So I'm heading to Europe for an undetermined amount of time, anywhere from four months to a year. I can't commit to a specific return date yet, so it would seem I cannot buy a round trip plane ticket. However, I think I remember meeting people in the past who had purchased round trip tickets for exactly this situation, allowing them to designate return date within some window of time in the future. However, my best Googling efforts haven't produced any info. Does anyone know about this? Did I totally make it up?
Also, I am planning on purchasing a yearlong pass to the transcontinental train line, so I don't necessarily need to fly directly to my destination (Copenhagen); does anyone know what cities in mainland Europe are cheapest to fly into? I can search for flights by city and see which ones are cheapest, obviously, but I'm sure there will be a majorish city I'll forget or not think of. Anyone have any experience?
Also, anyone here ever been to Denmark and what to share their thoughts?
On a slightly related note, my wife and I are flying to Orlando on Thursday, and haven't flown since oh, 2002 or so. Should I be worried I don't have physical tickets before going to the airport at 5am?
"Tattoos are the mullets of the aughts." - Mike Naimark
Originally posted by Mike ZeidlerOn a slightly related note, my wife and I are flying to Orlando on Thursday, and haven't flown since oh, 2002 or so. Should I be worried I don't have physical tickets before going to the airport at 5am?
Just make sure you have printed your security documents and boarding pass before you leave home. If you are flying Southwest, make sure it is exactly 24 hours in advance that you do it, unless you want to end up in the C group with the 2 of you separated and in middle seats. Since you haven't flown in a while: Anything electronic (DVD player etc), take out of your carry on bag and put into the container before you go through the TSA station, be prepared to remove your shoes and belt and anything else metal before going through the X-Ray machines, and if you can avoid having coin, all the better as you need to remove everything from your pockets. Don't even try to take a liquid with you, drink it before you get in line or buy one after you go through.
A round trip ticket doesn't really get you a price discount over two one-ways anymore, especially internationally. Just buy a one-way ticket, and the return when you know more.
If you have flexible cities, and flexible dates, use AA miles. They do 20,000 to Europe as their cheapest, which is an awesome deal, and you can get that many or more just by applying for a credit card. The 20,000 trip is by no means the norm, but you'll be able to find one for somewhere in Europe. Otherwise London or Dublin is generally the cheapest point of entry.
Originally posted by Mike ZeidlerOn a slightly related note, my wife and I are flying to Orlando on Thursday, and haven't flown since oh, 2002 or so. Should I be worried I don't have physical tickets before going to the airport at 5am?
all you need is your ID. and either a credit card to ID you to get your ticket or your Record Locator number (PNR).(6 charaters) - that will be how you get your ticket from your airline's Kiosk.
If you're checking baggage, it's going to cost on most airlines (southwest doesn't - the rest mostly yet), If not, make sure anything liquid or gel is small (3 oz or less) and is in one 1 quart plastic bag and keep it out to go through the x-ray separate from the bag. Of course your bag has to be under the size, which is like 31 inches by 8 or something like that.
and plan on taking your shoes and belt off at security (sometimes the belt is ok). Pack it all in your bag before security (phones and ipods and so on), run your bag through with your shoes (take your PC out and separate). No soda or water can go through security.
Once you're through, you can buy anything and take it on the plane. There will be no more security checks after the gate. If you're on a small plane (an "RJ"), you'll "gate check" a carry on, so get a pink tag.
Hmmm - that's all I can think of
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
That the universe was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, I will no more believe than that the accidental jumbling of the alphabet would fall into a most ingenious treatise of philosophy - Swift
Originally posted by CRZMaybe nose around www.airfarewatchdog.com, their blog, or mail these questions to their bloggers - they love stuff like that.
Thanks for the suggestion, I e-mailed them.
I predict they'll answer Dublin or Copenhagen from the briefest of web searches.
Not that it matters to you, but I also found a lot of sources suggesting Copenhagen, which was promising because that's where I'm going, but my search for plane tickets has provided evidence to the contrary. Madrid and Lisbon are the cheapest I've found, I can fly to those cities one-way for about $300 less than I can fly one-way to Copenhagen on the dates I'm searching.
Originally posted by Big GSo you're not coming to Oz
Sadly, no. I wish I hadn't had to make a decision. I'm already planning a trip to Melbourne for next August though!
Originally posted by MoeGatesIf you have flexible cities, and flexible dates, use AA miles. They do 20,000 to Europe as their cheapest, which is an awesome deal, and you can get that many or more just by applying for a credit card. The 20,000 trip is by no means the norm, but you'll be able to find one for somewhere in Europe. Otherwise London or Dublin is generally the cheapest point of entry.
Thanks for the suggestion, I didn't even realize I could purchase or otherwise obtain miles without actually traveling.
Just for anyone who stumbles upon this thread in the future, the answer to my question about open-ended tickets appears to be, based on a couple of e-mails I've exchanged with someone at Delta, something along the lines of "airlines don't really do that anymore."