Whats my chances..

Gday from downtown Oz..

Im heading off for a bit of a holiday.
Heading to India to meet up with a Dutch friend to travel India for a few months.
I will then head to Amsterdam for a few months.

I want to buy a one way ticket from India to Amsterdam as Im not too sure where in Europe I will depart to come home.
Whats my chances of getting into The Netherlands on a one way ticket??

Cheers guys.

Very good chance

The question should rather be "will the airline let me fly to Amsterdam on a one-way ticket?"

AFAIK technically speaking you are required to have a ticket out of the Schengen Area to be allowed in; immigration usually won't ask unless they suspect you may be planning to stay longer than allowed, but airlines won't take the risk of being fined and having to transport you back out of the Netherlands anyway.

When I flew to Australia on a one way ticket as I was checking in I had to buy a return ticket (I'm from the EU). This was refunded when I landed, so I didn't lose out.

I will then head to Amsterdam for a few months.

Supposing you're an Aussie passport holder: Are you aware of the fact that you only can stay 90 days in the Schengen area? Please read a little about the visa policy within the Schengen area here .

My daughter flew from Oz to Amsterdam on a one-way ticket and was asked some pointed questions by airline staff at each stage of the trip about her return plans, but never refused boarding. Not sure if it was because of the one-way ticket, her age (she was 15), or both, but you might have to be prepared for a few close inspections.

On the other hand, I've done the same journey (to Frankfurt rather than Amsterdam) with no questions at all. However, I did have an onward flight to Budapest already booked. If you're worried, perhaps you could sacrifice €50 for a flight out of the Schengen area? Whether you show up for the flight or not is up to you - as long as none of the airline staff (from India to Amsterdam) are put in a position where they have the break the rules/risk their job for you, things might go more smoothly.

^ Sorry, that was a flight to Budapest, followed by a connecting shuttle-bus to Serbia.

I should clarify my point earlier. I bought a one way ticket from Bangkok to Sydney on a UK passport. When I was checking in for the flight the check-in staff said that i could only travel if I could prove when I would leave Australia. They sold me the one-way ticket back to Bangkok and said that it was fully refundable. In the end I flew back from Auckland.

Of course coming into europe might be different, however I think the onus is on the airlines to make sure it's legal.

Immigration can demand proof of a return ticket, sufficient funds to support your stay while in NL, they may ask where you're planning to stay etc. If you can not supply any information you may well be on the next plane back.
Often it depends on the mood of the immigration officer, your looks and skincolour whether you will be picked out or not

thanks heaps guys.. very informative..

I do have to return to Oz at some stage.. I can get,
Sydney / Delhi / Amsterdam / Sydney for about $ 2300 Ozi $... but ... wait for it....if I book..

British Airways then Ive got to fly
Sydney to Singapore to London to Delhi to London to Amsterdam to London to Bangkok to Sydney...lol..

There's a few Chinese Airlines doing the run too but they make me go...
Sydney or Melbourne to China to Delhi to China to Amsterdam to China to Sydney..lol
And some fares require an intercity flight within China too...

Emirates seems to be the most central, but its still Sydney / Dubai / Delhi / Dubai / Amsterdam / Dubai / Bangkok / Sydney...

Are you tired yet ?? I am...lol

I have an interesting " round the world fare " (not round at all but thats how the agent sells it) at $2100 Ozi but it flys

Sydney to Singapore to Mumbai ( make my own way to Delhi ), Delhi to Zurich to Amsterdam to Johannesburg to Sydney... Interesting.. is only valid 6 months however, where as all the others are 12 month tickets with a $100 change your mind/dates fee on any sector.

There must be a simpler way... is there ??

Like, I can get to Delhi flying Air Asia from Oz ( one way for $600 ) easy enough, then grab an Aeroflot flight one way into Amsterdam..( I "wanted" to buy Aeroflot on the streets in Delhi ).. I dont want a return with Aeroflot back to India as I will have to have another visa, yes??

So,
Some clues on what airlines or web sites I could look at for the 50Euro flight out of the Shengen Area..

I hope all that dribble makes sense to some..
Cheers guys.

Edited by: clarkey

Edited by: clarkey

There must be a simpler way... is there ??
I haven't calculated air fares in quite some years, but let's see: farthest point from Sydney is Amsterdam, and you want to stop in India (let's say Delhi) on the way over. Assuming you'd return from Amsterdam-Sydney, it's not that complicated: you need to find a ticket SYD-AMS-SYD that allows you to make a stopover (i.e. connection of more than 24 hours, in air fare speak) in DEL on the outbound flight. Should you end up elsewhere in Europe before you return to Australia, it's fairly easy (and, as long as you book at the right time and "elsewhere" isn't in Greece or Turkey, relatively inexpensive) to take a flight, train or bus back to Amsterdam to catch your flight.
It's also worth considering paying a bit more for your ticket to make sure that the return date can be changed.

I am quite sure this will work out cheaper than two or more one-way tickets.

Some clues on what airlines or web sites I could look at for the 50Euro flight out of the Shengen Area
[www.skyscanner.net]. Or grab a Ryanair ticket from Eindhoven to e.g. Dublin, if you're lucky you won't even spend €50.

cheers mate

You're welcome, hope this works out well.

This is one of the few cases in which I would consider it worthwile to call a travel agent and ask what the cheapest option for you is (just don't believe them when they tell you you can stay 90 days in each country in Europe - most Australian travel agents have never heard of the Schengen Area (see reply 4)).

