Open ticket return to oz

[bizzle]

Hi guys

My situation is that I have to apply for a new visa outside of Thailand for oz. however processing time is loose so I was wondering if anyone can recommend a "cheap " way of getting a return ticket from Thailand to Sydney. It is vital that the return date is open rather than a fixed date. The open period would only be about a month or so though.

Is this even possible and is it more expensive this way etc?

Thx

[IMA_FARANG]

As a rule the open return tickets are more expensive than a ticket with a fixed return date.

Basically, you pay for the flexibility of an open return.

The reason is the airlines can't plan reliably on future passenger loads with "open return" tickets in the calculation.

So basically the answer is no, the concept of cheap tickets and "open return" dates don't go together well.

If you are not certain of your return date get a full fare ticket which allows you to change return dates if needed.

But you will pay more for that ticket, in order to get flexibility on travel dates.

[pomchop]

Buy a one way ticket on air asia...when you know your return date then buy the return one way. Forget open return.

[bizzle]

Buy a one way ticket on air asia...when you know your return date then buy the return one way. Forget open return.

Thx

But won't that be more expensive..? I thought booking the return in advance but open would be cheaper

[bizzle]

As a rule the open return tickets are more expensive than a ticket with a fixed return date.

Basically, you pay for the flexibility of an open return.

The reason is the airlines can't plan reliably on future passenger loads with "open return" tickets in the calculation.

So basically the answer is no, the concept of cheap tickets and "open return" dates don't go together well.

If you are not certain of your return date get a full fare ticket which allows you to change return dates if needed.

But you will pay more for that ticket, in order to get flexibility on travel dates.

Thx

[Lozza]

You will have to buy a fully flexible fare to get what you're looking for or the one way ticket scenario..either way it will not be cheap.

[pomchop]

Buy a one way ticket on air asia...when you know your return date then buy the return one way. Forget open return.

Thx

But won't that be more expensive..? I thought booking the return in advance but open would be cheaper

Buying a one way bkk to syd on air asia is typically less than $300 per direction. A full fare fully refundable ticket is going to be WAY more expensive.

You need to do some research/homework. check the airasia.com and the http://www.skyscanner.com/?langid=en

for starters.

[ezzra]

As a rule the open return tickets are more expensive than a ticket with a fixed return date.

Basically, you pay for the flexibility of an open return.

The reason is the airlines can't plan reliably on future passenger loads with "open return" tickets in the calculation.

So basically the answer is no, the concept of cheap tickets and "open return" dates don't go together well.

If you are not certain of your return date get a full fare ticket which allows you to change return dates if needed.

But you will pay more for that ticket, in order to get flexibility on travel dates.

What he say.... no "cheap" tickets with and open end...

[dundas]

I initially thought of my preferred mode of low cost carriers - Jetstar, Air Asia, Scoot. But if you are buying at short notice, they tend not to be cheap.

You might find Qantas better - buy the cheapest and least flexible outbound sector on a return ticket, and pay a bit more for a flexible return sector. I'm commenting on Qantas because I'm not sure how Thai or other airlines price their fares.

If you have sufficient frequent flyer points that might be an ideal solution. You can often redeem points at reasonably short notice (no guarantees, though) and the price in points or miles does not change (in the case of Qantas, I'm thinking of classic rewards, not the points + pay deal, which would also be more expensive).

[moojar]

A couple of times my wife has not been sure of her return (to Oz) date and refuses to fly AirAsia or Scoot - she's a nervous flyer. So we booked a return ticket then changed the return date later.

I know both Emirates and Thai allow you to change dates for a fee - $100 on Emirates and I think $50 on Thai. Note though that is when the booking is direct with the airline - if you book through an agent (even an online 'agent' like zuji etc..) there will be an agent's fee on top of the airline's charge, and the agent's fee will likely be a lot.

[Tomtomtom69]

As a rule the open return tickets are more expensive than a ticket with a fixed return date.

Basically, you pay for the flexibility of an open return.

The reason is the airlines can't plan reliably on future passenger loads with "open return" tickets in the calculation.

So basically the answer is no, the concept of cheap tickets and "open return" dates don't go together well.

If you are not certain of your return date get a full fare ticket which allows you to change return dates if needed.

But you will pay more for that ticket, in order to get flexibility on travel dates.

A full fare ticket is not necessary in most cases and in fact could end up costing you hundreds of dollars more than need be.

Instead, study booking conditions carefully. Airlines flying to Australia such as THAI offer a number of different booking classes (actually all airlines do). Anything with a V or W booking class is definitely not flexible so don't book those because either you can't change dates at all, or if you can you may be limited to either one date change with fee or every date change will cost a lot (these tickets are either the cheapest tickets or promotional ones, such as "THAI Birthday Sale" or similar. Even after one date change you will be wondering why you didn't pay an extra $100 for the ticket to avoid that.

