Airline tickets and traveling to "pick up" my fiance

[snyderjt 33]

Hey all, my fiance doesn't have much travel experience yet and has never flown so I am planning to fly to the Philippines to pick her up when the time comes.  My inclination is to just buy 2 RT tickets since RT and 1-Way don't vary all that much these days.  Added benefit is that I'm a considerably over sized traveler so having an empty seat next to me on the way there is a bonus for everyone. It also seems like it would streamline the purchase process and ensure that we are seated together on flight back to the U.S.  I'm just worried that the airlines would grumble that she is not on the first flight and/or give that seat away since the person it technically belongs too would be counted as a no-show.

 

Has anyone else done anything similar at all?  

[payxibka 10,044]

5 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

If a passenger does not check in and then board the first sector, the whole itinerary is cancelled... not a wise plan. 

100% agree with the above

 

The seat does not "technically" belong to her until she checks in and is given a boarding pass and boards the plane

Edited April 1, 2018 by payxibka

[j&ana 363]

her ticket will be cancel

 

Edited April 1, 2018 by j&ana

[snyderjt 33]

Thanks for the responses.  The more I pondered that rabbit hole, the more I realized I wasn't even asking the correct question.

 

I should have been considering how it would look to USCIS if they saw her name on an outbound manifest, even if that ticket is not used, with no prior entry.  Yeah, when I type that out it certainly helps clarify that train of thought and highlight that it's probably a horrible idea.

 

One thing I am positive of is that that missing one segment of multi-segment travel does not cancel the entire trip if you tell the airline about it.  People miss flights and change plans all the time.  For example, this is the relevant posted policy of EVA:

"You are no longer required to reconfirm your onward or return flights if the following conditions are met: you have purchased the ticket and travel in accordance with your confirmed itinerary, and have provided your local contact information for each stopover on your itinerary However, if there is any change to your travel plans, please reconfirm your reservation to avoid your onward / return flights been cancelled."

 

As others pointed out though, even if the return segment is reconfirmed, I'd lose that seat on the first unless it's an empty flight so moot point in the grand scheme of things.

 

 

[doggieandsam 765]

12 minutes ago, snyderjt said:

One thing I am positive of is that that missing one segment of multi-segment travel does not cancel the entire trip if you tell the airline about it.  

 

what you are talking about is ok if she is missing a segment in the middle of the multi-segment itinerary. you can skip the middle and end flights but skipping the outward/first leg/first flight will cancel the whole itinerary. think of it as a domino effect, for lack of a better analogy.

 

i understand what you are trying to do. you can make your round-trip idea work like this:

you: Seattle-Manila-Seattle

her: Manila-Seattle-Manila (with her taking the same flight as you on the Manila-Seattle leg) - you may even be able to cancel and get some money back on the unused Seattle-Manila leg, assuming you buy a ticket type that allows for refunds.

Edited April 1, 2018 by doggieandsam

[payxibka 10,044]

16 minutes ago, snyderjt said:

 

I should have been considering how it would look to USCIS if they saw her name on an outbound manifest, even if that ticket is not used, with no prior entry.  Yeah, when I type that out it certainly helps clarify that train of thought and highlight that it's probably a horrible idea.

 

 

Why would the USCIS care ?  But then again it is a moot point because it is a flawed plan.  

 

You would be better off buying her a RT starting in Philippines that matches your return itinerary and then simply not use (cancel) the return portion of her itinerary in the event a RT is cheaper than a OW

Edited April 1, 2018 by payxibka

[snyderjt 33]

ahh, thanks all.  So far OW is still cheaper than RT, but not significantly so.  My hopeful twinkle was more about me having a 2nd empty seat on the first trip since it would be well worth an extra couple hundred bucks since I have to buy her OW anyway .  When I went in October EVA was surprisingly good, but it's never really comfortable being a fat man flying.  The way back is no worry since her plus me is still about 2 "average sized" folks, plus we like each other and don't mind close quarters, especially if we can snag one of the smaller 2 seat rows in the back. 

 

I was also concerned about lining up travel to make sure we were together on the same flight since most online systems don't really let you mix and match transactions like that, but I'm sure that's something a travel agent or direct airline customer service could sort out.

[Umka36 781]

Here’s what I did. I stayed a month to be with my wife (different country) for her interview and help her wrap things up.

 

I purchased a round trip ticket for myself, followed by purchasing her a round trip ticket from her home country to the US so we could sit next to each other.

 

Her return leg was close to the 90 days of her entering the US. I did this since RT was cheaper, and with be added benefit for my wife to go home if it didn’t work out between the two of us. If you chose this path, be sure to cancel her return leg to avoid potential issues with AOS as the may think she left the US. GL.

[snyderjt 33]

5 hours ago, Umka36 said:

Here’s what I did. I stayed a month to be with my wife (different country) for her interview and help her wrap things up.

 

I purchased a round trip ticket for myself, followed by purchasing her a round trip ticket from her home country to the US so we could sit next to each other.

 

Her return leg was close to the 90 days of her entering the US. I did this since RT was cheaper, and with be added benefit for my wife to go home if it didn’t work out between the two of us. If you chose this path, be sure to cancel her return leg to avoid potential issues with AOS as the may think she left the US. GL.

Thanks for the input!  It's good to hear someone else's experience, especially when there is such a level of uncertainty.  Our NOA1 date is Nov 1st so not much longer until we can start thinking more on specifics