Open Ended / flexible tickets?

[AndyDRHuddleston]

Evening all,

I have a slight problem at the moment in that I am going to the US for 12-18 months, and am struggling with finding a decent air fare. As I am unsure of my return date, I would like to book some kind of 'flexible' ticket, where I can postpone or bring forward my dept date to suit my needs (+/- 6 months).

Does anybody know if this exists and if so, who do them. I am looking at travelling between Manchester and Miami, Florida.

Out of interest, does anybody know when the airlines will be releasing their schedules for MArch 2005 onwards, as this would negate the need for a flexible ticket.

Thanks

ADRH:confused: :confused:

[Globaliser]

You can certainly get flexible tickets, but they will tend to be rather more expensive than inflexible tickets. You don't necessarily have to pay full fare, though, because many fares will allow either an open return or changes to the return reservation, sometimes for a fee. You really need advice from a travel agent about this, I think.

Some things to watch out for with different alternatives:-
1. Tickets are normally only valid for 12 months, so it may either be impossible, or a great deal of hassle, for you to arrange this for a return in more than 12 months' time.
2. You may therefore want to think about getting a one way ticket, if one can be obtained cheaply, or even getting a very cheap fixed return and simply not travelling on the return half. That's naughty, but if you don't make a habit of it the airline is unlikely to take any action against you. You can then just buy yourself an equally cheap ticket when you do know when you want to return.
3. If you're not a US or Canadian citizen, you will also want to make sure that whatever travel plans you do make are consistent with whatever visa you hold. Or to put it another way, if you turn up on with only a one way ticket and hope to get in under the visa waiver scheme you may find yourself dealing with a great deal of hassle indeed.

[christep]

As far as I am aware no airline tickets are ever sold with a validity of more than 12 months.

[Animalclub]

It is possible to extend the validity of a round trip ticket past 12 months so long as there has been no major change in air fares. But... don't tell the airline "officially" that you will be extending past 12 months.

On the other hand some airlines refuse to extend past 12 months which may become a major problem if your visa is tied to having a return ticket.

[Diverse]

Could it be possible to book the ticket as flexible for 12 months hence and then nearer the return date get the airline to transfer the ticket to a later flight. You would then be inside twelve months for your departure date.

Probably by the time you want to return it will be cheaper to buy a fixed return ticket now and a one way ticket back to the UK and cut your losses on the original tickets return sector.

[davethelimey]

I had a round-trip ticket from BA a few months back after going to the States for a similar amount of time ('bout a year). Cost £50 to change the original date but didn't have to pay for the difference in fare.

Probably worth calling the booking office and speaking to someone, they're very nice there...

[Hartington]

"Full Fare" tickets are valid for 12 months from the first date of travel. If the return half if unused, as others have said, it depends a bit on the airline and even who you talk to but in principle you pay the difference between the fare you did pay and what the fare is now for the one way sector. Schedules are released about 330 days before departure. This is due to the various computer systems and the fact that may of them work on a purely ddmmm basis rather than ddmmmyy (or even ddmmmyyyy).

[sixmilehighclub]

Contact some flight specialists such as STA, FlightCentre, Goldmedal, Flightsavers (Thomas Cook), etc.....

They can get flexible tickets (usually for holiday/work/student travel) but at consolidated prices (ie they bulk-buy a number of tickets per airline and get them cheaper as a result).

Not sure if it still applies but airline tickets used to only be bookable up to nine moonths in advance, to avoid confusion with the year of travel. Only the date and month is printed on the ticket coupon for date of travel.

I have seen some ticket restrictions allowing a maximum 18 month stay but most are 12 months.

I would contact some consolidators and main airlines to check where you'd stand. Check with the UK and US carriers but dont forget the likes of Icelandair, KLM, etc as they are often cheaper and more flexible. I remember there was often more flexibility with the unusual non-direct routes.

Good luck!