Hello! Today I’ll tell you how to book a plane ticket without paying. When might this be needed?

— For example, to obtain a visa. In the list of documents for Schengen countries there is an item: air tickets. When we applied for a visa to China in Hanoi, we also booked air tickets without payment.

Enter the place of departure and destination. Just for example, we are flying from our native Omsk to Bangkok, there on February 28, back on March 14. Click "Find".

2. A list of all available options is shown. Don’t look at the price, you won’t have to pay anything anyway. It is important to choose a reputable airline; they usually give you the opportunity to defer payment for a certain period of time. It could be Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, or you can google the airline you need.

3. We select the desired flight and then go to the ordering page. You must enter your email, first name, last name, date of birth, document number, citizenship and passport expiration date. Leave your phone number below and put a little cap in the “I agree” column.

4. It is suggested to take out insurance, it is not needed, uncheck the box and click “Place an order”.

5 . Ready! We now have a six-digit reservation code (PNR) at our disposal. In total, we have a little more than 3 days. There is no need to pay anything!

6. We go to the website and enter the six-digit PNR code and last name into the fields. As you can see, the reservation has been confirmed, which is written in green.

7 . Click on the “Print” button, and a page will appear on which the inscription “Confirmed” proudly displays. Feel free to print it out and take it to the consulate if required.

8 . In addition, a reminder is also sent by email. It is indicated that the airline may unilaterally shorten the payment period for the order. Therefore, I recommend making an unpaid air ticket reservation as early as possible, and not on the eve of going to the consulate, for example.

The reservation will then be canceled automatically, or you can cancel it manually. Thus, you don’t even show your bank card details, while you still have an unpaid reservation in your hands - beauty!

A little more about how this whole system works. The fact is that all bookings go through global distribution systems. The main ones are Amadeus, Galileo, Saber. All airline cashiers must know them like the back of their hand. The Agent.ru website works through Amadeus.

— used to check reservations in the Amadeus system.
— to check reservations in the Galileo system.
— to check reservations in the Saber system.

What to do if the reservation does not go through?

• If your reservation is not detected through checkmytrip, then try to find your reservation through the other two sites.
• It happens that the system is simply stupid or has crashed, in which case you will have to repeat everything again.
• I read that some people receive a 5-digit code, not a 6-digit code. In this case, it is recommended to go to the website of the airline whose tickets you booked and check your reservation there.
• Ours was simply canceled the next day, although it was indicated, as in the example, about 3 days. Try again, or choose a different airline when booking.

For us, this method, together with an unpaid hotel reservation from booking, worked quite well in (Vietnam) - they gave us a visa, though only for two weeks, although the reservations were for a month. This once again suggests that no one can give a 100% guarantee of success. After all, ultimately the visa is issued by the consul, and this is a living person.

For Schengen, you need to keep your reservation for at least 7 days, so it is more likely that when checked at the consulate, your tickets will be blocked in the reservation systems.

Good luck with your visits to consulates and memorable travels, friends!

Today, airplanes are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transport. In this regard, more convenient ways to order tickets are relevant. Booking air tickets online without payment on the Aeroflot website is quite simple.

This method is very convenient for the following reasons:

• the whole process takes a few minutes, you can book without leaving your home;
• when booking a ticket, you can choose the most convenient seats;
• Before the flight, all you have to do is print out your boarding pass.

The transition to electronic tickets is explained by the frantic rhythm of modern life, when there is practically no free time. Now this method is available to absolutely everyone, and below are step-by-step instructions for registering online.

Booking tickets on the Aeroflot website

Book tickets online

You can book Aeroflot air tickets online without payment on the official website. To do this, follow a few simple steps:

1. Go to the air carrier portal aeroflot.ru. The site has a very user-friendly interface that is understandable even to a user who does not have Internet skills.
2. Next, you need to select the “Online Services” tab. Here you will be offered many additional options, among which you need to select the first item in the list “Online registration”.
3. By going to on-line check-in, everyone can familiarize themselves with the ordering rules, see an example of a boarding pass and find out answers to frequently asked questions. After reading all the information, you need to check the box confirming that you have read Aeroflot’s rules for booking plane tickets without payment, and click the “Continue” button.

After completing these simple 3 steps, the user proceeds directly to booking air tickets.