Clarkey, what time of year will you be travelling? To me, it looks like the Aeroflot hop from Delhi to Amsterdam is best (although it looks like there is a dangerously short transit time of just one hour in Moscow on the way there, so it might pay to read the fine print on how they handle delays in the first leg and what your rights/responsibilities are if you miss the connection).

Anyway, you can pick those flights up for around €270, which is pretty bargain-basement. An extra €90 will let you transit through Helsinki, but seeing as you don't need a transit visa for Russia if you are catching a direct connecting flight like that, there doesn't seem to be any advantage.

This info came from Edreams, with a November flight date.

(Aribo's right about Skyscanner, they're good. Edreams are also good, but you take a few risks trying to buy directly through them as their system can be a bit shaky. Better to use them to compare prices then book direct with the airline).

Budget airline Wizzair have the same policy as Ryanair: They don't list their prices with third parties - Skyscanner, Edreams, Kayak etc etc - so check their site directly for cheapo flights out of Eindhoven. Best bets are Sofia, Bucharest or Belgrade - awesome places to visit and not yet part of Schengen. These tickets are pretty cheap too (a March flight from Eindhoven to Bucharest is €15)

imogenzedder.... I need to depart Delhi 23 / 24 / 25 May..
I agree the 1 hour changeover is much too risky with Aeroflot..

Skyscanner has found me ..

Syd / Del / Syd with China Eastern $1022 oz$
Del / Ams / Del with Swissair $761 oz$

All sounds fair enough and cheaper than I can find anywhere..

BUT.. doing it this way ( buying two returns,, different airlines ) means I have to have another Indian Visa for my return to Delhi.. Even though theres only a 5 hour lay over in Delhi on my way home, I would have to clear customs as I would be changing carriers..
Am I thinking right here ????

With a 5-hour layover you should normally have no problems making your connection if your China Eastern flight arrives on schedule, I guess (never been to Delhi before, not sure how efficient Delhi that airport is), but keep in mind that traveling on 2 separate tickets is always potentially risky: you need to go through immigration, pick up your bags and clear customs and go to the check-in counter again, so transiting the airport will take more time than usual. If, in this case, the China Eastern flight arrives late and you miss your connection, the airline has no obligation whatsoever to put you on the next flight for free. Since it's very likely that this Swissair ticket does not allow a change of outbound flight, missing your flight to Amsterdam (via Zurich, I suppose?) means that you are basically left in Delhi with a worthless piece of paper and will have to buy a new ticket out - at a rate that's much higher than $761 return.

Thanks for the input Aribo..

FYI..

I'll be traveling India for 3 months before taking the Swissair flight to Amsterdam.
The 5 hour layover is on the return from Amsterdam to Delhi ( Swissair ) to join up with my return ( China Eastern ) Delhi to Sydney..

So, I have 5 hours in Delhi airport ( pressuming Swissair is on time ) to change to my China Eastern flight back to Sydney..

Also, Ive just been looking into transit visas for india to look after that 5 hour lay over.. It will cost me $64 for the priviledge of changing airlines.. WTF..

UNLESS..
My Indian Visa is valid for 180 days, multi entry..
If I do 90 days in India then fly over to Europe for say 80 days, can I still use my original Indian Visa ( it is a multi entry ) for my 5 hour transit ???

I realise this is the Netherlands page ( I will post same question in India page ), but you never know who's looking here..

Cheers guys.

I'm a bit confused - do you need to go back to Delhi from Europe before heading back to Sydney? Or was that just for the sake of the cheaper tickets?

If you do something like this....
March 8: SYD - DEL
May 24: DEL - AMS
Aug 16: AMS - SYD

... It will cost you a little under €1400 with China Southern Airlines. So around AU$1900.

Downside: On the SYD - DEL leg there is a 12 hour wait between planes. The rest are pretty good though, at about 3.5 hours between flights

Would that work for you?

^ Oh, all transits are at CAN (the Guangzhou airport in China)

Cheers imogenzedder..

I have spotted a fare on skyscanners involving 2 seperate return tickets..

1.. sydney / delhi / sydney via shanghai with china eastern for $1022.85
2.. delhi / amsterdam / delhi via zurich with swissair for $760.46
all up $ 1783.31
The beauty of this fare is that I dont have to backtrack through China to get to Amsterdam, and as you can see the price is very fair too.

The small hiccup Im now trying to sort out is whether my multi entry Indian visa will work for me as I will have to transit / change carriers from Swissair to China Eastern in Delhi, on my way home to Sydney. There is a 5 hour layover in Delhi airport.

FYI..
I have 12 different options in flights available to me for my trip, all around the $2k mark.
The China Southern fare involves...
sydney / guangzhou / delhi... delhi / guangzhou / beijing / amsterdam...
amsterdam / paris / guangzhou / sydney..
This is a good fare at $ 1991 but the backtrack thru China from Delhi to Amsterdam is the killer.
Also, I'm flying to Delhi to meet up with a Dutch mate comming from Amsterdam. We are trying to arrange our flights so we can,
1.. meet up in Delhi airport for the start of our 3 month tour of India.. She arrives very early in the morning, I would like to be there before her as she has never travelled India before, I have and would like to be there waiting for her.
2.. we would like to fly on to Amsterdam together after our time in Indian, or at least leave Delhi around the same time and arrive in Amsterdam around the same time, as I have never been to Amsterdam before.

Your confused, Im confused.... lol.. all good :)

India was never easy..lol

Almost any NW European airport will do - most have cheap connections by budget airline or train to Amsterdam. Look at London, Paris & Frankfurt to see if it could be cheaper.
Check out easyjet and transavia