One-way Airfare From Usa?

[ksplitt]

am american citizen, having lived on & off in thailand last 5 years. going back in feb. 07, however i want to stay longer than i have in the past, perhaps a year or more and then onward from thailand to other countries, not back to USA for some time. have always done r/t air. ANY problem (from american expat. POV), with going on a one-way ticket? would i have problems with boarding on the US side? am 60 years old, have many thai visa stamps in passport, will also have 90 day visa. thanks, kurt

[jphripjah]

Shouldn't be a problem, but american airlines can be difficult. At worst, you could always to buy a very cheap Air Asia online one way ticket from BKK to a neighboring country, show it to the airline in the US, then never use it.

[ovenman]

My own experience is that the American carriers have become lazier over the years regarding checking for a valid Thai visa. Last time mine was inspected upon check-in was at least five years ago. That said, it could still happen any time one flies to Thailand on a way-way or return portion of a round-trip ticket. In any event, you won't have a problem with a one-way ticket if you do have a valid Thai visa.

[lomatopo]

A lot of experts here have said that if you have any sort of visa (30/60 day tourist, 90 day non-imm, etc.) issues in the U.S.A. then the carrier will not deny boarding in the U.S.A.

What carrier are you flying?

I have had friends/colleagues with one-way tickets and no visa denied boarding on both NW (MSP) and UA (ORD). At ORD a UA agent suggested my friend buy a fully-refundable ticket for BKK-KUL (on TG) there on the spot, which he did. I think he may have had that ticket refunded. At MSP my friend flew the following day after buying a LCC fare ex-BKK on-line.

Since both NW and UA fly their own aircraft into BKK they tend to be the most cautious as they are responsible for transporting you out of BKK if you are denied entry. Other airlines, like AA and CO, which codeshare flights (operated by other carriers, like JL) into BKK tend to be less cautious.

This topic comes up fairly often here so a search might yield more detail?

[ovenman]

A lot of experts here have said that if you have any sort of visa (30/60 day tourist, 90 day non-imm, etc.) issues in the U.S.A. then the carrier will not deny boarding in the U.S.A.

What carrier are you flying?

Northwest from the States (two or three times per year); KLM from Europe; any number of carriers from within Asia.