Air travel questions

predator · Oct 30, 2004

A question for all you experienced air travelers. How do I go about allowing myself some flexibility on an upcoming hunt in December? It is always possible I may tag out early and want to come home, so how do I arrange the return flight? Do I buy a one way ticket to my destination, then purchase a return flight on-site? Or is there a way to purchase round-trip and still be able to perhaps come back a couple days early?

Thanks in advance,
Pred

JohnSWA · Oct 30, 2004

Buying a one way ticket usually costs twice as much as a round trip ticket. If you have a rt ticket, I'm sure that the airline would work something out for you, but it depends which airline you're flying on. Personally, I'd call the airline just to make sure and get a name and employee number just for insurance. Good luck!

PS. the SWA part of JohnSWA is the airline I work for.

predator · Oct 30, 2004

John, thank you...it is quite possibly SWA I may be flyin' on anyway!

txhunter58 · Oct 30, 2004

They won't promise you anything, but usually you can request to go standby. In other words, you show up at the airport and they put you on the first flight that they have an open seat on. Some airlines will charge up up to $100 extra for this service. You may want to just plan on doing some extra scouting or sight seeing. Good luck on your hunt.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

rost495 · Oct 31, 2004

Next time I go I'll buy a round trip ticket and leave the return date open. No charge for this BUT you do have to find the next flight that has room. So it MIGHT take an extra day to get back out. But its much more flexible. And normally if you know when you come out to your small town airport, call Anchorage or Fairbanks right away to schedule and normally you can get on within 24 hours time.

Jeff

predator · Oct 31, 2004

Ok, this is what I learned. I bought a promotional flight departure, and a full fare return. The full fare is apparently the only one that is refundable/changeable. Most of the airlines charge a 100 buck fee to change a ticket, PLUS the actual cost of the ticket, so it's still cheaper to just pay full fare for the return trip. That way I can leave pretty much when I want!

Thanks for the help, I actually found the airlines quite helpful with my questions.