Buying a ticket and not making the flight is actually not that uncommon...That's actually a key point of airline operations. They oversell all flights that they can a certain amount based on past records, etc. Sometimes they are right, and pocket some extra ticket change fees, sometimes people show up and they get called on their overbooking. That's when you get free stuff for taking voluntary bumps.
Of course, who knows how the government works (now or earlier), so if you never show up and never call in to try and bargain for a flight change, the government very well may red flag you...I mean, let's face it, you have been going back and forth to Japan a lot for an American citizen...
I'd buy the round-trip ticket, then call them when I get back in the states and see if they won't cancel the return leg. If you're lucky, they may give you a partial credit to use for airfare. Probably not, of course, but you never know. And besides, what's the worst that can happen from being flagged as a person of interest? $700 against the chance of a body cavity search?
I know how airlines dearly love their overbooking, but I figure it looks a little fishy if I never call in and try to book a new flight. Eh, they probably don't even pay that much attention. On the other hand, if I had an Arabic-looking name, I don't think I'd even be considering this.
Actually, I'm not even sure why I'm making the effort to keep costs down-- my contracting oraganization's footing the bill. I guess I'd feel bad making them pay extra when I know they're perpetually strapped for funding, but I'm suddenly realizing, with a horrible clarity, that my supervisor will have a Grade-A meltdown if she sees the tickets marked as round-trip. Oy. I hadn't even considered that before. I'm not sure I could deal with the resulting headache, and I'm even more uncertain that they'd agree to pay.
Well, that simplifies matters quite a bit.
On a totally separate subject, how would you feel about paying for an auction by money order if I sent you the funds via PayPal? I've finally found another acceptable LD player (after losing a string of auctions. ARGH), but the seller's had bad PayPal experiences or something and won't accept anything but money orders and cashier's checks. It's got about two days left on it, so let me know sometime soon if that'd be cool with you.
Money order's fine with me. I prefer dealing with money orders than with Paypal lately because of the fees, etc. The few cents that get tacked on to a money order go to the Post Office, and honestly I'd rather grease their wheels than eBay's. Just let me know the seller info, etc. like last time so I can keep tabs on them stateside.
Of course, who knows how the government works (now or earlier), so if you never show up and never call in to try and bargain for a flight change, the government very well may red flag you...I mean, let's face it, you have been going back and forth to Japan a lot for an American citizen...
I'd buy the round-trip ticket, then call them when I get back in the states and see if they won't cancel the return leg. If you're lucky, they may give you a partial credit to use for airfare. Probably not, of course, but you never know. And besides, what's the worst that can happen from being flagged as a person of interest? $700 against the chance of a body cavity search?
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Actually, I'm not even sure why I'm making the effort to keep costs down-- my contracting oraganization's footing the bill. I guess I'd feel bad making them pay extra when I know they're perpetually strapped for funding, but I'm suddenly realizing, with a horrible clarity, that my supervisor will have a Grade-A meltdown if she sees the tickets marked as round-trip. Oy. I hadn't even considered that before. I'm not sure I could deal with the resulting headache, and I'm even more uncertain that they'd agree to pay.
Well, that simplifies matters quite a bit.
On a totally separate subject, how would you feel about paying for an auction by money order if I sent you the funds via PayPal? I've finally found another acceptable LD player (after losing a string of auctions. ARGH), but the seller's had bad PayPal experiences or something and won't accept anything but money orders and cashier's checks. It's got about two days left on it, so let me know sometime soon if that'd be cool with you.
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