Purchasing air tickets online usually involves paying for your reservation at the time of order. This option is perfect for travelers who are firmly confident in the possibility of making a trip. But what if it is impossible to predict the exact date and time of the flight? We will tell you how to book plane tickets without paying online using ticket services and airline websites.

In what cases may it be necessary to book tickets without payment?

Most often, booking air tickets online without payment is required when submitting documents to the visa center. Most countries that are members of the Schengen Agreement make the presentation of air tickets one of the mandatory conditions for obtaining a visa. At the same time, the consulates reserve the right to refuse a Russian citizen a visa even if all documents are filled out correctly and provided in full.

The reasons for refusal may be different, but in any case the applicant risks losing a lot of money spent on purchasing air tickets. Thus, booking plane tickets without payment is a fairly reliable insurance in case of an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a visa.

Practice shows that consulates never contact airlines to confirm bookings. Therefore, you just need to present printouts of air tickets issued for the required dates. Some applicants successfully obtain visas even using old printouts with edited dates. Of course, we do not advise you to do this: falsifying documents is a crime. It is much wiser to book tickets without payment using special services or airline websites.

In addition, ordering tickets without payment can be useful if you do not have a bank card with a sufficient amount in your account.

Can I book and print air tickets online without paying on the airline's website?

The problem is that most airlines do not allow you to book a ticket without making a payment. For example, it is impossible to book air tickets online without paying for an Aeroflot flight using the carrier’s official website: you simply will not receive the coveted printout.

The list of airlines that provide the opportunity to purchase tickets without payment is quite modest:

• German Lufthansa can hold your reservation for up to 2 days.
• The American company United Airlines provides deferred payment for up to 7 days.
• The airline with the self-explanatory name Korean Air is particularly generous: you can defer payment for your order for 10 days.
• Air France and some other European companies offer a paid deferred payment service for up to two days.

Despite the fact that the option of booking a ticket through an airline seems to be the most logical and safe, it imposes certain restrictions.

The main disadvantage is that the resulting printout will contain an indication that the ticket has been booked, but not paid for. For some consulates, this note will be another reason to doubt the applicant’s intentions. This problem can be solved using special systems that search for tickets in airline databases.

How to get a paper printout of a ticket ordered on the airline's website

The list of services that allow you to print a paper version of your travel document has remained unchanged for several years:

In order to receive a paper printout, you must enter the passenger's last name and the 6-digit number sent by the airline when issuing the ticket on one of these sites. The sites work with different databases, one of which will definitely contain information about your booking.

What else do you need to know about booking tickets through airline websites?

Deferred payment in many airlines is a paid service, the cost of which can reach several tens of euros. For example, Air France offers a “Thinking Time” service for up to 15 euros. In other cases, you will still be allowed to reserve a ticket for a while, but if you refuse or do not pay on time, your card may be charged a fine.

Thus, booking tickets without making payment through airline websites usually leads to additional financial costs. Travelers booking tickets for a visa should carefully study the airline's rules so as not to encounter unexpected costs.

How to book air tickets online on aggregator sites without paying

Another way to book air tickets is to use ticket aggregators. Is it possible to book a plane ticket without paying through one of these services? Just as in the case of airline websites, not every aggregator provides the service of issuing travel documents without payment.

However, there are at least two proven options, one of which is especially convenient for Russian-speaking users. In the event that the desired airline does not allow you to print a ticket without paying the full amount of the order, the method using aggregators remains the only booking option.

Book tickets on agent.ru

Among Russian residents, the most popular service for booking tickets without payment is agent.ru. This site is not just an aggregator, but a full-fledged booking system that allows you to issue tickets without visiting airline websites.

Agent.ru provides the opportunity to defer payment for tickets for flights of a fairly large number of air carriers. As a rule, the payment period ranges from 12 to 72 hours, but in the case of individual companies it can be up to 10 days.

Let's figure out how to book air tickets online without paying through Agent.ru.