Book tickets on the official website of Aeroflot

How to book a ticket

Here the user has to enter data in four tabs.

1. Reservation code. Here you need to indicate in the fields provided for filling out the reservation code, ticket number, loyalty program number and the last name of the person flying in Latin letters. This section provides information about substances and items prohibited for transportation. As well as the reasons for refusal of registration. It is recommended that you read the rules before moving on to the next section.
2. Then you should select passengers. Here the entered data is checked and the registration of people who will fly on this flight is carried out. If you have a card confirming that a person is a regular customer, you should enter its number.
3. Then all you have to do is choose your preferred seats. To do this, use the “Select location” button in the upper corner of the screen. The procedure is carried out for each passenger separately.

The final step is to print the tickets, but this can be done not only at home, but upon arrival at the airport at a special kiosk. Having learned how easy it is to order air tickets online on the Aeroflot portal, you should think about payment.

Book plane tickets without payment

You can pay for an Aeroflot air ticket directly on the website through Internet Banking. To do this, you must log in, authorize, confirm the correctness of data entry and make a payment (if necessary, you can make an additional payment).

For reference! You can pay by contacting the air carrier’s contact center. You can use this service if you have a bank card, information about its validity period and a verification code, which is located on the back.

If all the data is in hand, you can proceed to payment by following these steps:

• dial the toll-free number 8-800-444-55-55 and listen to the answering machine information;
• enter the card number through which the payment will be made and press “pound”;
• Next, enter 2 digits of the month in which the bank card will expire. Then you need to press “Phone” again;
• the next step is to enter 2 digits for the expiration date of the card, again “hash”;
• Next you will need to enter the CVV code, which can be found on the back of the card;
• Then the voice answering machine will carry out all the data that was entered. If the input is correct, you need to press one;
• payment has been made. You will receive confirmation of the operation and information about the upcoming flight by email.

Important! Please note that the price of the boarding pass is not calculated on the day of booking, but directly upon payment. This must be done 6 hours before planting. You can return or exchange your ticket using the services of the contact center. These operations are carried out according to established rules.

This is all the information you need to know about how to book a ticket on the Aeroflot website. There is also the possibility of ordering without payment.

Reservation period without payment

You can book your boarding pass one day before your flight. This opportunity closes 45 minutes before boarding. In special cases, the company advises contacting a support operator who will help you book an air ticket online without paying. The Russian airline Aeroflot always meets its customers halfway. Thus, it is possible to extend the order period by one week when contacting the call center, but the service does not apply to promotional rates.

Reservation validity period

The following additional information will help you avoid many problems and inconveniences:

• You can buy an electronic ticket only for those passengers who can move independently. People with disabilities who require additional assistance from staff are not permitted to order this type of ticket.
• You cannot register online if you plan to travel with animals.
• Tickets can be booked not only on the official website, but also on third-party portals with a registration system provided by the Aeroflot airline.
• Many people neglect to read the online registration rules. It’s better to spend 5 minutes reading them than to prove your case to the employees during boarding for an hour. This is especially true for items related to baggage transportation.
• You should not start registration on outdated browsers. It is better to use the latest version of Chrome or Opera, which definitely support HTML 5.
• If problems arise, do not neglect online help. The staff promptly resolves all problems.
• Very often, data from Aeroflot sent by email is placed in the Spam folder. It should be checked.

Thus, all the nuances of the Aeroflot portal, how to book a plane ticket without payment, have been considered. It is better to write down the reservation code and personal data somewhere so as not to lose it. It is also important not to forget your passport, birth certificate and other necessary documents. This data will be needed when the passenger goes through passport control. Knowing how to buy a plane ticket online for Aeroflot, you can save a lot of time and money.

In the age of advanced communications, when many purchases are made via the Internet, the question arises: is it possible to purchase a real airline ticket without leaving home without paying a penny for it?

The answer in most cases, oddly enough, is positive. Why is there a need to book air tickets online without paying?

What motivates you to look for free ways to buy an air ticket?

