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SRAS is not in the business of selling plane tickets, with the exception of group educational tours and domestic flights not available for purchase outside of our program host countries. We do, however, continuously monitor flight pricing and travel logistics for our study destinations and we travel a lot ourselves. As such, we are sharing our experience here. Students traveling to one of our programs will receive additional seasonal updates in preparation for booking flights.
Flight Costs: Aggregators vs. Airlines
If you are using an aggregator like Travelocity or Expedia, we advise that you look up ticket prices again directly from the airline. Very often the airline will offer a lower-priced economy ticket through their own site than what they list with the aggregators. Plus, exchanging, altering, or refunding tickets that are purchased directly through the airline is generally much easier than with an aggregator.
Types of Tickets
Round trip tickets are almost always cheapest and we generally recommend them. Other options include: a one-way ticket, an open-ended ticket, and a standard fixed ticket. Open-ended tickets as a rule are very expensive, though of course quite convenient. The one-way option varies, but is risky as you don’t know what kind of prices will be available for your return ticket. If you think you may need to change your return date, we recommend purchasing a fixed ticket but please weigh the possible costs of changing tickets first.
Travel Insurance / Flexible Dates
As the world can be a bit unpredictable these days, we recommend getting a ticket with travel insurance. Many airlines offer this (usually $50 to $100) in case something happens with your travel plans (like the visa process is delayed).
Costs Involved with Changing Tickets
Tickets often have a change fee of $150 or more. Some airlines (like Delta) will charge this in two fees – with a fee to return the old tickets and then another fee to use the funds from the old tickets to buy new tickets. These costs should be weighed closely with the cost of an open-ended ticket and/or travel insurance. There may also be a price differential between the two tickets that you will need to pay. Depending on the airline, this difference may depend on “high” and “low” travel seasons, the duration of your trip, and how soon after purchase you will be traveling.
Multiple Legs
We recommend purchasing all legs of your travel together. This will ensure that your bags make each transfer on their own without your having to claim your bags and recheck them for each leg of travel. This is particularly true if you happen to be transfering between domestic and international tickets. Domestic flights usually have lower luggage limits than international flights. Buying the tickets together will generally assure that you have the larger alloted amount for the full trip (but you may want to still double check that by calling your airline(s)).
For Programs of More than a Semester
Tickets may only be purchased eleven months in advance. This means that if you are staying abroad for more than eleven months, you will not be able to purchase a round-trip ticket directly. Sometimes sales agents will recommend that you purchase a round-trip ticket with a return date of eleven months in advance – and then change the return date to the date you actually need closer to that date. Make sure you understand any fees that may be involved in this.
If you plan on returning to the U.S. during the course of your program (e.g. for the holidays), we recommend you buy a separate round-trip ticket for that trip. So, you might buy two tickets: one for August-March and a second from December-January. Even if you need to change these tickets, it is usually the least expensive option. Make sure to inform your SRAS consultant about your plans as soon as possible as there may be issues connected with your visa to consider as well.
SRAS students should be sure to inform SRAS about all travel plans (including entry and exit dates and travel while on your program) as soon as you know them. Declaring approximate entry and exit dates are necessary in applying for your visa. Also inform SRAS of any plans to travel abroad prior to your program as this could affect visa processing. If you have any questions, please contact SRAS.
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