Return flight ticket - problem ?

H

Hannah7

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

I'm flying back to U.S. for good, but as far as I was trying to get the best price for the flight, I didn't find any one way ticket for affordable price.

So I have bought the return flight ticket and put the flight back on random date next year. As a result a got this ticket 2 times cheaper than the one way flight.

Question: Is it problem at POE ?

The return flight terminates outside the U.S. but I don't plan to use it now.
 
Hannah7 said:
Hi all,

I'm flying back to U.S. for good, but as far as I was trying to get the best price for the flight, I didn't find any one way ticket for affordable price.

So I have bought the return flight ticket and put the flight back on random date next year. As a result a got this ticket 2 times cheaper than the one way flight.

Question: Is it problem at POE ?

The return flight terminates outside the U.S. but I don't plan to use it now.
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You did that before with almost no problem apart from the few questions at the POE you will face with one way, return, or no ticket at all.
 
If the return leg of the ticket was for sometime in the next week or two, it might have been a problem. But for next year, it should be OK.
 
What you are doing is against the airline's regulations. It is very unlikely that they would take any action, but they do have the right to come after you for the difference in fare. If you did the same trick repeatedly then you would get caught eventually.
 
dms1 said:
What you are doing is against the airline's regulations. It is very unlikely that they would take any action, but they do have the right to come after you for the difference in fare. If you did the same trick repeatedly then you would get caught eventually.
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I looked through the airline policy and didn't find any sentence saying "You must take the flight back or you will pay a fine ..."

I wonder if somebody ever had to pay the fare difference in such case. See, what if one misses his/her flight by chance ?
 
dms1 said:
What you are doing is against the airline's regulations. It is very unlikely that they would take any action, but they do have the right to come after you for the difference in fare. If you did the same trick repeatedly then you would get caught eventually.
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Nonsense. Airlines have no right to come after you for anything if you miss a flight. They got their money for both stages of the trip; if you don't show up for the return flight they will either have an empty seat which you paid for, or they'll sell the seat again to somebody else.
 
Jackolantern said:
Nonsense. Airlines have no right to come after you for anything if you miss a flight.
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Oh yes they do. Here is an extract from American Airlines' Condition of Carriage (available in fully gory detail at http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/customerService/customerCommitment/conditionsOfCarriage.jsp to anyone who wants to see what other little tricks they can pull):

American specifically prohibits the practices commonly known as:

Back to Back Ticketing: The combination of two or more roundtrip excursion fares end to end for the purpose of circumventing minimum stay requirements.

Throwaway Ticketing: The usage of roundtrip excursion fare for one-way travel, and

Hidden City/Point Beyond Ticketing: Purchase of a fare from a point before the passenger's actual origin or to a point beyond the passenger's actual destination.

Where a ticket is invalidated as the result of the passenger's non-compliance with any term or condition of sale, American has the right in its sole discretion to:

Cancel any remaining portion of the passenger's itinerary,
Confiscate unused flight coupons,
Refuse to board the passenger or check the passenger's luggage, or
Assess the passenger for the reasonable remaining value of the ticket, which shall be no less than the difference between the fare actually paid and the lowest fare applicable to the passenger's actual itinerary
 
Mr Vertigo said:
So? These "terms and conditions" are almost never enforceable in court so it's a moot point.
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Why wouldn't they be enforceable in this case? By buying a ticket you enter into a binding contract that includes these terms.
 
dms1 said:
Why wouldn't they be enforceable in this case? By buying a ticket you enter into a binding contract that includes these terms.
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While they may be legally enforceable, it is typically the case that enforcement would cost more than the amount in question.
 
dms1 said:
Oh yes they do. Here is an extract from American Airlines' Condition of Carriage (available in fully gory detail at http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/customerService/customerCommitment/conditionsOfCarriage.jsp to anyone who wants to see what other little tricks they can pull):

American specifically prohibits the practices commonly known as:

Back to Back Ticketing: The combination of two or more roundtrip excursion fares end to end for the purpose of circumventing minimum stay requirements.

Throwaway Ticketing: The usage of roundtrip excursion fare for one-way travel, and

Hidden City/Point Beyond Ticketing: Purchase of a fare from a point before the passenger's actual origin or to a point beyond the passenger's actual destination.

Where a ticket is invalidated as the result of the passenger's non-compliance with any term or condition of sale, American has the right in its sole discretion to:

Cancel any remaining portion of the passenger's itinerary,
Confiscate unused flight coupons,
Refuse to board the passenger or check the passenger's luggage, or
Assess the passenger for the reasonable remaining value of the ticket, which shall be no less than the difference between the fare actually paid and the lowest fare applicable to the passenger's actual itinerary
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Just because they write it doesn't give them the right. If you don't use the return leg of a ticket, they already got the money and there are no damages to them from your absence, so legally there is nothing they can claim (other than keeping the money you already paid for the unused seat). Claiming back money may be valid in other circumstances where you violate the terms and conditions, but not for failing to take the return trip.
 
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dms1 said:
Why wouldn't they be enforceable in this case? By buying a ticket you enter into a binding contract that includes these terms.
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Because it's a shrink-wrap "contract" and has been shown to be a favorite for judges to toss. Refer to many cases involving shrink-wrap "contracts" within the software industry, etc.
 
About 10 years ago I was comimg to USA and I did not know my return date (I was supposed to come for 2-3 years), when I was buying the ticket (one-way), travel agent advised me to buy 2-way just because it was cheaper (2 times!), she even advices me to buy the return from different city in USA (again - cheaper) and return (cheapest date) was in one month from arrival. I did not use this return ticket of course; nothing happened at POE (they did look at my visa papers and I think also at my ticket). Since then, many of my friends did the same (to/from various countried in Europe) intentionally - and none of them never had any problem; last time my friend traveled to Sweden this way one month ago.
 
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