 cheaper then other direct flights) NYC-MXP fare on Alitalia through the UK agency (ebookers). I happily booked the tickets. However, this morning I received an email from them stating that the airline requires me to provide ticket # from Europe to US and back to complete the booking. At first I could not figure out what do they want from me, but then I got it: they (not sure ebookers or Alitalia) were under assumption that I am EU/UK based passanger. So I called their customer service in UK and explained that I am US citizen based in US. The response was that in this case they would NOT be be able to provide we with tickets/booking. The point is that I have to originate my travel in Europe in order to get this booking. I had to go and book much more expensive tickets through Delta.
From my friends/co-workers who periodically fly to India, I know that this is a relatively common practice among them to go through travel agencies in India to by ticket for travel originating in US.
So my question is: is it a problem with airline, EU/UK laws/regulations, or agency?

Thanks,

PS. Moderator, please move the thread if you think it belongs to another forum.

obscure2k

Moving to UK Forums.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

Jenniferpa

I don't think it's a legal requirement, but I do know it's very common. Not just agency or the airline, but SOP. I've tried it myself, but no go. Of course if this was a charter, there may be some requirement about residency.