We have booked a validation trip for Nov but have just had someone interested in buying our property so we may now only need our flights one way.
Is it possible to sell return flights on? or is it best to just cancel them with who you bought them from (in our case Emirates.com)?
Any info would be great

They are normally non transferable and non cancelable. However, they are probably upgradeable - the airlines always allow people to change their ticket for a dearer one. Upgrade your ticket to one that is refundable and then get a refund.

Whether this still works I don't know but we used to do it all the time about 10 years ago.

Mike.

This happened to us with Emirates. They allowed us to extend the return so that it was valid for 12 months, we didn't use the return, and they refused to give us any refund.

It's not much more expensive to buy a return as against a single, but you should check if they will give you 'emigration baggage allowance' which is normally only on offer if you have a one way ticket. They wouldn't give us the extra baggage allowance.

It was a comfort to us to have the return ticket, it meant that if we wanted to go home, or if someone had taken ill etc., we could call them and get the next available flight.

Good Luck!

M

I'm not 100% sure, but I thought only Singapore Airlines offered the 40kg baggage allowance (of those carriers not flying via the States), but I stand to be corrected. Also if you do have to validate your visa and return and make the migration flight at a later date, the option won't be availble even if flying with Singapore Airlines, as they'd view you as a resident returning.

I'd keep the return tickets and get them extended for 12 months if you can. You never know when you might need them, sometimes people have to unexpectedly return to the UK. It is also cheaper to buy tickets from the UK to Oz than vice versa.

Generally this isn't possible. An airfare is valid for a certain amount of time, and the longer it is valid for the more expensive it will be. If you've bought the cheapest fare then it's probably only valid for return within 30 days or 3months....you'd have to pay to upgrade it to 12 months.

To the OP....name changes are generally very expensive, if possible at all. Your best course of action would be a refund if the cancellation fees aren't too steep.

We had return flights booked as we were coming on a months holiday in dec 07 but decided to do the student visa, we flew sigapore air.They wouldnt let use do anything!! no refund or we wernt even allowed to change the flight 12 months! So we just didnt turn up for the return flight!

There's also a world of difference between someone 'interested' in buy your house and having the money - I wouldn't count your chickens at this point.

Nope...probably isn't much difference between a return fare and a one way fare anyway. Extend it if you can...just in case you decide Aus is not for you.

I agree with previous posters ask them to extend your tickets for 12mths as you never know what is going to happen i have been here 2 and a half years have just been back for a 6 week visit and on wednesday had the dreaded call to say that my father in law has passed away so now have to find the money to fly back again thank god for family.

Earlier this year we booked return tickets with Emirates for a validation trip to fly in August because we couldn't sell the house. We had an offer on the house 3 weeks ago and the 'sold' sign went up yesterday so we are able to change the return date on the tickets to next year - free of charge!

Although we did ask if this would be possible when we booked them through the travel agent.

Claire

I did say I may not need the return flight. I am certainly not counting my chickens before they hatch but just asked the question incase.
We have another viewer tonight so hopefully one of them will want it? Here's hoping anyway.
Flights cost $4200 return & would have cost £2700 one way . Cost to cancel will be £200 per ticket so £1000 in total, so at least we'd get £500 back.....
Anyone selling a crystal ball????????

Not to stir it up, but in the US you could get your taxes/fees/surcharges back even on the non-refundable tickets - loose the fare basically, but get something back - for 12 months after the flight date even, for the unused leg. With fuel and security surcharges running sky high these days, it may be worth checking if Asian carriers do same?
NJ

There was a time when the return half of tickets were transferable, We used to sail the transatlantic yacht races & the crews that flew out to crew the yachts back often used to buy a return & sell us the unused portion, it worked out cheaper for us all.
Sadly that was in the days before international terrorism forced an all round tightening up of security