Purchasing one way ticket

[skings]

I have posted a similar question before so please dont rat me out.🙄 Need to purchase airfare from either Paris or London back to Florida. The dates

are probably May 10-12. I am on MSC Meraviglia TA and will be making final plans in January. Question If I buy Norwegian Air flights is there still a chance of failure 4 months out?

Believe they received money to last until Spring. Is May still Spring? Would really like to fly🧓 Virgin or Delta and not use return to Europe portion, but I use Delta

USA to visit family and dont want a mark against me.😆

[CruiserBruce]

Nobody is going to be able to answer exactly what their financial situation is going to be 4 months from now.

 

I have heard recently they are partnering with someone, so that may calm things some. But to ensure success, that may require cutting flights and/or raising fares.

[Zach1213]

Absolutely no way to know what Norwegian will look like four months from now. They may be fine, they may be gone, or they may be in between (such as cutting under-performing routes but still in business). I am not very familiar with the recent partnership and/or cash influx going on, so I cannot expertly say about that, but I will always been nervous about booking on Norwegian. 

 

If you skip one return flight, Delta isn't going to blacklist you. If you make a habit out of it, it's definitely possible, but the odds of them doing something after one is just about zero. Not a 100% guarantee, but a 99.9% guarantee, you'd be fine. 

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, skings said:

is there still a chance of failure 4 months out?

 

There is a chance of failure 1 day out, 1 month out, 1 year out.

 

NO ONE has a guaranteed prediction on their future.  Or for any carrier for that matter.

 

Only you can make that risk tolerance decision -- there is plenty of information on Norwegian out there on the internet, do your research and make your own informed decisions.

[txjim09]

Interesting comments from an industry blogger, the Cranky Flyer regarding Norwegian financial status:

https://crankyflier.com/2019/10/31/norwegian-sees-income-improvement-but-the-balance-sheet-problem-looms/

 

[sumiandkage]

Delta also loves to make schedule changes. If you book the round trip to take advantage of cheaper fares, book the planned throwaway leg as far out as possible and with as tight of a connection as you're allowed, and there's a definite non-zero chance of a schedule change that would put you under the airline's minimum legal connection time (or alternately more than a 90 minute schedule change can happen) and let you cancel the rest of the ticket for a refund or rebook the flights to something more of your liking without having a no-show go on your 'permanent record', 

 

No shows happen for flights for all kinds of reasons, both planned and unplanned. I'm also in the camp that doesn't worry about consequences of doing it once every few years. 

 

Alternately, do you have enough frequent flyer miles for a one way transatlantic flight? 

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, txjim09 said:

Interesting comments from an industry blogger, the Cranky Flyer regarding Norwegian financial status:

https://crankyflier.com/2019/10/31/norwegian-sees-income-improvement-but-the-balance-sheet-problem-looms/

 

An additional blog post about another lifeline to Norwegian.

 

https://viewfromthewing.com/new-u-s-credit-card-gives-norwegian-air-additional-lifeline/

[skings]

Thanks again for the excellent info. Dont have enough points with Delta, used them over the summer. 

From the feedback received,  better to purchase with Delta / Air France from CDG to MIA and book return to CDG about 70 days out. 

 

[waterbug123]

7 hours ago, sumiandkage said:

Delta also loves to make schedule changes. If you book the round trip to take advantage of cheaper fares, book the planned throwaway leg as far out as possible and with as tight of a connection as you're allowed, and there's a definite non-zero chance of a schedule change that would put you under the airline's minimum legal connection time (or alternately more than a 90 minute schedule change can happen) and let you cancel the rest of the ticket for a refund or rebook the flights to something more of your liking without having a no-show go on your 'permanent record', 

 

 

 

Be careful with that strategy.  Yes, if Delta makes the schedule change you can generally make a free change that better suits you.  But I don't know that it would extend to changing a round trip to a one way.  They would likely let you either cancel the entire trip, or find a better return option for you.  If you insisted on changing to a one way, you might still end up paying the fare difference, which could be a lot.

[Twickenham]

Personally, I'd be looking at flying TAP. Yes, you would have a stop in Lisbon, but their one-way pricing is not that much more than Norwegian, and they're not at risk of imminent collapse.

[sumiandkage]

2 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Be careful with that strategy.  Yes, if Delta makes the schedule change you can generally make a free change that better suits you.  But I don't know that it would extend to changing a round trip to a one way.  They would likely let you either cancel the entire trip, or find a better return option for you.  If you insisted on changing to a one way, you might still end up paying the fare difference, which could be a lot.

 

The goal is not to proactively change the trip from round trip to one way; the goal is to cancel the remainder of the ticket after the outbound leg of the round trip has been flown.  And there are actual DoT guidelines that say that Delta must allow you to cancel the 'second half' or a ticket under certain circumstances like a change in operating carriers even if you've already started the trip. 

 

I will say that when the Spousal Unit ended up no showing for the return of an American flight (his father was having cascading Old Dude health issues that meant Spousal Unit had to extend his trip suddenly) absolutely nothing happened in terms of action by the airline and the Avios he credited to BA for the outbound flight showed up in his BA account just fine.  Ended up using United miles to get Spousal Unit home on that trip because it made more financial sense than contacting American-2 hour hold when I tried to just cancel the rest of the ticket- and dealing with change fees and repricing. 

 

Legit stuff happens once in a while that keeps people from making the return of a flight and the legacy airlines are going to assume a no-show every few years is one of those stuff happens things. 

[scottbee]

In terms of pricing, there are some airlines that offer fair one-way pricing so you don't have to do the round trip insanity.

