We were planning on buying plane tickets for us to come back together so that would mean I would by 1 roundtrip and 1 one-way. But if they delay visa I am thinking it would be best to buy tickets that were refundable or that can be changed, although I hear that is expensive. I have only flown once in my life and that was my trip to Ghana. So Im not experienced in this. How should I go about doing it? Also, how do I make sure my husband and I are on the same flight back if mine is round trip and his is oneway? And worst case senerio there is a problem at interview. Im going nuts. I guess as we draw closer Im getting more nervous. To get him a ticket will the airlines request his visa confirmation before they sell to us? I just dont want any last minute "Doh!s"

Hola,
Whew. I can see you have many thoughts circling through your head right now. Breath....... Although I am sure you will receive many variations to the advice, I would ask a few questions first. When is the interview scheduled in relation to your return ticket? Each embassy is different as far as how fast they process their visas after a successful interview so maybe someone who went through your embassy can answer that one.
The airline tickets are usually cheaper if you purchase round-trip tickets as opposed to one way. Also don't forget to accumulate your frequent flyer miles! You may want to leave extra room on the back end of your trip in case they ask for additional information or there are any glitches during the interview. This will give you flexibility in your purchase. If you purchase a full fare ticket, you may have flexibility in making changes to it. In my experience, tickets were cheaper when purchased over in Africa than from the US. But again, this may differ from agency to agency and time of year one is flying. The last thing is that depending on the type of ticket you buy for your SO, it may not be transferable. I have heard of travel agencies that only deal in cash and others which hold the reservations for only 24 hours. Again, I am sure you'll receive much help in this area and whichever way you choose, may you both have a speedy interview and joint flight back.
Chispas

Hey thanks Where would we buy tickets in africa? Can you buy delta tickets there?

do they still have refundables? after being ripped off once i always ask and the travel agent says most of them are not refundable anymore. i hate that...things come up and sometimes u just cant make it when u wanted.

Personally I would only purchase the tickets from a US Airline. This is said after my horrific experience with South African Air. I also found that the refundable tickets were not much more. They are so expensive anyway. I last flew in June 2007.

I don't know what airline you are planning to use.

If you are going to go by North American Airlines (www.flynaa.com), all their one way tickets are refundable. If you are going to buy the roundtrip ticket, you can select which legs you want to be refundable and the added fare depends on which fare you want to be refundable (more expensive if the return to JFK is the refundable portion). For NAA you may want to check with the local office in Accra to see if your husband can buy the ticket there since it would probably be cheaper than you buying it online from the US. To change the nonrefundable ticket with NAA is I think $150.

Here is their contact information:



Delta's prices are way more than NAA and for Delta's roundtrip tickets the whole ticket has to be refundable so it makes it more expensive. They do have an office in Accra:



Also, with Delta, you cannot buy a one-way ticket from Accra to JFK online.

I've never bought a ticket in Ghana so I am not sure if they ask to see the visa. That is a question you can call and ask them.

As long as both of you book your tickets on the same flight you should fly together. You may not be seated together but you can always switch with people when you are on the plane.

I hope this helps.

Zee

I fly 300,000 plus miles a year.
Make the resevations on the U.S. airline.
Buy round trip tickets, they are usually less for round trip than one way, example round trip to Brazil $1,070, one way $1,800
If you do not use the return ticket throw it away and still save.

That is true

Check with the airlines and see.

They will sell you the ticket even if you tell them that you DON'T have a visa. It's your responsibility to acquire a visa so they will take your money even if you tell them you don't have the paperwork to get into the country legally. They will not let you on the airplane if you can't show them a visa and then you're just screwed if you have a ticket and no visa. Not their problem.

I think it depends on the airline because I know that when we had to reconfirm our flights the airline office did ask to see the visa. But this was for an African airline though, and we were not coming to the US.

Thanks for all the information. Doesnt naa only schedule flights to ghana certain times of the month though?

They do JFK-ACC on Sundays (arriving early Monday) and ACC-JFK on Tuesdays.

I've had the best luck with calling the airline directly. That way, you can make sure they book the seats together.

They leave NYC every Sunday afternoon at 3 and return from Accra every Tuesday am at 2am. (really Monday night you have to get to the airport) I live in NY and have always gone through JFK so I don't know the Maryland schedule. But you can check that on the website which is flynaa.com.

That's a pretty odd statement to make. Depends greatly where you travel, doesn't it? Besides there not being any US carriers going there, I've had fantastic travel experiences flying Ethiopian Airlines. While One can take KLM, Lufthansa or British Aiways to get there, I always flew Ethiopian and plan to do so in the future. Most certainly after they take their 787 Dreamliner's into service later next year and offer IAD to ADD non-stop.

As to OP's query, we went to Ethiopian Airlines a week prior to our scheduled departure - we did not have the visa yet - and put a ticket on hold. This was on a Friday for departure the following Friday. We got Nani's visa that next Wednesday and went and purchased the held ticket then. They were really easy about it. Not sure whether that works in other places.

Mr Big, I have to get a flight that runs straight through to Ghana or else I have to get a transit visa which may cause more time delay for us. Naa has very resonable prices but why should I have to be there monday night to leave sunday afternoon, guys?

When leaving JFK you leave Sunday afternoon and get to Accra Monday early morning. When coming back you get to the airport Monday night to take-off Tuesday morning (around 2am) and you arrive at JFK on Tuesday afternoon.