In order to book plane tickets without paying, you need to register on the agent.ru website and follow a few simple steps:

Step 1. Select the desired destination and departure date, as well as the number of passengers.

Step 2. In the window with a list of options, select the carrier that provides the longest booking period. Unfortunately, agent.ru does not display this information, so you can only rely on the company name.

The carriers offering the longest bookings are:

• Emirates;
• Korean Air;
• Hong Kong Airlines;
• Air Europa (S.A.U.);
• United Airlines.

Step 3. Enter real information about each passenger and your E-mail - it may come in handy if you forget your order number. If you are offered insurance, refuse this service.

Step 4. On the payment page, copy the 6-digit reservation code. After this, you can close the site without making payment.

Step 5. Visit checkmytrip.com. Enter the code and last name of the customer. Print out the received ticket form.

The agent.ru website will automatically cancel the reservation after the period specified in the letter that will be sent to your E-mail when making an order. There are no penalties for canceling an order without payment. However, if you wish, you can pay for the tickets after receiving your visa if the reservation is still valid.

It should be noted that tariffs for issuing and returning tickets through agent.ru may differ significantly from the offers of air carriers, both up and down.

Ticketing via gomosafer.com

The English-language resource gomosafer.com also allows you to book tickets without paying. The process of making an order is almost identical to the agent.ru website: you need to register on the site, fill out information about the departure date and passengers and, having received the booking code, use the search on one of the four sites listed just above: checkmytrip, viewtrip, virtuallythere or myairlines. The result will be a printout of the ticket with the status “Confirmed”.

Since the functionality of the gomosafer website is similar to the Agent.ru service, and the database with carrier offers is not adapted for Russia, we recommend using it only in cases of extreme necessity, when other options do not give the desired result.

What else you need to know about booking tickets for a visa

The practice of obtaining visas for our compatriots shows that concerns about the timing of booking air tickets are unfounded. It is enough to present a printout of your confirmed reservation status to the visa center to successfully go through the bureaucratic visa approval process. Just like with a hotel reservation, which can be canceled without any financial loss, having an airline ticket is a mere formality.

Consular employees do not check the relevance of the reservation in the database, so a printout made through the checkmytrip website or similar services will be sufficient grounds for obtaining a visa.

Conclusion

In this review, we tried to describe in detail how to book air tickets online without making payment using various methods. The choice of a specific option depends on your future plans.

In the event that the desired airline provides a deferred payment that covers the visa processing time, or you simply want to buy a ticket, but do not have a bank card with a sufficient amount at hand, we recommend using the airlines’ websites. In this case, you will receive the most favorable conditions for purchasing and returning tickets. However, it is worth remembering possible penalties in case of refusal to pay.

If you need tickets solely to obtain a visa, and you plan to place the order later, we recommend using aggregator websites: the ordering process in this case will take a minimum of time.

Many tourists have already experienced all the delights of booking air tickets online. Using the websites that almost all modern airlines have, you can pre-book a plane ticket to almost anywhere on the planet, and sometimes even become a participant in the promotion and receive a significant discount on your flight.

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There is one important nuance. The thing is that travelers are often forced to resolve many related issues, without which the most interesting and desirable trip can be irrevocably spoiled. We are talking about obtaining a visa, which gives the right to visit one or another country in the world, get acquainted with its sights and bring home memorable souvenirs.

The issue of obtaining a visa is especially relevant. This issue is not always easy to resolve, especially when you want to receive the coveted ticket for a certain date. After all, booking plane tickets is tied to a specific calendar date and if something goes wrong, you will simply lose the money you paid as an advance payment.

There are countries that are kind of record holders in terms of refusal to issue visas. Among them are the USA, Great Britain and some states that are members of the Schengen Union. Therefore, so that preparation for an exciting trip does not end at the booking stage, many tourists are actively looking for a way that will allow them to book an air ticket without making an advance payment or its full cost.