If a person wants to buy a plane ticket, but does not plan to pay for it, there are usually good reasons for this:

1. The airline offers a good discount, but, as luck would have it, there was no card at hand for payment. If you have a card, then perhaps there are no funds on it at the moment or there are not enough funds.
2. No visa fee. According to the rules, to submit documents to the visa center, you must provide round-trip air tickets. However, there is no 100% guarantee of obtaining visa approval; the money spent on tickets may be lost.
3. A trip abroad is planned, but the exact date of return has not been chosen, because if you like it, there is an opportunity to stay.
4. When traveling there is a need to cross the borders of several states. The rules of some of them require the presentation of a return air ticket or a ticket to another country. But a reservation for such tickets is enough. Even if you plan to return by other means of transport, an air ticket is still required.

What to do in all such cases? There is a solution: book tickets with deferred payment.

How to fill out the reservation form?

To correctly complete the procedure for booking an e-ticket, you need to go to the appropriate website, register, select the destination (country, city) and departure, determine the date of arrival and return (if planned).

Next, the airline is selected. You should not pay special attention to the cost of the ticket, since in principle payment is not expected. Then a form is filled out, where data on the passenger and his companions is entered.

After entering the required information, you need to go to the payment point. Then the site will issue a reservation number, and a special counter will appear that takes into account the reservation time and notifies about the end of this period.

How to make an unpaid purchase of an Airbus ticket

Of course, there are travel agencies and airlines that do not agree with free bookings. There are those that allow you to postpone payment only for an hour or no more than a day. This will not save you if you cannot yet collect the full amount for payment or if there is no money at all at the moment.

Companies that provide reservations for more than one day prefer to keep it for up to 2 - 4 days. Much less often, up to 7 and 10 days. Moreover, it is worth paying attention to the fact that in each specific case the period can be negotiated separately. And also do not lose sight of the fact that reservations are provided up to a certain time, and not inclusive!

Duration of e-ticket booking period for popular airlines:

Airline	Deadline BEFORE
KLM	24 hours
AlItalia	24 hours
SAS	2 days
Aeroflot	2 days
AirBaltic	3 days
AirBerlin	4 days
AirFrance	4 days
EuropeAir	7 days
UIA	10 days
Turkish Airlines	10 days
Lufthansa	10 days
Qatar	10 days

Preliminary preparation for reservation

In order not to lose money, time and nerves, and to get the result for which the booking was actually started, you need to assess the situation:

• When planning to carry out the procedure for obtaining a reservation, it is worth analyzing which air carriers offer a longer retention period.
• Calculate the time that affects the duration of maintaining the reservation, the maximum required for paperwork.
• Take into account the conditions for unilateral cancellation of reservations when demand increases.
• Clarify sanctions for refusal to pay for a reserved seat for a customer.

Recommendations for purchasing an air ticket with deferred payment

Free options

There are several ways to book air tickets without paying:

First: using airline websites. Airlines allow you to make a reservation and then transfer funds over periods of varying lengths. However, there is a nuance here: they can independently shorten the period for confirming a reservation by payment.

Usually a notification about this is sent to an email address or phone number, and therefore it is mandatory to indicate real contact contacts when booking. A printed booked ticket usually contains information that the reservation has not yet been paid, however, this circumstance does not interfere with visa processing.

It is important to familiarize yourself with the terms of deferred payment in advance. There are airlines that charge pennies and fines for bookings not paid within the specified period and for cancellations. For example, Lufthansa issues an invoice if a ticket has been booked, the reservation period is still valid, but it is no longer necessary and for this reason you have to cancel it.

The second way to book a plane ticket without paying involves doing it on the resources of those agencies that sell air seats. This is the most popular option. It is beneficial in that agencies can make it possible to book a ticket without paying even with those air carriers that do not provide such a service themselves. The most common solution is to decide on a suitable flight on the website agent.ru.

This is practically an online tourism agency that searches for air tickets based on a given request, without redirecting to airline websites. The nuance is that the reservation in this case is secured by the site itself, charging a commission depending on the cost of the ticket. Therefore, the price of a ticket purchased there will be higher, and you will not be able to save money.

But, if you don’t need the ticket itself, but only the fact of booking it, then this agency is the most suitable. From 3 to 10 days, depending on the airline's capabilities, this service allows you to maintain your reservation while it is necessary to complete administrative procedures. The booking period is closely related to the expected start date of the trip. Therefore, the closer it is, the shorter the reservation period.

