efficient air travel to Rome?
Sep 17th, 2011, 11:30 AM
#1
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efficient air travel to Rome?
Spouse and I are taking trip to Rome, November. We're taking cruise return to US. Question is is it legal to purchase roundtrip air, yet use one-way with intention of returning to Rome next year. How long are return tickets good for? We'd like to return to Rome in several months. Can we do so? We're also wondering is it realistic to take two leg air to Rome? My brother has farm outside of Paris. Are there economical methods to take flight to Paris, hop off for a few days, visit with brother then fly on to Rome.
Thanks for considerations.
Thanks for considerations.
Sep 17th, 2011, 12:04 PM
#2
You'll find that tickets with a return date 11 or 12 months in the future will be very expensive - close to what two one-way tickets would cost. The reason is that a lot can happen to the airlines' cost of doing business in a year - fuel prices spike up, currency fluctuations, etc. - so they hedge by making the tickets way expensive.
If you buy a round trip ticket to Rome and "miss" the return trip, that's called "throwaway ticketing" and can technically expose you to having to pay the difference between the discounted round-trip price (the one you paid) and the fully-flexible one-way flight, which will be a lot more money. This almost never happens in practice, but it <i>is</i> a violation of the "contract" you made with the airline, so you're not without some statistical liability.
It will probably be cheaper to get your ticket to France, then buy a separate ticket from France to Rome (or take the train.) Airfares within Europe are not generally terribly expensive; buying a ticket with a stopover in France en route to Rome would probably be pricier than the two separate tickets combined.
If you buy a round trip ticket to Rome and "miss" the return trip, that's called "throwaway ticketing" and can technically expose you to having to pay the difference between the discounted round-trip price (the one you paid) and the fully-flexible one-way flight, which will be a lot more money. This almost never happens in practice, but it <i>is</i> a violation of the "contract" you made with the airline, so you're not without some statistical liability.
It will probably be cheaper to get your ticket to France, then buy a separate ticket from France to Rome (or take the train.) Airfares within Europe are not generally terribly expensive; buying a ticket with a stopover in France en route to Rome would probably be pricier than the two separate tickets combined.
Sep 17th, 2011, 12:11 PM
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Yes, you can purchase a r/t ticket and not use the "return" portion but you won't be able to get a refund for the unused portion of the ticket, unless you've purchased a fully refundable (and thus more expensive) ticket. If you purchased a "restricted fare" ticket and try to get a refund for the unused segment the airline will charge you the difference between the cost of your ticket and the "full" oneway fare.
If you don't use the return leg you won't have any difficulty booking another ticket later on but don't make a habit of doing that too often with the same airline as eventually they will catch on to what you are doing and charge you for fully refundable tickets rather than the less expensive restricted fare tickets.
When you ask "How long are return tickets good for", what exactly do you mean? Full fare tickets are fully refundable. Restricted fare tickets can be changed for flights on different days but you'll incur rebooking fees. I believe different airlines have different time limits if you want to cancel a restricted fare booking and rebook the flights at a later date . It's best to ask your particular carrier to explain their policy or at the very least look on their respective websites for the answer.
if, however, you are asking can you purchase a restricted fare R/T ticket from the US to Rome but use it for two flights from US to Rome (1 now and 1 again several months later) - the answer is NO! You must use that ticket on a R?T itinerary.
Yes, you can book an itinerary that takes you US/Paris/Rome/US (allowing you several days in Paris)- depending on your airline you might be able to book that itinerary on the same and/or partner airlines. If that's not possible you can book a flight using a different airline for the intermediate leg (i.e. Paris to Rome). In other words, you book your US to Paris and Rome to US on airline "A" and the Paris to Rome leg on airline "B". With either scenario, this type of itinerary is usually more expensive than a simple round trip ticket between two international cities. Whether or not you find the added cost fits your definition of "economical" is something only you can answer. You'll have to price out the tickets to get that answer.
If you don't use the return leg you won't have any difficulty booking another ticket later on but don't make a habit of doing that too often with the same airline as eventually they will catch on to what you are doing and charge you for fully refundable tickets rather than the less expensive restricted fare tickets.
When you ask "How long are return tickets good for", what exactly do you mean? Full fare tickets are fully refundable. Restricted fare tickets can be changed for flights on different days but you'll incur rebooking fees. I believe different airlines have different time limits if you want to cancel a restricted fare booking and rebook the flights at a later date . It's best to ask your particular carrier to explain their policy or at the very least look on their respective websites for the answer.
if, however, you are asking can you purchase a restricted fare R/T ticket from the US to Rome but use it for two flights from US to Rome (1 now and 1 again several months later) - the answer is NO! You must use that ticket on a R?T itinerary.
Yes, you can book an itinerary that takes you US/Paris/Rome/US (allowing you several days in Paris)- depending on your airline you might be able to book that itinerary on the same and/or partner airlines. If that's not possible you can book a flight using a different airline for the intermediate leg (i.e. Paris to Rome). In other words, you book your US to Paris and Rome to US on airline "A" and the Paris to Rome leg on airline "B". With either scenario, this type of itinerary is usually more expensive than a simple round trip ticket between two international cities. Whether or not you find the added cost fits your definition of "economical" is something only you can answer. You'll have to price out the tickets to get that answer.
Sep 17th, 2011, 01:20 PM
#4
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Have you asked the people who sold you the cruise what they can offer? I'm told they can arrange flights to get you to the cruise, or back.
Another alternative would be to use miles, if you have them, for a one-way ticket; some airlines offer this.
Another alternative would be to use miles, if you have them, for a one-way ticket; some airlines offer this.
Sep 18th, 2011, 04:10 AM
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Yes it is totally legal
to purchase a RT and not use the return usually cheaper for me
You must fly the first leg though.
skysacanner.net usually eaasyjet.com and ryanair.com
have dirt cheap airfares all over Europe booked in advance
from 1 british pound plus fees... usually 20 30 euro or so
on sales so what you propose is easily done...
No clue where you are coming from but
cheapoair.com kayak.com/buzz 2 good sites for transatlantic
air fly into PAR visit your brother then easyjet.com CDG
to ROM from there... ryanair.com out of BVA north of Paris
more hassle but good price might be better if farm is close
though if time I might hop regional
trains down more touristic seat61.com
Happy Planning,
to purchase a RT and not use the return usually cheaper for me
You must fly the first leg though.
skysacanner.net usually eaasyjet.com and ryanair.com
have dirt cheap airfares all over Europe booked in advance
from 1 british pound plus fees... usually 20 30 euro or so
on sales so what you propose is easily done...
No clue where you are coming from but
cheapoair.com kayak.com/buzz 2 good sites for transatlantic
air fly into PAR visit your brother then easyjet.com CDG
to ROM from there... ryanair.com out of BVA north of Paris
more hassle but good price might be better if farm is close
though if time I might hop regional
trains down more touristic seat61.com
Happy Planning,
Sep 18th, 2011, 04:12 AM
#6
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[email protected] is a good agent who gets me great
TA one way air with re-positioning cruises.
Might check there if you cannot find a good deal.
TA one way air with re-positioning cruises.
Might check there if you cannot find a good deal.