 

try Norwegian, Icelandair (via Reykjavik) , Aer Lingus (vis Dublin), Air Transat (via Toronto or Montreal) or Westjet (via Toronto or Montreal)

 

[Gardyloo]

I'll offer an alternative plan, just for your consideration.  Note this won't include flying on Delta, but it might be a good deal.  

 

1.  Apply for an Alaska Airlines Visa card, https://www.alaskaair.com/content/credit-card/visa-signature .  This will require that you join Alaska's mileage plan (which, by the way, is one of the best, far superior to others such as Delta.)

 

2.  When approved, you'll receive 40,000 Alaska miles in your account.

 

3.  If you're traveling by yourself, go to step 5.

 

4.  If you're traveling with someone else, go to Alaska's website, and purchase 20,000 miles for $550.  You'll now have 60,000 miles in your account. https://storefront.points.com/mileage-plan/en-US/buy

 

5.  Go to Alaska's flight booking page -https://www.alaskaair.com/planbook - and look for one-way flights on your date, using the "use miles only" option, with the number of people traveling.  If the trip is after May 20, Alaska charges 30,000 miles for a one way trip in economy using American Airlines; it's 22,500 if the flight is before that. 

 

The one way mileage "cost" using other airlines, e.g. British Airways, is a little higher and will show up on the flight selection screen.  Alaska has several partners that you can use from any point in Europe to any point in North America using Alaska miles.

 

6.  If it's just you, book the flight using your miles, pay the taxes (probably around $30) and you're done.   If it's for two, be sure you've purchased enough miles to cover both tickets.

 

If it's just you, you won't be out of pocket for anything more than the taxes; if it's for two people (as in the example above) the total cost will be the difference between the 40,000 miles you get with the card and the total needed for the trip (however many people x 22,500 or 30,000 miles or whatever.)  If it's $550 for the extra miles, that works out to 2 tickets with an average cost of $275 each.  Not too bad.

 

With the Alaska Visa, you'll also get an annual "companion" certificate with which you can purchase a companion's seat on any Alaska Airlines itinerary (mainland US, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico) - one way, round trip or open-jaw, and pay $99 plus $23 in taxes (usually) for the companion's ticket, while you pay the going price.  This is a helluva deal, unmatched by other airline programs.  

Edited November 8, 2019 by Gardyloo

[waterbug123]

On 11/8/2019 at 10:27 AM, sumiandkage said:

 

The goal is not to proactively change the trip from round trip to one way; the goal is to cancel the remainder of the ticket after the outbound leg of the round trip has been flown.  And there are actual DoT guidelines that say that Delta must allow you to cancel the 'second half' or a ticket under certain circumstances like a change in operating carriers even if you've already started the trip. 

 

 

 

I understand that; I just misread and thought you were talking about making a proactive change before any part of the trip started.

[iancal]

We have done numberous one ways to Europe.  Westjet, Transat, TAP to name a few.  

 

We have also has good success getting one way BA tickets from consolidators/on line vendors.  Same type of fare code that one might expect from cruise line air.

[Mr. Click]

Not sure if MSC has an airfare partner like Celebrity, Royal, Princess and others but if they do, it is often a good source for one tickets.  Check it out.

[SelectSys]

On 11/7/2019 at 7:45 AM, skings said:

I have posted a similar question before so please dont rat me out.🙄 Need to purchase airfare from either Paris or London back to Florida. The dates

are probably May 10-12. I am on MSC Meraviglia TA and will be making final plans in January. Question If I buy Norwegian Air flights is there still a chance of failure 4 months out?

Believe they received money to last until Spring. Is May still Spring? Would really like to fly🧓 Virgin or Delta and not use return to Europe portion, but I use Delta

USA to visit family and dont want a mark against me.😆

 

Given where you live, the actual best choice is on Norwegian as they have non-stop service into Tampa which I believe is close to your home.  Right now non stops LGW-TPA for your dates are between $230  to $330 / person (the higher figure is for a typical bundle including seat, meal and checked baggage.) More on optional services and charges can be found here:

https://www.norwegian.com/us/booking/booking-information/optional-service-charges/#T

 

Note that the $660 is about the same as the suggestion relating to purchasing miles coupled with a new credit card.  With miles, you also can't be sure if availability will be there for your flights - especially if you have no status.  BA is especially bad in adding additional charges to FF tickets and I avoid them like the plague when using my AA FF miles.

 

I am happy to see you aren't in a rush to make an immediate decision for your flight and will be making plans in January.  If you a wait until February 6th, 2020 you'll have the results of Norwegian's financial performance for all of 2019.  T

https://www.norwegian.com/us/about/company/investor-relations/financial-calendar/financial-calendar-2020/

 

The press should have extensive coverage and you'll get more information to see if you want to fly on them.  I have already made my decision.  Unlike almost everyone on this site, I am bullish on Norwegian and have continued to buy their tickets and have a trip scheduled for March - LAX-CDG.  The company has closed additional financing which according to some in the financial press - is likely to carry them through 2020.  Some of their fleet issues are likely to be resolved as well and they could be receiving compensation from both Rolls Royce and Boeing which will help their finances.

 

Good luck in what ever path you choose!

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by SelectSys

[skings]

Hi Select,  I did read October financials that Norwegian seems to be sound for 2020. I am waiting until January to

purchase, dont know if I would be comfortable holding off until February for a May 10? flight. However, Norwegian is back on my list  because of price and convenience.

 

Yes,  TPA (Tampa)  and MCO (Orlando) are closest to me other than my home airport RSW (Fort Myers)