Flights from UK - US

[racheal&david 108]

Hey guys,

So I'm not exactly at the booking flights stage yet but I'm looking to get a head start on what I'll need to do when the time comes. Basically, I'm looking to fly Newcastle-Amsterdam-Atlanta, and most likely with KLM/Delta since I'm very used to both. I'll be flying with my young son who I imagine by that time will be a little over 1 but still small enough so he'll just sit on my lap.

From what I've researched so far a round trip is going to cost half of what a one way will cost for us both and I'm more inclined to be choosing that since I'm rather tight on cash and will be even more so come leaving after paying for all the visa stuff. Any advice from those already been through the process on where to buy, what are the cancellation charges like etc.

KLM said there's no cancellation permitted and to get a fully flexible ticket it is just silly extreme prices and I've read about just not turning up but US immigration will update the I-94 as left so that can cause a problem for my AOS.

Any hints and tips will be greatly appreciated

[Jack2107 46]

You can buy a round trip and once arrived cancel the return trip with the airline.

[racheal&david 108]

You can buy a round trip and once arrived cancel the return trip with the airline.

Yes, I know that. But what I'm wondering is how much have people had to pay to cancel their return? As the airlines I've looked into so far haven't clearly stated if cancellation is before flight or after and mostly no shows are not permitted etc.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Do you think they mean you will not get a refund for cancelling? I don't see how they can not cancel you if you call and say "I will not be taking this flight".

[racheal&david 108]

Do you think they mean you will not get a refund for cancelling? I don't see how they can not cancel you if you call and say "I will not be taking this flight".

Perhaps, although I'm not after a refund. I just want to make sure I won't have to pay some sort of cancellation fee for cancelling the return flight. Or if I do I'm hoping it's not too expensive

[yuna628 9,671]

Have you thought about any other airline? If you're telling me they will refuse to cancel you or take your name off the manifest outright that could be very problematic. For us we do Newcastle - London - Baltimore. From vague memory there is always a flight at Heathrow to Atlanta on several carriers that includes a nonstop on Delta. No stopover in Amsterdam needed.

[Moustafa/Crystal 65]

They will not give you a refund for the unused portion, but they cannot make you use the other half of the ticket.

[Derwood 203]

Did you know that United start a direct service from Newcastle to Newark in the next few weeks - my friend is flying over on it on June 2.

As for KLM updating your I-94 as departed if you don't take the return flight, I think this is wrong. I think these are scare stories that probably stem from the early implementation of the system when it had teething problems. The duty of the airline is to report who is ON the flight, not who was meant to be on the flight. I bet many flights have people that just don't get on. Besides, if KLM did update you as departed you could just call a re-inspection site and tell them you're still in the country. That's my humble two pennyworth anyway! :-)

[VFittipaldi 30]

I had the same situation and had all the worries as you do but after searching on this site i went ahead and booked a round trip. I was also worried about cancellation fees and will they send me a cancellation email for proof and so on. After researching it i realized that they cant charge you more than what you have already payed, the only thing is that you will not see any cash refund from the amount you paid.

This is what we did on December 2014:

Bought my wife (than my fiance on a K1 visa) a Round trip ticket on Expedia. It was Delta/KLM. The route was Kiev - Amsterdam - Portland. Great price and only one layover and the one way ticket was about $400 more or the other option was cheaper but it meant flying thru Russia, nnnnno thanks. When my wife got here safe and sound i called Expedia about a week before the return trip and canceled the flight, yes it did take me about 1 hour on the phone with them because as they claim they had to calculate how much they would refund us. In the end they ended up giving us about $400 dollars of flying credit as a refund so we can fly anywhere on Delta airlines by the end of the year but most importantly they sent as an email where it clearly states my wife's name and it says "Trip Canceled" I have that email saved in my records if there are any AOS complications. I logged in tho the CBP website long after the I-94 expired and long after the return trip was suppose to be, it had only my wife's entering record on there, no exits. So yes you can and should book a round trip if that is better just make sure you cover yourself and save email and other evidence.

