Crew Wanted: How to Plan Airfaire Home

[Dreddy]

Hello,


I have an opportunity to help reposition a Cat from Galapagos to Tahiti. The opportunity is very exciting, but I am unsure how other crew plan for airfare home. The flight back to Colorado from Tahiti is spendy.....



The only thing I can surmise is that i ticket my trip after arriving?



Any assistance here would be much appreciated.


Thanks

[Tetepare]

Many countries want proof that you are leaving, the most common being an airline ticket.


Is the problem how to book the flight or how to pay for it? If the latter, that’s why they want to see the ticket- too many arrivals with no way to leave. You have to show the ticket upon arrival, you cannot promise to buy one later.

If the former, buy a fully refundable ticket with a major airline like United. Then you can cancel or change the ticket at will, often with no additional fees

All that said, as crew on a boat there’s presumption that you’ll sail to another country. No need to volunteer that Tahiti is your final destination

[SailRN]

The way I plan is to decide whether I will stay for a while at a destination or try to get home quickly.


Being that it is a gamble as to whether you'll arrive at the intended destination at the intended time, or whether you get there at all or somewhere else, or are significantly delayed, and that it is a sure bet if you book your return flight too close to your "planned" arrival you will lose.


If I hope to get home quickly I'll use either someone ashore tracking our voyage to book my flight using either a pre-departure plan or an Iridium text to do so when it seems the time of arrival is certain, still allowing a few days leeway. Or if the itinerary allows Internet access at a stop just prior to the final destination I may book then. Best is to use a text go-ahead message via Iridium to a shore side person.



If I plan to stay at the destination a while I'll try to take advantage of the usually lower price of booking departure in advance immediately after I've arrived.


Mostly it's a gamble. You could also see if you could purchase a ticket that's not too expensive to change for a later flight.

[Dreddy]

Tetepare,


Thanks for the quick reply. Paying is not the problem, determining when I will arrive to be able to fly. Sounds like a fully refundable tix is the way to go. It addresses the "Must have a return flight" and flexibility of changing on the fly.



Gracias

[Dreddy]

Hey SailRN,


Thanks for the insight. I didn't think of purchasing on the fly. I'll probably pay the big bux for a fully refundable tix.


Thanks for the help....

[SailRN]

Hi Dreddy,


You're quite welcome. Hope your voyage is great.

[Sam Woodbridge]

From my experience with airlines. Tickets will start to raise if not booked 21 days ahead. I saw you said money wasn’t a issue. I like what someone said along the lines having a plane ticket upon arrival shows proof you have a way home. I would book the ticket with insurance on it and use the insurance to change the dates if need be. Good luck

Sam

[Snore]

As a delivery guy, there are way too many variables to buy tickets ahead of time. As soon as I get cell service at my destination, I buy my return ticket.

Sometimes I book a hotel and hang out for a day or two and then fly home.

FWIW,I am yet to be asked for proof I am leaving when clearing a boat in. Whereas flying in with a 1-way ticket, they will sometimes ask.

[boatman61]

I do the same as above.. as soon as I'm within cellphone range I book a couple of nights in a hotel via Booking.com and book tickets for 3 or 4 days after arrival.. depending on how quickly the owner wants to kick me off after the bills been settled.

[Jim Cate]

In the old days when arriving by boat in French Polynesia one either posted a cash bond equal to the cost of airfare home or showed a valid air ticket back home. Has that changed?

Jim

[grantmc]

Surely a separate and more difficult issue to arriving by sail boat in French Polynesia will be flying in to Ecuador without an airline ticket out?

Typically the country of entry wants proof you are leaving. Whilst a letter from the boat Skipper should be enough, I have sometimes found

1. airline staff at the departing airport reluctant to let you on the plane without a ticket exiting the country that they're flying you to.

2. And whilst you might get on the plane ok, when you arrive in Ecuador, Immigration may not allow entry without an exit ticket.

So sometimes we've had to buy a one way (return home) flight and cancel it on arrival.

I guess in the cruiser world arriving/departing by sail boats is normal nd matter of fact, but to the typical airline or Immigration worker their normal is all by plane.

Also Dreddy, appreciate that a yacht trip isn't like a typical scheduled trip. Plans are often changed, stuff breaks, weather windows don't open, wind refuses to blow. That's a 3,600 mile trip.

[Moontide]

Although less so since the airline cutbacks for Covid, I have only been "burned" once or twice in 8 years of travels by buying my tickets only one or two days before departure. Most airlines have figured out that an empty seat has zero value and will lower prices if the flight is not heavily booked. It helps that I am flexible on when to fly and if i have to wait a day or two (or three) to get a better fare I'm fine with it, especially if that meant staying in Tahiti a bit longer.


Enjoy the ride, its great sail.



Tahiti does require a "bond" or ticket for those arriving by boat. Problem with the bond is they refund it in Polynesian francs which are a bit dificult to use elsewhere. Given this a fully refundable ticket makes a lot of sense financially and for less stress.

[jmschmidt]

You can usually get the best deal on a ticket within 48hrs. of departure. That is when bulk buyers (travel agents) have to turn in the seats they have blocked but have not been able to resell them.

The industry will say it ain't so but take if from a fifty-year veteran. This is the way we do it since many flights are full these days and my free and reduced rate retiree benefits are not worth much.

[Stmurray62]

Don’t buy ticket before the arrival unless it is fully refundable. Also, the owner is responsible to pay for the ticket (re:Jones Act). Doesn’t matter If you are paid or unpaid/volunteer crew. So, as crew, ask owner to buy return to home ticket; motherwuse don’t go on voyage….

[japawil]

Originally Posted by Stmurray62

Don’t buy ticket before the arrival unless it is fully refundable. Also, the owner is responsible to pay for the ticket (re:Jones Act). Doesn’t matter If you are paid or unpaid/volunteer crew. So, as crew, ask owner to buy return to home ticket; motherwuse don’t go on voyage….

Last I knew, neither Galapagos nor Tahiti were US possessions…… how would the Jones Act have anything to do with this?