The cheapest booking class with THAI that allows you to make unlimited free date changes is Q class. Other booking classes with similar flexibility include M and H classes if Q class is full. Y is full fare and as already mentioned, is too expensive and thus unnecessary.

I don't think open return fares are common anymore. In fact, I would hazard a guess as to say they can't be booked online at all, and I've never ever heard of one being offered on a flight to/from Australia or within Asia. Years ago Americans and Canadians were flying on open returns but those days seem to be long gone. Instead, a flexible date return ticket is essentially the same thing except that you need to re-book your flight before the time of departure if you want to change it without hassles.

Over the years I have let it slide and on some tickets I've done nothing to a flight until days after the flight has passed and was still able to change it to a future date for free as in the ticketing conditions (mostly with THAI). However, each airline is different so you need to compare carefully.

Only full service carriers offer this flexibility though, Air Asia won't give a toss if you want to change your flight - either they'll charge you a whole lot or you will have to buy a new ticket. My advice is fly with THAI.

[Tomtomtom69]

A couple of times my wife has not been sure of her return (to Oz) date and refuses to fly AirAsia or Scoot - she's a nervous flyer. So we booked a return ticket then changed the return date later.

I know both Emirates and Thai allow you to change dates for a fee - $100 on Emirates and I think $50 on Thai. Note though that is when the booking is direct with the airline - if you book through an agent (even an online 'agent' like zuji etc..) there will be an agent's fee on top of the airline's charge, and the agent's fee will likely be a lot.

Wrong advice. THAI allows you to change for free if you select the correct booking class. Clearly you didn't do your homework and bought the cheapest tickets. Q class is always free except when purchased as part of a promotion. H and M classes are definitely always free to change though. On a typical THAI ticket I purchase from Sydney, I change my booking 8-10 times before I actually fly and I never pay a cent.

[moojar]

A couple of times my wife has not been sure of her return (to Oz) date and refuses to fly AirAsia or Scoot - she's a nervous flyer. So we booked a return ticket then changed the return date later.

I know both Emirates and Thai allow you to change dates for a fee - $100 on Emirates and I think $50 on Thai. Note though that is when the booking is direct with the airline - if you book through an agent (even an online 'agent' like zuji etc..) there will be an agent's fee on top of the airline's charge, and the agent's fee will likely be a lot.

Wrong advice. THAI allows you to change for free if you select the correct booking class. Clearly you didn't do your homework and bought the cheapest tickets. Q class is always free except when purchased as part of a promotion. H and M classes are definitely always free to change though. On a typical THAI ticket I purchase from Sydney, I change my booking 8-10 times before I actually fly and I never pay a cent.

That's good advice - thank-you. Just a pity you had to be a <deleted> about it.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Singapore airlines will do a return ticket with a free of charge date change for 95% of there tickets and it should be valid for a year. You have to check this when you book. emirates and other airlines will have a date change fee on the return if you want to change.

Be aware you can only change the date if there is a seat available to change into. You might have to be flexible.

If you can find cheap one ways on air Asia , scoot , virgin Australia ( they can fly you out of Phuket not just BKK ) that may be the best value and you can rebook the return when you are ready. The downside of this is the immigration requirements. Depending on what passport you hold you might not be allowed into Oz with a one way and no flight out.

[Tomtomtom69]

A couple of times my wife has not been sure of her return (to Oz) date and refuses to fly AirAsia or Scoot - she's a nervous flyer. So we booked a return ticket then changed the return date later.

I know both Emirates and Thai allow you to change dates for a fee - $100 on Emirates and I think $50 on Thai. Note though that is when the booking is direct with the airline - if you book through an agent (even an online 'agent' like zuji etc..) there will be an agent's fee on top of the airline's charge, and the agent's fee will likely be a lot.

Wrong advice. THAI allows you to change for free if you select the correct booking class. Clearly you didn't do your homework and bought the cheapest tickets. Q class is always free except when purchased as part of a promotion. H and M classes are definitely always free to change though. On a typical THAI ticket I purchase from Sydney, I change my booking 8-10 times before I actually fly and I never pay a cent.

That's good advice - thank-you. Just a pity you had to be a <deleted> about it.

I wasn't - I was just stating facts. A lot of people are adamant that you always have to pay for date changes - that is hardly true so I just wanted to correct that assumption. It depends on your booking class as I've stated. The cheaper THAI tickets levy a $50-100 change fee, but the more expensive ones don't. That was my point.