Searching a few months before your trip will give you more options for booking length. Once the period expires, the reservation becomes inactive. It is recommended to cancel it when it is no longer needed, independently before the expiration of the term, in order to avoid the accrual of fines, etc.

The third method of booking air tickets without payment is suitable for those who have to some extent mastered the skill of reading English. The English-language resource gomosafer.com helps make booking air tickets without payment very simple:

• Searching and finding the departure direction.
• Reservation of a place.
• Confirmation by pressing the on hold button where payment is required.
• Completing the booking process.
• Ticket printing.
• Receiving a status confirming the reservation.

It is difficult to say exactly how long a reservation remains active. The experience of travelers confirms that such a reservation allows you to calmly go through all customs bureaucratic procedures.

Options with minimal investment

This recommendation on how to book air tickets is suitable if you still have a small amount in your account. Here you need to deposit three hundred rubles. A ticket to the desired destination is booked on the website euroavia.ru. When the booking form is completed, at the end, when choosing payment, it is noted that a booking confirmation is needed only for obtaining a visa. It is for this visa reservation support that you need to pay a fee. The reservation will be active within a week.

Despite the fact that this method involves depositing money, it has an advantage over free options. In this case, the reservation is guaranteed to be kept for a week. But the previous versions do not provide such a guarantee. Even if a pre-booking is made for a period of up to 10 days, the airline can unilaterally cancel an unpaid reservation and sell a ticket, citing high seasonal demand or the approaching day of departure.

The next option is for the case when it is absolutely necessary to have a long-term reservation. Here you will not be able to book the required air tickets online without paying, since we are talking about purchasing a ticket with the possibility of a refund after completing the necessary formalities. Airlines do not always provide the opportunity to return a ticket without losing money.

A minimum service fee is charged. The more expensive the ticket sales rate, the higher the fee. When a refund can be made in advance, there is a possibility of an almost 100% refund of the ticket price paid. The closer the departure date, the fewer such opportunities. Some companies immediately stipulate the conditions under which it is impossible to return a purchased ticket.

Most often these are economy class tickets. There are intermediary sites (for example, OneTwoTrip.com) that help compensate up to 90% of the cost of a ticket if you cancel it, even where a refund after purchasing a seat is almost impossible.

Another way to book a ticket without paying is to initially reserve the purchase of a seat with a reservation for a minimum period, indicating that payment will be made electronically. You won’t have to spend a large amount, because by checking the meter for the end of the payment period, you just need to buy an extension of your reservation on time for a purely symbolic amount. This can be done on sites where such a service is additionally provided.

Another way: if you have money, but it’s not enough to redeem your reservation, you can use a long-term reservation with a travel agency. This will cost a much smaller amount than the cost of the ticket.

One recommendation is to buy the cheapest air ticket. If your visa is refused, you don’t have the money to pay for insurance against visa refusal, or you simply can’t use it, you don’t have to fly anywhere and throw away your ticket. For European flights, low-cost companies often offer tickets with an affordable price of a few euros; losing such an amount is not too critical.

A creative version of how to book an air ticket without paying is to contact friends living in the area of ​​the planned departure to make a long-term reservation. You can pay them upon arrival by purchasing a ticket or giving them a desired souvenir that you brought for them.

Booking confirmation

If the reservation was needed for a visa center and it requires confirmation, then a paper copy of the documents is provided by the following reconciliation services: www.myairlines.ru, www.viewtrip.com, www.virtuallythere.com, www.checkmytrip.com.

The algorithm for obtaining documents is as follows:

1. Book air tickets on the resource online without paying.
2. Go to the verification service website.
3. Enter the 6-digit code (PNR), after booking it will be sent to your email address.
4. Fill out the form with the Latin surname of the person who is going to fly.

As soon as your reservation status is confirmed, you can safely make a printout. It puts a mark confirming the reservation. If there is a need to check for its activity, this can be done on the websites: checkmytrip.com, virtuallythere.com, myairlines.ru, viewtrip.com, entering the reservation, order, payment number and the customer’s last name or by email address, mobile number and etc.

As for the websites of airlines whose tickets are booked, there may not be such information about the availability of reservations. Instead, it is usually written that the ticket reservation is at the registration stage or something similar.

Video: how to book air tickets without paying?

What to do when it is impossible to track your reservation?

