On 11/07/2014 01:42 PM, Michael Richardson wrote:
If I needed a VISA to get to Hawaii (I don't... I sit at gate E80 in YVR, on
the US side of customs... easiest crossing yet I think), and it hadn't
arrived by Oct. 1, I would have had to cancel because the bump in airfare
would have been a major problem.
Do airlines give full refunds if you don't get a VISA, I doubt it.
Not at all.
I suspect that some airlines won't even book a ticket until you have a visa;
This is incorrect. No airline that I know of check that you do have a
visa when booking or buying a ticket (after all, it's in their own
interest that you bu the ticket, even if you're not going to be able to
board!)
I also
know that some countries' won't even issue a visa until you have a ticket...
IIRC, in most cases, what they require is an itinerary/reservation
rather than a ticket.
The problem here is that, as you note, you have two options:
1) Buy the ticket prior to getting the visa -- with the risk of not
getting it in time and hence wasting the ticket/money, or,
2) Wait till you get the visa before buying the ticket -- at which point
the ticket prices can be insane.
All the above sad, I should say that, as far as central/south-americans
are concerned, e.g. Europe tends to be way more friendly than North
America: I can travel anywhere in Europe (except Russia, I think)
without a visa... but need a visa for US and Canada.
Thanks,
--
Fernando Gont
e-mail: fernando(_at_)gont(_dot_)com(_dot_)ar ||
fgont(_at_)si6networks(_dot_)com
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