Hope our experience can help you a bit.

Edited May 17, 2015 by VFittipaldi

[yuna628 9,671]

Did you know that United start a direct service from Newcastle to Newark in the next few weeks - my friend is flying over on it on June 2.

As for KLM updating your I-94 as departed if you don't take the return flight, I think this is wrong. I think these are scare stories that probably stem from the early implementation of the system when it had teething problems. The duty of the airline is to report who is ON the flight, not who was meant to be on the flight. I bet many flights have people that just don't get on. Besides, if KLM did update you as departed you could just call a re-inspection site and tell them you're still in the country. That's my humble two pennyworth anyway! :-)

That's right, totally forgot about that! Could be an option for the OP. These flights would be with United Airlines.

As far as I'm aware though calling doesn't seem to work, and you actually need to appear at the inspection site to get them to fix it.

[racheal&david 108]

I had the same situation and had all the worries as you do but after searching on this site i went ahead and booked a round trip. I was also worried about cancellation fees and will they send me a cancellation email for proof and so on. After researching it i realized that they cant charge you more than what you have already payed, the only thing is that you will not see any cash refund from the amount you paid.

This is what we did on December 2014:

Bought my wife (than my fiance on a K1 visa) a Round trip ticket on Expedia. It was Delta/KLM. The route was Kiev - Amsterdam - Portland. Great price and only one layover and the one way ticket was about $400 more or the other option was cheaper but it meant flying thru Russia, nnnnno thanks. When my wife got here safe and sound i called Expedia about a week before the return trip and canceled the flight, yes it did take me about 1 hour on the phone with them because as they claim they had to calculate how much they would refund us. In the end they ended up giving us about $400 dollars of flying credit as a refund so we can fly anywhere on Delta airlines by the end of the year but most importantly they sent as an email where it clearly states my wife's name and it says "Trip Canceled" I have that email saved in my records if there are any AOS complications. I logged in tho the CBP website long after the I-94 expired and long after the return trip was suppose to be, it had only my wife's entering record on there, no exits. So yes you can and should book a round trip if that is better just make sure you cover yourself and save email and other evidence.

Hope our experience can help you a bit.

Thank you ? that's great, I'm more inclined to stick with the Delta/KLM option for my personal situation/choice and from your experience I think I'll be OK!

Thanks everyone for replying. I think I've got all the info I was hoping for! Much appreciated.

[oscillate.wildly 1]

Hi, have you looked into Iceland Air? We have used this for one way flights between the US and UK. I have not looked for a while but a year or so ago they had one-way flights for very reasonable prices (cheaper than a return fight)

Good luck!

[oscillate.wildly 1]

Hi, have you looked into Iceland Air? We have used this for one way flights between the US and UK. I have not looked for a while but a year or so ago they had one-way flights for very reasonable prices (cheaper than a return fight)

Good luck!

Yep just had a quick look and for our flight route (Manchester to Washington D.C.) there are cheap one way flights ~£330.

Their route map is here:

http://www.icelandair.co.uk/information/travel-guide/routemap/

You may have to consider flying out of Manchester or London, but both are quite painless to get to from Newcastle I would assume

[racheal&david 108]

Yep just had a quick look and for our flight route (Manchester to Washington D.C.) there are cheap one way flights ~£330.

Their route map is here:

http://www.icelandair.co.uk/information/travel-guide/routemap/

You may have to consider flying out of Manchester or London, but both are quite painless to get to from Newcastle I would assume

Hey, I've looked into that. Considering I'd still need to get to get to Atlanta it doesn't work out very practical unfortunately. And then the cost of getting to London or Manchester. It's still actually cheaper to fly from Newcastle and way more practical and convenient with the little one in tow.

But thanks for the idea

[ChasUno 101]

If you have accumulated air miles with a selected carrier, look into using those. I checked with American Airlines as I have a lot of miles with them. A one way booked via the normal website booking was £1200+ (a return was £900+). If I booked via the "Redeem miles" option, a one way using 30,000 miles to exactly the same destination cost £233!