Hey guys,
I'm moving to London in January and am currently looking for flights. I've noticed that one way flights to both the US east coast (which I may visit) and to London tend to be cheaper e.g. ~900 for a return flight compared to say $1400 for a one way.
This is a pretty significant difference - wondering if anyone has ever booked a return flight and just cancelled/forfeited the return flight, and whether there were any penalties associated with this
If u want cheap one way use scoot to Singapore and Norwegian to Gatwick. This could be as low as 400 dollars .
And yes booked a few return flights and did a no show. You have every right to not turn up. Just cause you bought something means you have to use it. I don't see what the airlines can do here. Although check the ticket they may have no show fees.
Agree, other than a no show fee there is nothing they can do. Check the terms of the ticket.
Don’t ever try this with the intent of using the “return portion only” because you may find your ticket has Ben cancelled (wife is a travel agent).
It would be fine for OP since, he is travelling to US but not intend to travel back?
We did. Booked a three month return, then called a few days before the departure date and extended it to one year.
If the main aim is to fly cheap (and not just answer the question) then you should probably give more information. In what range of days are you planning you leave? What search method are you using? Are you determined to avoid certain airlines or lengthy stopovers?
To answer the question, I doubt there would be any issues with any international airline if you secretly never intend to use the return portion. Some airlines charge a "no show fee", but as far as I know, that would only affect you if you wish to reschedule to a new flight after paying the change fees and/or fare difference.
People miss flights all the time. Perhaps if an individual did 20 long-haul consecutive flights in a round-the-world trip and cancelled the return leg on each of them it may arouse suspicion, but realistically only a travel agent would book that many unused return legs in a short period of time, which may cause issues for them. Throwaway tickets, where you skip the last leg to save money (can be one-way or return) are a lot more open to abuse and may cause issues one day. British Airways said they will crack down on it since people living in London were saving tonnes of money on Business class tickets by flying out to some city in Europe that would have tickets 3-4 times cheaper, but would reveal themselves when they didn't take the last leg out of London.
While your observation of return flights being cheaper than one-way is very common with flights to the US, you shouldn't have a problem finding cheaper one-way tickets to London if you're not fussy on the airlines (without chaining flights together and paying for luggage). Etihad is probably the most well-known of the top 20 airlines to fly cheaply one-way, but there are others as well that turn out relatively cheaper. Budget Chinese airlines are nearly always cheaper one way (and they're cheap to begin with).
If you're not a UK resident, just make sure you have the right visa before booking one-way.
i used to fly virgin from samoa to auckland via sydney for $200 but get off in sydney instead of paying $500 to fly to sydney. Stupid airfares and routes come with passengers to exploit it.
You typically cannot use the "return" part of a "round trip" fare until the forward sector has been used.
I booked a return to go from "Hong Kong" to "Taipei" return. However the travel agent booked the flight the wrong way around:
Forward:"Taipei" to "Hong Kong"
Return: "Hong Kong" to "Taipei"
So when I was in Hong Kong preparing for my first leg "Hong Kong" to "Taipei" the check in people would not let me board as they said coupon 1 needs to be used before coupon 2.
Are you sure it's $900 for the return flight or $900 each leg?