Helpful articles on onward travel proof, temporary reservations and airline document checks.
The traveller had a ticket to Bogotá but no firm date for leaving Colombia. Online check-in didn't work. At the airport counter, the airline wanted to see an onward flight. The traveller stepped out of the queue, bought a refundable fare to Miami, showed the booking and received a boarding pass.
Read the articleRecently published guidance for real document checks, route decisions and reservation questions.
Flying in with one airline and out with another? See how separate onward reservations work and which flight details to have ready at check-in.
Flying out at 00:35? Learn which date belongs on your onward itinerary, what +1 means and how to read connecting flight times.
Booking separate flights through Bangkok? Learn how self-transfers work, when to collect your luggage, and what to check at BKK and DMK airports.
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Starting prices, reservation validity and activation compared by provider.
Turn an eight-hour Changi layover into a relaxed Singapore stop with Jewel, the Free Singapore Tour, one city neighborhood or an easy airport stay.
A practical guide to arranging an onward ticket at the airport, choosing the right route and presenting a clear itinerary with a verifiable PNR.
Learn what an airline is establishing before boarding, how Timatic supports the review and how to organize passports, visas and onward travel evidence.
British Airways has a genuine way to hold selected flights without paying the full airfare immediately. Its “Hold your flight price” option can keep an eligible itinerary and fare available for up to 72 hours in exchange for a per-person deposit. That sounds ideal when you need a flight reservation for a visa application, but the useful details are in the conditions: not every departure country qualifies, the hold is normally available only well ahead of travel, and the document you receive is a booking hold rather than a promise that a visa office will accept it. Here is how to decide whether it fits your application before you spend money.
Your passport is in your hand, your bag is on the scale, and the airline asks to see the flight you're taking out of your destination. You have the confirmation. The problem is that it's buried in an email thread, and the airport Wi-Fi has just decided to stop cooperating.
If you plan to buy a particular flight, an airline fare hold can be a smart way to protect that option while you decide. If you need a real, short-lived flight reservation with a booking reference but have not chosen the flight you will eventually take, a temporary reservation service solves a different problem. The difference is not the design of the confirmation email. It is what the booking is meant to accomplish, how long it stays available, and whether the provider expects you to pay the full airfare later.
