Gone are the days when people always bought return tickets. Traveling is a lot different in the 21st century and several factors have led to this new trend. Let’s explore some of them:
The psyche of the modern traveler
There is a new breed of travelers today who are going places for leisure and are undecided about their next plan. For example, the digital nomads of today can travel to any destination and work only with a laptop and a stable Wi-Fi connection. They don’t need office space or co-workers to perform tasks. Therefore, they don’t plan or define their travel plans in advance. A lot of remote-working professionals, freelancers, and IT developers come under this category. Since this trend is increasing by the day, airline companies have become smart to target them with cheaper one-way fares, which help them to move around and create loyalty to a particular brand. Southwest Airlines, for instance, comes up with a one-way fare sale every year, which has become quite popular over the years.
The growing competition
With mushrooming of the new market players especially the budget carriers, the market dynamics have changed. With cost being the main determinant today, these low-cost carriers are competing with traditional legacy carriers on price. One strategy has been to lure customers with one-way deals, which has increased the impulsive buying of travelers and reduced their dependence on a return ticket. Plus, with the growing number of players, the supply of seats has increased, which has again forced the prices to come down.
Plenty of options
A lot of people choose one-way tickets during domestic travel as there has been an emergence of other modes of transport, like Uber, car-pooling, car rentals and railways. People are now choosing or even inventing new modes of transport, which has pulled down the cost of one-way travel.
Is it all hunky-dory?
Of course not! One-way tickets come with their own set of problems.
You might not be able to get past immigration
A lot of countries require evidence of exit at the immigration or visa counter. Failure to do so may result in you being denied a visa or deported back to your home country without even leaving the airport. That is why it is important to research the immigration policies or rules of your destination. One hack to use here is to show an onward travel ticket, which shows that you are traveling to another country from the destination you are entering. Later on, for a minor fee, you could cancel and book a fresh ticket as per your convenience.
Here are some quick last-minute fixes that you can do to avoid any problems with one-way ticket:
Arrive early
Arriving early will give you extra time to revise your travel arrangements just-in-case you are refused to board the aircraft.
Buy another fully refundable return ticket
Buy a spare fully refundable ticket, which gives you a proof as well as a ticket that you can refund later once you have reached your destination.
Looking for an easier solution?
Then log onto AirTkt, which offers the cheapest airline and hotel deals I a few clicks. One way or return tickets, you’ll find everything at AirTkt.