When leaving JFK you leave Sunday afternoon and get to Accra Monday early morning. When coming back you get to the airport Monday night to take-off Tuesday morning (around 2am) and you arrive at JFK on Tuesday afternoon.
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Ohhhh thanks for splaining.

Lol, my son has that same rub, we got our from babies-r-us....lol



sorry , my son has that same Tub.

just a little tip.. if you do go with North American Airlines.. I got really sick off the breakfast they served on the way home. I do recommend them though for your purposes.. getting a round trip and a one way ticket.

Just be careful what you eat YUCK!

I'm going back to Nigeria next month (most likely) and I am thinking about flying through Germany just because that's one country I haven't hit yet. I figure if I'm going to pay all that money, I'm going to see as many countries as I can (even if it's for only a few hours each way) Has anyone had a layover there? Is anything in English? .. I got lost in Paris on one trip to Nigeria, no one spoke english, the signs were in french.. people were mean and laughed at me when I went to them for help (even the guys working at the bus station!)

My first trip to Nigeria, I had a layover in Frankfurt, Germany, and everything was in English and German both. When I asked for directions, the man was able to speak fluent English as well as German as well as the counterhelp when boarding the plane. You should do okay Kathryn.

Deb

Thanks for all the advice. Do you guys usually buy them yourself or through an agent? Its a pain because I have to also get a ticket to and from cali. So it wont be so cheap for us. Im afraid of missing planes

I dont think thave refundable tickets but they should offer a penalty to pay like $50 to $100 if you change the dates of the flight departure.

I bought my wife's, got paper tickets, shipped them to her, and crossed my fingers. They dont check for a visa at the point of departure, but, many hubs, in asia anyway, check for a visa before you fly to your POE. I saw this in Hong Kong, where a passenger was getting a flight with his chinese passport, and the official said "no visa" (it was for a trip to LA), then the guy pulled a US passport.

The agency i bought the ticket from could have cared less what her visa status is (laughing)

Personally, I think you should find someone who works for the airlines (flight attendant, etc) and simply ask for a buddy pass.

I have visited my hubby over 5 times this years on buddy passes (only pay the taxes on ticket). Each time I flew, I was always in first class because the person who gives me the passes has been their since the 80's and they have some serious seniority.

Hope this helps.

leedah

Hook a sister up!! I don't need first class, I'll sit in the bathroom to travel for less than $1000!

We bought his in Ghana through a travel agent. I can't remember his name, but his office was in Osu and he drove a bright gold or bright green metalic looking car. He was South Asian of some sort. Very nice guy. I bought tickets through him about three times.

I also had no problem when I flew through Germany. Are you aware that you can fly nonstop from Atlanta to Nigeria on Delta now? It might depend on which part of the country you live in, but that is how we will always fly now!

I know what you mean. I had to fly from Washington. I flew Delta from Seattle to Paris to Africa on 1 trip and Delta from Seattle to Atlanta to Africa on a 2nd trip. It was about the same timewise, but I personally preferred flying through Atlanta and straight to Africa rather than dealing with Paris layover and airport. The layover in Atlanta was easier as I could use my cell phone, etc.;

Well the statement may seem odd, but I flew from Seattle to JFK on Delta. When I arrived at JFK, a Delta Representative was waiting form me at the plane and informed me the South African Flight had been cancelled. I asked her if she knew why and she said it said public strike. She then checked Delta's records and learned they were still flying. I was sent to an international terminal and South Africans Airlines had already gone home. I called their 800 number and they told me they could rebook me for about 1 week later. They did not provide hotel accomodations and would not provide a return trip to Seattle. I went to Delta airlines and purchased a Delta ticket throught Paris to Africa. I did not receive my bags from South African Airlines (Because the bags were locked up and they would not release them to Delta) for 5 days. The Airline was not accomodating in any manner.

Let me retract what I said, I would fly Air France, British Airways, KLM and some others, but I would NOT ever fly an airline like South African ever again. If I had not had the ability to purchase a ticket, it would have been a major problem as I would not have even had a place to stay in New York. I fly extensively for my job and I am very confidant in American airline companies. That experience was just a reminder to me of how happy I am I live in the USA.

I can imagine your frustration. It is however important to realize personal perspective. I've had a similar experience with Delta airlines right here in the US. I was going from Atlanta, GA to Upstate, NY and it took 22 hours to get to Newark, NJ and finally I threatened to call the police if they didn't give me my luggage and I rented a car and drove to NY. I now avoid Delta like the plague. They have started direct service to Accra and had great prices to introduce the route. I wouldn't dare take part because I was afraid of getting stuck with that horrible company. But I am aware that it's my reality and many people have had wonderful service from Delta. I've only experienced late flights, missing luggage, or gotten stranded hundreds of miles from my original destination. The airline industry seems to have declined significantly in the level of service provided and the consistency of product. I find the whole industry a disappointment, but can't say in a broad general sense that airlines by nationality are better or worse. They all suck and it's a roll of the dice.

I used North American Air, I went through a travel agent here in the US, they were e tickets, I then just emailed him the info when it was time for him to travel here. He printed out the e ticket and away he went. It was fast and easy, I did have to use the agent though I could not purchace them myself through NAA, but no biggie.