Wow. What a difference a year makes in the cost of airfare! I am trying to get creative here. My daughter studies in Limerick. In my perfect world, I would have an open-ended ticket for her. Unfortunately, I guess those are a thing of the past! I am thinking about using a consolidatorbut have never gone that route beforeor buying her a one way ticket and booking the return flight later. If I choose the second alternative, how much hassle might she get from TSA for holding a one-way ticket??
Posted by
Gladstone, MO, USA
18 posts
I don't know about the TSA, but quite a few years ago (just after 9/11) it was cheaper to buy a roundtrip ticket and not use the return flight than to buy a one-way ticket. It may cause more scrutiny by the TSA (when she arrives at the US customs, not in Ireland).
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
The TSA actually doesn't care what kind of ticket you have when you are leaving the country. They only care about security. The people who might care are in Ireland. They want to make sure that you aren't planning to overstay illegally and perhaps look for work. I have been asked to produce my return ticket when I arrived, though that is probably random, and might have also been because I was traveling alone. Is your daughter there through an international studies program at a US university? If so, they have dealt with this before, and probably know how to handle it. I know when I was an international studies student, we had tickets with an open return. We had to have them endorsed by the airline they were booked with in order to set a return date or change them. If that isn't possible, I would check into what the previous poster suggested - book a round trip and only use half. Or just book a return date and pay the fee to change it if necessary.
Posted by
OP
Hamilton, USA
2 posts
Ended up buying a RT ticket for all the reasons mentioned. My daughter is actually an International Student, enrolled in an Irish University. And, when I thought about her having to reapply for a Visa--a requirement for International students--I decided a ticket home would be an asset!
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Aer Lingus has been posting some better fares. Perhaps you could get rd trip(always better fare) then if she needs to chg it do the chg of course w/ fee. I have used consolidators for air and car rentals and have had no probs. Cheaptickets & Orbitz recently.