If for some reason the reservation is not activated or is not detected, for example, on the website www.checkmytrip.com, then you can try to make it on other resources. Any system can “freeze,” that is, fail. Don't despair, you need to try again.

Sometimes it comes instead of a 6-digit code - a 5-digit code (PNR). Then you should check your reservation on the website of the air carrier where the seats were reserved. If all else fails, it is better to duplicate your reservation with another airline.

You should contact ticket offices or sales agencies only as a last resort, since buying a plane ticket via the Internet yourself is much more convenient and profitable.

The secret is that ticket offices are ordinary intermediaries. These companies obtain information about flights and prices from the Internet, but charge a commission for a couple of minutes of attention spent on the buyer. Anyone can find a great option if they spend a little time researching flights and prices - they are easy to find and compare using aggregator search engines.

Those who do this for the first time have many questions: what is an air ticket reservation for and how to book an air ticket correctly, is it possible to buy tickets cheaply via the Internet using a reservation, how to receive and where can you pick up an order, how to register an electronic ticket - we will try to answer everything straightaway.

How to book a plane ticket online

There are two ways: buy it directly on the airline’s website, or use the services of a booking site, for example Avia.tutu, OneTwoTrip, Ozon.Travel, AnywayAnyday, Sindbad.

Buying directly will not always be cheaper: online ticket offices often offer a more profitable option.

Take note: both booking sites and cash desks, where the buyer must appear in person, are intermediaries. However, purchasing an electronic ticket on the website is much more profitable. At a regular ticket office, the future passenger always pays a commission.

A Visa or MasterCard bank card is best for payment. You can pay with them on the website of any company. Many accept Mir and Maestro cards, Yandex.Money and Qiwi.Wallet electronic wallets for payment.

You can often use the WebMoney electronic wallet. Payment by bank transfer is available, but this is not the best option: the bank charges a commission.

How to buy air tickets online - detailed instructions

Let's look at each step in detail.

Where to begin

So, let's figure out how to buy cheap plane tickets online.

The first step to purchasing an inexpensive ticket for a convenient flight is to type four words in the search bar: “buy a plane ticket.” The search engine will return many results.

First of all, you need to pay attention to aggregator search engines, for example: Yandex.Air tickets, Momondo, Skyscanner, Aviasales.

What are the benefits of search engines?

They have obvious advantages:

1. They are a great time saver: they immediately show you the best deals. There are a great variety of airlines and ticket booking sites. An unprepared person will need a fair amount of time to figure out the issue without the help of a search engine.
2. They offer all flights from point A to point B. By visiting the website of at least one search engine, you can find out which carriers’ planes fly to the desired city/airport.
3. Using the above search engines, you don’t have to be afraid of falling into the trap of a fraudulent site.
4. Shows prices of all airlines and booking sites selling tickets for a specific date to a specific city/airport.
5. The lowest price is shown first and highlighted in bright font. Sometimes the cheapest option is offered by the airline itself.

Example of booking and paying for a ticket

Here is one option for finding a cheap ticket from the Russian capital to the Northern capital:

1. The search engine aggregator Yandex.Air tickets received a request for the route Moscow - St. Petersburg on 03/01/2018.
2. The cheapest and most convenient flight is operated by Aeroflot.
3. The lowest price at the time of search was offered by the air carrier itself.

Note: This is where the search engine's mission ends. You can purchase a ticket on the booking website or directly from the airline. Just click on the “buy” or “book” button, and Yandex.Air tickets will redirect you to the Aeroflot website.

Checking route data

To issue and buy air tickets online, you need to enter all the data correctly. How to do it?

The flight parameters are visible in the window that opens:

• departure/arrival airports;
• departure/arrival time (local is always indicated);
• travel time;
• aircraft model (this is approximate information, the airline may put another aircraft on the flight);
• transfers (or direct flight);
• tariff (in the above example: economy budget);
• baggage limit (in this case 23 kg);
• ticket price.

If you are satisfied with all the flight parameters, you can go to the booking page and enter passenger information.

It is worth noting: Many companies and booking sites automatically add some surcharges to the indicated cost: for example, baggage insurance. If you do not carefully read the booking form and do not disable unnecessary services, you will have to pay an inflated amount.

