One way travel to DR from the US

[drloca]

Does anyone have any recent first-hand experience on one way travel to the DR? The flight will originate in the US but the fact that the passport I will be using for this trip is Canadian has no bearing .....one may not board a DR bound flight without proof of a return. This is strange as I am pretty sure this can be done without a problem out of a Canadian city.

Any suggestions/ideas.....I wont be happy camper if I am denied boarding.:ermm:


I have just been speaking with the airline and they confirmed the above.

 

[edm7583]

You will likely get a lot of responses with antecdotal experience saying. "I flew such and such airline and didn't have a problem." etc. But since it is the law of the Dominican Republic that foreign visitors must have return or onward travel arranged before arriving (though this is never checked by Dominican authorities) It is the policy of all the airline as they could in theory, be subjected to fines for brining a foreigner to the DR who does not meet the entry requirements.
The issue that causes confusion is that enforcement of this is not consistent by the airlines and the bottom line is that it may depend on the training and experience of the person checking you in! Airlines like AA and Continental may be more likely to give you a hard time on check in on this, and with Spirit or JetBlue you may have a little bit better chance of slipping by. But no matter with whom you travel, if you are not a Dominican citizen or resident and they ask you to purchase a return ticket or deny you boarding, they are 100% in their right to do so.

 

[drloca]

Thanks for the response!

I will be travelling with Jetblue but even in view of what you say, certainly not worth the risk and hassle...IMO!

Thing that I find odd is that like I mention it is doable from Toronto???

My sanity id for sure worth more than a few hundred $$ so will purchase the "necessary" document...to trash!:ermm:

 

[Kipling333]

you will not be permitted to board if the ticketing officer is at all vigilant ,,I have been pulled up at least 3 times although I have more than 200,000 points in my AA frequent flyer account to be able to purchase a return ticket .

 

[Uglystorm]

No need to trash it!

Thanks for the response!

I will be travelling with Jetblue but even in view of what you say, certainly not worth the risk and hassle...IMO!

Thing that I find odd is that like I mention it is doable from Toronto???

My sanity id for sure worth more than a few hundred $$ so will purchase the "necessary" document...to trash!:ermm:

You can transfer it or re sale the return leg if you find a suitable candidate :bunny::bunny:

 

[SKY]

you will not be permitted to board if the ticketing officer is at all vigilant ,,I have been pulled up at least 3 times although I have more than 200,000 points in my AA frequent flyer account to be able to purchase a return ticket .

AA is more vigilant with this rule. Jetblue is not. You may need to buy a return ticket that is refundable, but I doubt it.

 

[AlterEgo]

drloca, I'll bet this all has something to do with the fact that terrorists bought one way tickets. Of course, if the government/airlines no longer permit one-way tickets, the terrorists will just buy round trip.

If it's a throwaway ticket, buy a return flight to Florida, should be cheaper than NY.

AE

 

[SKY]

drloca, I'll bet this all has something to do with the fact that terrorists bought one way tickets. Of course, if the government/airlines no longer permit one-way tickets, the terrorists will just buy round trip.

If it's a throwaway ticket, buy a return flight to Florida, should be cheaper than NY.

AE

Has nothing to do with terrorists, it is because you are not a Citizen or Resident of the DR and you are not supposed to live here. If you have Residency or a Cedula you can fly one way with no problem.

 

[AlterEgo]

Has nothing to do with terrorists, it is because you are not a Citizen or Resident of the DR and you are not supposed to live here. If you have Residency or a Cedula you can fly one way with no problem.

If that is true, why can she fly one-way from Canada, but not from the US?

I think we had this discussion with Anastascio not long ago, he wanted to fly one-way from UK. I think he has a cedula because he works in SD. I wonder what happened in his case?

AE

 

[Uglystorm]

I think the rule applies to any foreigner from anywhere, however, I doubt the passenger will be check for a return flight when passing thru immigration. The airline has the right to ask for it before boarding, the immigration officer could also ask for it before stamping the passport, therefore there is a risk. I'd travel with my wife, who's not Dominican or has a cedula, and they have never asked.

 

[Chirimoya]

Yes it applies from Spain too, but they don't always check.

 

[CoreyH]

I just went through this with Jetblue. You buy a refundable ticket (make sure it's refundable, not just transferable) for your 'return' flight and then when you're here just cancel it. They are expensive at the outset but you can cancel them and get all of your money back. If you buy a regular ticket they charge you 100.00 to either cancel it completely or transfer it to another flight. It's a bit of a hassle but what can you do?

 

[SKY]

If that is true, why can she fly one-way from Canada, but not from the US?

I think we had this discussion with Anastascio not long ago, he wanted to fly one-way from UK. I think he has a cedula because he works in SD. I wonder what happened in his case?

AE

Maybe she can't fly one way from the US, but I do all the time. I have Dominican citizenship though.

If you have Residence or are a Dominican you can fly one way from the US or anywhere else. If you don't believe me go to AA.com and make a reservation one way to the DR.

 

[badpiece33]

Does anyone have any recent first-hand experience on one way travel to the DR? The flight will originate in the US but the fact that the passport I will be using for this trip is Canadian has no bearing .....one may not board a DR bound flight without proof of a return. This is strange as I am pretty sure this can be done without a problem out of a Canadian city.

Any suggestions/ideas.....I wont be happy camper if I am denied boarding.:ermm:


I have just been speaking with the airline and they confirmed the above.

I have flown Jet Blue 2 times this year with one way tickets from the US not a problem and I do not have a cedula nor am i a dominican. I simply buy one way because I travel throughout the country and I dont like to lock myself into one airport to depart from, so i buy a one way ticket and then purchase my return flight once i am in the country. No problem so far.

 

[tht]

It is the policy of all the airline as they could in theory, be subjected to fines for brining a foreigner to the DR who does not meet the entry requirements.
The issue that causes confusion is that enforcement of this is not consistent by the airlines..

Right, all airlines from / to anywhere in the world.

 

[CoreyH]

If you have anything proving that you live in the DR they'll let you fly one way. Jetblue will let you book a one way ticket, but then when you get to the airport they tell you that you need a return ticket. I know the op said they've done it w/o a return ticket, maybe they got lucky!

 

[anng3]

Flew back on Spirit a few days ago we had to buy a return ticket. Bought a refundable. Callled when we got here and cancelled. First time we?ve been stopped. Never happened on American or Delta before.

 

[Drro]

It'll be interesting to see what they do to me. I have a one way on Jet Blue and a one way return on American, but Jet Blue doesn't know, nor does American. And yes, it's printed out and I can show it if asked. I think it's worth it for peace of mind to have a return, unless you have a cedula, and not have to worry. On the phone Jet Blue told me I wouldn't be allowed to board without a return ticket. Why chance it?

 

[North coast newbie]

I think it is rather arrogant for the airlines to assume that they offer the only way to travel onward. You could say that you are taking a bus to Haiti to help in relief efforts. There is also a ferry to Puerto Rico not to mention cruse ships. I traveled to the DR on a oneway ticket with no problem. I returned to the US with a round trip ticket back to the DR several times without incedent but I have met people that were forced to by a return ticket. I guess that if you have the money then the best thing is to buy the fully refundable return ticket but you could always do that at the counter if you are refused boarding with your one way ticket.

 

[augustus]

If they ask, tell them you have a return ticket with another airline of your choice and if they hassle you, then purchase a refundable one........

I flew with Jet Blue 2yrs ago to Rocky's 4 th of July party one way and had a round trip ticket with usAir, but they didn't check, I just told them I had it when they asked....