Dear Alex,
Heavy competition among airlines means a return ticket can often cost less than a one-way ticket. Until now, I believed you could purchase a return ticket and use only the outbound flight. Now I am informed by a travel agent in Japan that this isn’t possible for a Tokyo-London trip. The agent said the airline might later charge a penalty if the return leg hadn’t been used. Is this correct?
Michael Kurtz, Jakarta
Alex replies:
Yes, strictly speaking you must use both your outbound and return coupons. If you don’t, then the airline would argue that you are acting against the spirit of the excursion fare, or words to that effect.
On the other hand, it’s a tempting proposition. The savings are huge because a one-way fare with a conventional carrier typically costs several times more than a return – especially when seat sale promotions are considered – and that’s why thousands of passengers around the world must be using this ticketing wheeze every day. The chances are your seat won’t be wasted if you fail to turn up because airlines overbook to compensate no-shows.
It’s true that some carriers and agents frown upon this “throwaway” type of ticketing, and in certain countries the rules will be more strictly enforced than others.
When all is said and done, if you use this method for one or two trips it’s unlikely an airline would bother to come after you or the agent. You could simply claim your plans changed or that you were taken ill so were unable to make the return flight.
If you wanted to be cautious, then use a different airline for each trip. Between Tokyo and London, you can choose from four non-stop and numerous indirect carriers. Also, it might be best not to declare your frequent flyer programme membership, but that means sacrificing your miles.