Passenger details and booking

How to enter your data:

1. Aeroflot obliges to enter the passenger's first and last name in Latin letters, even for Russian citizens on domestic flights. You must indicate your citizenship and passport number, date of birth and gender. Many foreign carriers do not require such detailed information: on their websites it is enough to indicate the passenger’s first, last name and passport number.
2. You can order special services: for example, a wheelchair.
3. Then you need to enter your contact information: phone number and email.
4. Next step: you need to familiarize yourself with the rules of booking, payment for air transportation, and baggage transportation. Without confirmation of agreement with these rules, it is impossible to book a ticket.
5. After correctly filling out the booking form, the payment page will load.

How to pay for an air ticket online

You need to buy a ticket within a certain period; with Aeroflot it lasts 30 minutes. If the money is not transferred, the reservation is cancelled.

The form of payment is more or less the same on all booking sites: you need to enter the name of the card holder, its number and expiration date.

If the banking transaction is successful (usually there are no problems), the buyer is sent an email confirming payment and an electronic ticket. After you have purchased an Aeroflot plane ticket via the Internet, you can print it on a printer directly from the website or from a file attached to the letter.

Many airlines offer to choose a seat online immediately after payment. And for some, this is only possible during check-in for the flight, which begins on the website 24 hours before departure.

Please note: Now it is not necessary to have a printout of the ticket with you, since all the passenger data is already in the airport check-in system. But it’s not difficult to print out a sheet or two, just in case.

Rules for purchasing air tickets online

So, in order not to fall for the bait of fraudulent sites, choose the most advantageous offers and not get confused, follow these recommendations:

1. It is advisable to view offers in different search engines. They wouldn't exist if it weren't for the constant price fluctuations. This is especially true for foreign airlines and long, expensive flights. In the latter case, the exchange rate will also play a role.
2. It is better for an inexperienced person not to buy a ticket at the first reasonable price that comes along. You need to observe the change in value for some time: of course, if possible.
3. It’s a good idea to subscribe to the mailing list of offers from your favorite airline if your expected travel time is not limited to specific dates. Many of them regularly hold sales at reasonable prices.
4. There is no need to purchase a separate ticket for each passenger. You can enter the details of several people (up to four) on the booking form.
5. You can get a refund for a ticket only if it was purchased at a refundable rate.

How to save money when purchasing - some secrets

The solution to the savings issue can be implemented as follows:

1. You can purchase a ticket at a favorable price no later than two months before departure.
2. You need to choose the “right” departure time. Lowest prices on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. The low tourist season also reduces the cost significantly. Night flights are always cheaper.
3. Now that you know how to buy a plane ticket online, remember that low-cost airlines have the best prices. There is only one such company in Russia - Pobeda. Famous foreign ones: Ryanair, AirAsia. But a truly symbolic amount can only be spent if you purchase a ticket 3-4 months before departure. You need to constantly monitor the offers of these companies.

Now you know how to book a plane ticket online. Doing this is no more difficult than buying something in an online store. A little attention, a calm attitude towards the continuous fluctuation of prices, the presence of a sufficient amount on a bank card - and the desired ticket at an affordable price will definitely be purchased.

Watch the video that explains in detail how to buy a plane ticket online:

Some tourists have a question: is it possible to book tickets without paying for a visa? After all, when applying for a visa to the Schengen countries, the list of documents contains the item air tickets. The problem is completely solvable. You can not buy air tickets, but book them for a certain period of time, during which you will receive a response from the embassy on the grant (or refusal) of a visa. This method helps to avoid financial losses, since even a fully submitted package of required documents does not guarantee that a visa will be provided, and many airlines are not ready to refund the cost of an expensive ticket.

It is important to choose an airline with favorable conditions; some of them provide the opportunity to book a ticket without payment for 7 days, during which the consulate will probably have time to check the documentation and give a response to the visa applicant.

Booking air tickets without paying for a visa via the Internet, if you have already selected an air carrier, will not take much time and effort. You can make a reservation using different options: on the airline’s website, online – purchasing and purchasing tickets at the airport.

