Flight Tickets a year in advance??

Hi,

I always book direct with the airline on their website.

In your case, have you called a particular or a favorite airline of yours, and speak directly to an agent to get some information about how to book out into the future?

I believe that the forward purchase period for air is about 330 days, ie short of 11 months. And refundable tickets are a lot more expensive than non-refundable.

Usually only do the 330 in advance for "free" reward travel that is limited.

You have a number of issues. First, you do understand that if you are a US citizen you are only allow 90 days out of 180 days in the Schengen zone -- that is most of Europe. So if you are planning to travel for a year in Europe you will need a long term stay visa for the one the countries. If you leaving on Sep 27 you may not have time to acquire the visa. Or do you have the visa and didn't tell us?

Second, tickets and flight schedules are available about 11 months out. Contact the airline directly that you plan to use. They can sell you a RT ticket that has an open return. It is a bit tricky but it is available and it will not be a discount ticket. Each airline has it own policy in this regard and you may have to pick a return airport. You need to work with the airline directly. We have done it and I remember with United you had to book the return flight at least two weeks ahead. You cannot just walk up and get on.

It is also possible that you might need evidence of a return ticket at immigration when you first enter. They can demand to know you return plans if they think you may be think about becoming an illegal alien or overstaying your visa.

There are a few discount carriers that offer fairly-priced one-way tickets, though I don't know anything about their change fees or how you'd deal with the need to have a pinned-down return ticket very soon.

Similarly, at least sone airlines allow the booking of one-way frequent-flyer tickets at half the mileage cost of round-trips. This would allow you to travel one-way on a budget airline and the other on a mileage ticket. However, it's probably too early to book a return frequent-flyer ticket for the period you want, and I believe there are nearly always fees associated with changing a frequent-flyer ticket.

I don't know whether tickets on repositioning cruises are offered this early, nor do I know anything about what they cost. In theory, though, you could travel outbound on a budget airline or frequent-flyer ticket and come back by ship, if ship passage can be purchased more than a year in advance.

Acraven has a good thought, a cruise return might be an option. My favorite cruise line, Norwegian (NCL.com) is showing four transatlantic cruises in Oct-Dec 2020, going from Southampton, Rome, and Barcelona, ending at Orlando, San Juan, and New York. Other lines doubtless offer similar. A cruise fare will likely cost more than an airfare, and of course take a couple of weeks, but you'll get a lot of sightseeing, food, and entertainment along the way. A deposit would probably be refundable for awhile, and full payment not required till maybe 90 days before departure. Cruisecritic.com has lots of info.

The problem I have experienced booking too far out from travel dates is the airline changing the flights! We had flight times changed a few months before we left that required a whole reworking! Granted we were notified by our carrier that the new layover times would not be enough, but the options available had us changing our travel plans. Hope this doesn't happen to you.

Definitely cruises can be booked but you either have expensive regular Atlantic transits or they leave later than September. Is there a reason you cannot match your time away to what you can book (Aug 8) if there are crucial activities riding on a confirmed return ticket?

Getting a VISA is a priority. The UK allows you to stay for six months.

Thanks everyone, I ended up finding tickets on Level for mid-September 2020. They are not refundable but are changeable, date-wise, so that will be good enough. The idea of sea-travel home was interesting, I hadn't thought of that, but I live on the west coast and so then getting back home from the east coast just sounds like a lot. To answer the questions about the visa requirements, I know about the Schengen zone and plan to leave it- Ireland, UK, Morocco, Croatia- for three months after my 90 days inside is up. Then go back for 90 days and then probably home or somewhere else for a bit before home.

Count the days very carefully. Arrival and departure days count, so if you leave on Day 90 (latest possible), you cannot return until Day 181. I wouldn't push it to the edge like. An ill-timed illness or transportation strike could be a big problem.

Don't run it tight there was a posting a couple of years ago where someone was off one day and it cost them a $500 euro fine and very expensive new plane ticket home because dealing with the immigration folks caused her to miss her original flight home. The last couple of times I thought immigration leaving was stickier than prior years. Very close checking of entry and exit stamps.