Flight/Airline questions

[A&A]

I have a complicated (or maybe not) question about plane travel, ticketing etc. A little background: We traveled down here from the US to explore our options and with the intent to stay for at least a year and hopefully longer. We arrived in Sept. on a tourist visa, and we were forced by the airline (Continental) to buy a roundtrip ticket as they told us that we could not buy a one-way ticket on a tourist visa. (The Argentine consulate told us the same thing). And so we had to buy a roundtrip ticket within the first 90 day visa period.

My first question is: has anyone found a way around this dilemma??

We know one can extend a tourist visa once for an extra 90 days in several ways (colonia, at immigration etc...please this is not the thread for the merits of Colonia trips or that whole thing).

We want to use our tickets within the year they are valid, but once we go home we will again have to buy roundtrips as we have not begun any sort of Visa process yet. And we will have the same problem.

My thought was to let the second half of the ticket expire (as to change will cost $250 + difference in fare). And buy a roundtrip from BA to the US and then flyback. But then is the same issue of coming back to BA on a tourist visa without some sort of return flight out of Argentina.

How has anybody managed this situation? I hope I have made it clear but if not let me know.

 

[ndcj]

Did you check the relative prices of round trip vs one way fares?

It's pretty unusual that a one way fare is much cheaper, if it all. Sometimes a one way fare is much more expensive. For this reason, it's pretty common to book a roundtrip ticket for one way travel and just discard the return ticket.

If you plan on returning at least once every 330 days, buying a round trip ticket is usually the best way anyway, it keeps migraciones happy and then you just buy another round trip ticket from your US location and repeat.

For this time, you probably won't get out of it any cheaper than paying the $250 change fee (look for days with the same booking code available so you don't have to pay a fare difference as well). For the future, try to find fares which have lower change fees, or fly Aerolineas which seem to have plenty of fares with one free change, and then just make the change when you decide to fly back.

Another way around is to buy your one way ticket and separately buy a fully refundable ticket from Argentina to anywhere outside Argentina. The requirement isn't that you have a roundtrip ticket, but that you have onward passage. You can buy a fully refundable ticket from EZE or AEP to Santiago (SCL) for around $USD225. Show the ticket to satisfy them you'll leave AR, and then cancel it for a full refund once you arrive.

 

[kunafacolor]

when i came down this time around i bought a one way ticket from expedia, flying with united airlines.

i was unable to check-in online because i was told i would need to show proof of onward travel at the airport. i did some research on what this "proof of onward travel" might require and from what i gathered any kind of ticket out of the country (bus, plane, buquebus!) would be sufficient.

thus i bought a buquebus ticket to uruguay the day i left. you can buy tickets that are valid for a year from the date you purchase the fare, so it's pretty useful should you need to renew your tourist visa.

anyway...when i arrived at the airport (columbus, oh) i was not questioned whatsoever. upon arriving in argentina i was not asked to show proof of onward travel either.

perhaps this will help? suerte!

 

[Liam3494]

Just buy a return ticket with a date well ahead (it does NOT have to be less than 90 days ahead) - I use Continental all the time - And for a relativelt small fee, you can simply change the return date on the ticket when you need, or want, to head back stateside.

And just for the record - there is No legal requirement to have a return ticket, its the airlines protecting their asses, in case you get refused entry at immigration, as they have a responsibility then to fly you back to your point of destination. I have frequently flown Continetal without a return portion of a ticket as I have been flying back a differnet way, and have never been questioned. Guess its a bit like the Immigration Laws here, depends who you speak to on the day!

 

[citygirl]

There is no requirement from Argentina that you have a r/t ticket. As mentioned, the airlines can do it b/c if you are denied entry, they would have to ship you back.

 

[azure]

I came here late last year with a return flight for September (well over 90 days, as you can tell). Once I realized I'd be staying past September, I called the airlines and canceled my return flight. A few weeks ago I rescheduled for the end of December (just under the year deadline for using the return flight) with just the $200 fee. Actually, it was slightly less since for some reason it's a little cheaper to fly home at the end of December than September!

So I don't think it should be a problem at all to reschedule your flight, given that you don't mind paying the extra fees. I'd just call them up (or go to a local office in Buenos Aires if they have one) to reschedule.

 

[allcraz]

I had one problem once in the States because my ticket was a round trip purchased with the origin being BsAs. The airline employee gave me a hard time, but I basically just said, "No, I don't need another ticket" and showed her my numerous Argentine stamps to illustrate I had been and knew how it worked, and I think she got tired of me and gave up. I would say being firm in these situations does help, but obviously you have to be sure of what you're saying.

 

[A&A]

These are all awesome suggestions. My initial plan was to just discard my existing return (to US) since to change was going to cost me $250 + $149 (difference in fares). Whereas, to buy a roundtrip originating from BA to USA and back to BA was about $1080. I figured it makes my return flight only net $600. As opposed to using my current ticket, buying a new round trip and then have to pay a change fee again next time I go to the US down the road.

So, is it possible, and permitted to buy a rountrip ticket originating in BA with only a tourist visa? (I think the answer is Yes, if I have a buquebus or some fully refundable ticket as well to show that when i return to BA I am not staying....). Is this a correct conclusion?

 

[citygirl]

My first two years here, I bought r/t tix originating here on my tourist visa all the time. I was never questioned by an airline nor asked to show proof of onward travel.

 

[texxaslonghorn]

Allcraz's idea sounds like a good one. When I first arrived (w/o a round-trip ticket and w/ a new computer in-tow), I just acted like I couldn't speak Spanish. The guy at customs/the screening area kept asking if my computer was new and I just kept looking at him with a preplexed gaze. He finally just told me "go."