Jerseygirl

I've heard that before too. You can always contact the airline near the departure date of the ticket and cancel.

Keith S

The other option, if you have Frequent Flyer points, is to use them for a one-way ticket. The airline only charge 1/2 the points needed for a return.

njmackem

With most places booking a one way ticket is way more expensive, however I was able to find site that had them at a great price.

www.skyscanner.net

I was able to save £400 on a one way flight compared with the traditional travel sites.

Poppy girl

Interesting I did a spoof search SFO to NWI (Norwich) 1 way and it came in at $934 against the rtn ticket $1,346.

tonrob

Some airlines so one way redemptions, others don't. Need to check the details of the programme in question.

tonrob

Have you tried that? Wondering what their reaction would be. Simply not turning up for the return flight could go under the radar - phoning them up and pointing it out to them on the other hand.... No personal knowledge of this. so purely speculating.

tonrob

There are threads on Flyertalk about this kind of stuff. Not sure if you have to really take the piss before the airline takes action, but it's a risk people should be aware of nonetheless.

Jerseygirl

No...just what I've read. Can't see the harm in contacting them to cancel.

tonrob

You'd be pointing out to them that what you are planning to do costs more than what you paid for (e.g. make it a single journey after all, which they often charge around double for compared to return fares). Could they be arsed to charge you the extra? Probably not. But in my mind canceling the return leg increases the risk rather than decreases it, so I wouldn't bother.

Jerseygirl

I'm not suggesting cancelling the return ticket immediately. I said wait until nearer the departure date then cancel...meaning the departure date of the return ticket. How can that send up red flags?

tonrob

Because by doing so you are turning a return itinerary, that cost (for example) $800, into a single itinerary that cost $1600. The original itinerary is open/live at the time of your call, and you are effectively asking them to change it into something that costs more.

As I said, would they be arsed to hassle you? Maybe not. But some who take the piss have received trouble (see Flyertalk) so I think that making the call increases your chances of trouble rather than decreasing it - and because of that I wouldn't bother.

Your mileage, as they say, may indeed vary.

jamesanding

In an ideal world yes but we're in tough times
My expenses are not taxable though, I made sure that was the case during negotiations.

Bob

If they aren't paying directly but reimbursing you, then it is as it is considered income. Some of which you might be able to claim back at tax time as a deductible, but there aren't as many as you'd be spending.

Hopefully they're at least tabbing for the first and last year for a decent accountant to sort the taxes out so you don't get any nasty surprises.