The presence of air tickets in both directions of the trip in the package of papers for the consulate is a guarantee that the tourist intends to leave the country of interest to him, and also that his plans do not include becoming an illegal migrant. Consulates will require round-trip air tickets from the Schengen visa applicant (except France). Due to the absurdity of the current situation, some Schengen countries have abolished the requirement to provide airline ticket reservations. At first, it was possible to obtain a Schengen visa without paying for tickets when traveling to Greece, and at the beginning of 2017, France joined it.

Many tourists are afraid to book tickets in advance, as there is a possibility that a visa may be denied. Some consulates allow unpaid ticket reservations to be submitted. There are practically no services that would allow you to book a ticket and keep the reservation unpaid, for example, for more than a week. On airline websites you can keep a reservation for up to a day, and for a small surcharge you can extend the reservation up to three days. However, this is clearly not enough, since it can take much more than three days from submitting documents to their consideration.

After this time, the consulate will decide to check the expired reservation, and, having discovered that it is invalid, they may refuse a visa, because it is impossible to prove that the reservation was valid at the time of submitting the documents.

There are specific ways to obtain air ticket reservations without paying for a visa. These include unpaid Aeroflot reservations, holding ticket reservations on the airline’s website for 2-3 days (or more, it’s different for everyone) and finally, purchasing a return ticket and canceling it after receiving a visa (financial losses are possible).

Risk of failure

According to the European Union visa code, to assess the intention to leave the Schengen countries, it is sufficient to provide a return ticket, a round trip ticket or a reservation for such tickets. Booking does not imply payment for a ticket. The validity period of your airline ticket reservation is not enough to get your visa in time.

For example, the Consulate General of Spain in Moscow makes a decision on granting a visa within 10 days. When the applicant provides a complete package of documents that satisfies the requirements of the Consulate, the decision-making period may be five working days.

The air ticket reservation must be valid for the entire period of consideration of the package of documents. Proof of airfare payment is not required when applying for a visa.

When submitting documents to the Italian visa center, you must present both paid air tickets (originals and photocopies) and confirmation of their reservation.

To find out whether a reservation is available, a visa center employee can use the online system or call a specific airline. But if there are a large number of applications, such requests are generally not carried out. According to numerous reviews from tourists, there have been no cases of visa refusal to Schengen countries due to lost reservations.

Ticket purchase and return

This method is the most reliable, but requires high costs. The ticket can be returned after receiving a visa. Sometimes it is possible to return the full cost of the ticket.

According to Article 108 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, the passenger receives 100% of the paid carriage charge, with the exception of the actual expenses incurred by the carrier. In case the return is made less than a day before the flight, a penalty of up to 25% will be charged. After the passage of the non-refundable ticket law in 2014, airlines can sell up to 30% of tickets without the possibility of a refund.

However, these rules do not apply to foreign companies. It is recommended that you review refund penalties before purchasing tickets. In most cases, cheap air tickets cannot be returned, but business class tickets can. So, if you buy expensive, you have the opportunity to get your money back if your visa is refused.

If you decide to buy a return ticket, it is better to pay in cash, since the money will be transferred to the card over a longer period. To guarantee, it is advisable to purchase non-travel insurance, which will be valid in the event of a visa refusal. You can get insurance from the airline so that it works without a package tour.

On some sites, for a commission (9%), you can get back up to 90% of the ticket price. The non-refundable portion of the money remains in the service’s savings account for further purchases.

Some airlines provide a full refund if a visa is refused.

Booking air tickets without payment

When booking tickets without payment and further provision of documents to the embassy, ​​all responsibility lies with the applicant. There is no 100% guarantee that the reservation will be kept.

One-day flights can be booked online without paying for a visa at the official office of the air carrier or by bank transfer.

It is important to know that a reservation for 7 or 10 days is suitable for the consulate (it does not make sense to take it per day). This is the necessary time during which the package of submitted documents will be considered.

You can make a reservation in two ways:

• On the airline's website. Some airlines allow you to book flights without paying. Such companies can provide from 2 to 10 days. For each airline, the deferred payment period depends on the fare and the specific destination. In general, an air ticket booked long before departure has a longer validity period than tickets booked closer to departure.
• In an online agency. At an air ticket sales agency, you can book air tickets without payment for different periods. The tourist books a ticket, and then checks that it appears as paid in special services. If necessary, the reservation can be printed and presented to the consulate.

