Only using outbound leg of a return air ticket

[Silverage]

We’re looking at doing a repositioning cruise next Spring. This is where the cruise line is moving a ship from one continent to another so it can work a different itinerary. In our case the cruise starts in Miami and ends in Lisbon.

So, we start to look at flights to Miami, one way, thinking this will be cheap. Ah, no, £3,000 plus. The same flight return is less than £500. My partner’s immediate suggestion is to book the return and only use the outbound leg but I’m wondering if there might be a couple of gotchas with doing that, specifically what will the Americans think when the airline tells them (as I’m sure they will) that they flew us into the country but we never left two weeks later? We will in fact already be home by then but will the Americans have us marked down as potential illegal immigrants and we’d be blacklisted from ever travelling there again?

[Doofus]

Do the cruise company not offer a package?

We flew to NY and cruised back on the QM umpteen years ago. All booked through the cruise company.

[smifffymoto]

If your cruise is one way out of America,immigration will stamp you out anyway.

[Silverage]

Doofus said:

Do the cruise company not offer a package?

We flew to NY and cruised back on the QM umpteen years ago. All booked through the cruise company.

No, because it’s a one off thing rather than a scheduled (which I assume QM was), we’re on our own to get to Miami and back home from Lisbon.

[Silverage]

smifffymoto said:

If your cruise is one way out of America,immigration will stamp you out anyway.

Yes, that’s a good point. It goes Miami to New York and then off to the Bahamas for a bit, so we’d technically leave the US when we leave New York, so the US immigration could tick us off as not having absconded then I guess.

[Chucklehead]

Book the return. You'll be fine.

[Jakey54]

Yeah, as he said, book the return - you don’t need to use
both legs. I do it all the time with work.

For the awareness of others, most operators, If you miss the outbound leg - they’ll instinctively cancel your return leg.

But yeah. Using the outbound only of a return ticket is fine.

[simon_harris]

A guy I used to know would book return tickets at 15 day intervals and only use the “outbound legs” Because it was way cheaper than just booking a return.

[Silverage]

Thanks guys

[Matt Harper]

Without a visa you might not even be admitted to the US without a return ticket.

[Silverage]

Matt Harper said:

Without a visa you might not even be admitted to the US without a return ticket.

I suppose we’d have the cruise tickets to show we were in fact leaving again so that shouldn’t be a problem.

[gotoPzero]

Silverage said:

Matt Harper said:

Without a visa you might not even be admitted to the US without a return ticket.

I suppose we’d have the cruise tickets to show we were in fact leaving again so that shouldn’t be a problem.

I asked about this last year (at immigration, after our repo cruise as it happens) and they said that you just have to prove intent to leave. The guy told me so long as the border agent guy believes you then you are fine.

If you have not done trans Atlantic before make sure you take sea sickness tablets! (Avomine)

[WhiskyDisco]

There's no problem in only using the outbound leg of a ticket.

...however expecting to use only the return leg isn't an option.

[WyrleyD]

I used to be involved in the airline business some time ago for a couple of major airlines. You can get away with it a couple of times but it WILL be flagged up in the airline booking system, do it too often and they will debit your card for the full cost of the single fare - it's in their T&Cs.

PS Forgot to add, the the ferry companies got wise to this some time ago and will aways charge you the extra if you don't use the return leg.

[Silverage]

WyrleyD said:

I used to be involved in the airline business some time ago for a couple of major airlines. You can get away with it a couple of times but it WILL be flagged up in the airline booking system, do it too often and they will debit your card for the full cost of the single fare - it's in their T&Cs.

PS Forgot to add, the the ferry companies got wise to this some time ago and will aways charge you the extra if you don't use the return leg.

I found a couple of articles that mentioned that the airlines are within their rights to do this, but no record that they ever had because it would be a PR disaster for them and expose just how much they are ripping off business travellers (who are the reason the one way fares are so extortionate).

[cashmax]

Silverage said:

WyrleyD said:

I used to be involved in the airline business some time ago for a couple of major airlines. You can get away with it a couple of times but it WILL be flagged up in the airline booking system, do it too often and they will debit your card for the full cost of the single fare - it's in their T&Cs.

PS Forgot to add, the the ferry companies got wise to this some time ago and will aways charge you the extra if you don't use the return leg.

I found a couple of articles that mentioned that the airlines are within their rights to do this, but no record that they ever had because it would be a PR disaster for them and expose just how much they are ripping off business travellers (who are the reason the one way fares are so extortionate).

1) It's NOT in their T&C's
2) You can do it as often as you like
3) There is no way they can debit your card and it's never happened as far as I know
4) There are many, many reasons why you might not take the return leg of a flight and you in no way obligated to do so

[Puggit]

Regarding the airline canceling the return if a passenger misses an outbound flight...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/3909170/passengers...

[Countdown]

Skiplagging: The travel trick that airlines hate

[jonsp]

cashmax said:

There are many, many reasons why you might not take the return leg of a flight and you in no way obligated to do so

Wouldn't the obvious one be that the Americans won't let you in with a single ticket - you'd have to buy a return even if you didn't plan to use the return leg?

This happened to me some years ago. Was staying in the States for a couple months and had to go back to the UK for a couple of days. So bought a return in the US.

Came to check in at Heathrow and they wouldn't let me on the plane. Had to buy a new return and waste the return leg of the original ticket.