Expert: Roberto Gomes - 3/6/2011

Question
My mother is extremely elderly, and before long I know I will need to fly to see her- due to either serious illness or her death. It will be stressful enough and I don't mean to sound crass, but finances are an issue for me and I want to know ahead of time the most economical way to handle reservations. I wouldn't know exactly how long I'd be there, so if I flew round-trip, I would need to estimate the return date and I heard if you change a round trip ticket, there is a $100 service fee. Or I could get a 'refundable' ticket, but it costs much more and requires going through the refund process. Or, I could get a one way ticket there and back, costing much more. Which option do you think is best in this situation?  Thanks

Answer
Dear Lee,

Normally I do not answer questions involving best rates, but one thing that you'll need to have in mind is that the higher the price you paid for a ticket, the lesser restrictions you'll have.

Since due to your mother conditions my best advice to you is to shop around for one way tickets and compare those with round-trip fares and its associated day-change fees. Expedia and other related sites can help you with this.

My best Regards,
R. Gomes