A reminder may be sent by email indicating the airline’s intentions to unilaterally shorten the payment period for the order. To avoid such a situation, experienced tourists make an unpaid air ticket reservation as early as possible.

Choosing a portal for booking air tickets is very important:

• OneTwoTrip— provides the opportunity to extend your reservation for 7 days for 200 rubles;
• Agent.ru– you need to register on the website, after which you can use the services of airlines that hold the order for up to 10 days;
• Anywayanyday– The site requires registration, only recommended buyers can use privileges here. When choosing a cash payment method, you can extend your reservation up to 7 days;
• AirFrance— The portal provides the service Time to Think. The cost of the service is about 15 euros. Reservations are held for up to 7 days. Infants and first class passengers receive the service free of charge.

How to check an air ticket in the booking system

Bookings are processed through global distribution systems. The main ones are Amadeus, Galileo, Sarbre. All ticket offices should know them.

• Checkmytrip.сom – used to check reservations in the Amadeus system.
• Viewtrip.com – used to check reservations in the Galileo system.
• Virtuaiiythere.com – used to check reservations in the Sarbre system.

What to do if the reservation does not go through?

In the event that a ticket reservation is not determined through Checkmytrip.com, you need to try to find a reservation through other sites. Sometimes a reservation is not processed due to a system failure. In this case, you should repeat the operation again.

Some tourists say they receive a 5-digit code instead of a 6-digit code. In this case, you need to go to the website of the airline where the tickets were booked and check the reservation there.

Confirmation of another mode of transport

You can submit documents to the consulate about the use of other means of transport (except for an airplane):

1. When traveling by car to the embassy, ​​you are provided with a free-form itinerary sheet (describing the travel plan for each date with hotels and cities), a vehicle registration certificate, Green Card insurance, and a driver’s license. You can attach your ferry ticket reservation.
2. Railway transport. Russian Railways refunds the full cost of a ticket for trains in the neighboring countries.
3. Combined option. A tourist can purchase a train ticket to a specific country, then continue traveling by plane to the final country. The train ticket is returned, the plane ticket is either expired, or reissued for a convenient date and direction.

What airlines say

Popular air carriers answer questions about the possibility of booking a ticket to obtain a visa without payment, the maximum booking period and the fee for returning a ticket as follows.

S7 Airlines

Does not provide reservations without payment lasting 10 days.

Offers:

• issue an air ticket using the Standard fare plan, which will allow you to issue a refund without deductions.
• purchase a ticket with additional Travel insurance, which covers the event of visa refusal.

This insurance policy is suitable for individual travel.

KLM

In case of visa refusal, the company fully refunds the cost of the ticket, subject to certain conditions:

• if the ticket was purchased at a KLM office or on the KLM.com website, or through the service on FB.
• if the country of destination of the ticket and the country to whose consulate the visa application was submitted are the same.
• in the case when the passenger provides a document confirming the visa refusal.
• if the tickets have not yet been used.

If a tourist purchases a ticket before obtaining a visa, he must ensure that the fare rules allow for changes. This information is available on the ticket search page - after round trip flights have been selected.

The company can create a reservation for a tourist, but it will be active for 3 days.

After receiving the visa, the applicant can buy any suitable tickets, since the reservation will already be cancelled.

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UTAIR

The company makes it possible to book tickets at any agency at an economy class fare, which has the longest lead time for issuing tickets. After your visa has been confirmed, you can buy tickets on the company’s website at the lowest available rate. Agency fees are not deducted.

If a ticket is returned due to a visa refusal, the refund is not considered forced. When purchasing a non-refundable ticket, the entire amount paid for the ticket is not refunded.

Aeroflot

On this issue, contact the Call Center operators and inform them that a reservation for the embassy is required.

Upon request, the Aeroflot Call Center can increase the visa reservation period from 2 to 7 days. Excludes promotional rates or if there are less than 7 days left before departure. You can also get a stamped reservation at the company’s office or ticket office.

The Aeroflot airline reservation system is based on a software product developed by the air carrier. You can book and pay for an air ticket online no later than 6 hours before the flight departure. .

The foreign passport data is entered as written in the foreign passport.

Booking tickets without paying for a visa is a convenient and proven method. It is important to choose the right airline, which will provide the opportunity to smoothly organize further visa processing upon receipt of a positive response to the request.