If you are planning to get a visa to the USA, we recommend reading our article, which will be very useful for independent tourists.

How to book flights without paying

Every year, there are fewer and fewer carrier companies that are willing to provide reservations for travel passes without paying their full or partial cost. If you wish, you can find a profitable offer that will allow any tourist to save considerable money.

There are two main ways to book plane tickets, which have their own advantages and disadvantages. The first is to send the order through special online agencies. The most popular web resources are agent.ru and pososhok.ru.

The second method of pre-purchase without prepayment involves directly leaving a request on the carrier company’s website. Here you can use the services of Lufthansa, Iberia (reservations are provided for up to 2 days), United (you can book a ticket 7 days before the expected departure date) and Emirates (allows you to book 10 days in advance).

It is clear that it is worth using the services of a particular company depending on the situation, based on how high the likelihood of obtaining permission to enter the country is. After all, in case of refusal to issue you a visa, you will be able to cancel the order in a timely manner.

Each airline has its own nuances and is ready to meet customers halfway with certain reservations. For example, if you order a travel pass several weeks in advance, then the likelihood of being granted a reservation for the specified date is much higher than if you submit a request without payment just a few days before the expected departure.

The bottom line is that the carrier does not want to lose money on “empty” seats on the plane. Therefore, he is more interested in giving the seat to a real buyer who will definitely fly, than in waiting for how exactly the issue of obtaining a visa for the second applicant for a seat in the cabin will be resolved.

Important points

Please note that sometimes tourists attach copies of documents confirming the booking of air tickets. In some cases, this is a requirement of the consulates to which documents are submitted for a visa, and in some it is an initiative of the potential guests of a particular country themselves.

It is difficult to say whether the presence of such a reservation affects the decision to issue a visa or not, but such a practice exists. Therefore, in the event that you need to attach evidence of the pre-order of a document to the consulate, you can make a corresponding printout of the transaction performed on the carrier’s website, through the online services www.checkmytrip.com or www.viewtrip.com. To do this, you just have to enter the reservation code and your last name or the last name of the passenger in whose name the reservation was made.

Please note that some consulates require tourists not only to provide documents for booking an air ticket, but also to confirm that they have paid for the pre-booked ticket. Therefore, you should carefully read the payment procedure on the company’s website and do not miss the deadlines allotted for depositing the amount.

At the same time, do not forget that ordering also has its own nuances during promotional periods. The cost of such documents is not refundable and you will most likely lose your money if you are unable to fly.

To find the most advantageous pre-purchase offer, we recommend using the search engine aviasales.ru, where you can find the most profitable and budget options. To do this, it will be enough to enter the initial data of the potential passenger, indicate the starting and ending points of the trip, and also select the level of desired comfort.

Alternative

If you were unable to find a suitable offer and place an order, we recommend that you consider an alternative method. So-called “refundable tickets” make it possible to return their cost if you were unable to use them. But do not forget to carefully read the terms of compensation for their cost, because many companies go to all sorts of tricks and do not want to return the amount paid.

One of the documents that should be prepared for traveling to a foreign country is booking tickets for a visa. Consular services request it as confirmation of the real purposes of the trip. Purchased plane tickets or their reservation will serve as proof that the visa applicant intends to visit a specific country on certain dates and then return to their homeland.

How to get a flight reservation to apply for a visa

The procedure for obtaining a visa depends on the decision of the consulate of a particular state. But as a rule, consulate officials are more willing to give permission to visit the country to those who have already purchased a ticket. However, in some cases, it is better to only book plane tickets to obtain a visa, and not buy them in advance. For example, not everyone wants to spend money and buy tickets if they are not sure that a visa will be given, or if the visa is issued in reserve and not for a specific trip.

You can book air tickets for a visa at a travel agency, or you can do it yourself. To do this, you need to use one of the aggregators for searching plane tickets on the Internet.

There are many search engines suitable for these purposes, among which are:

• metasearch engines - search for tickets on many sites and provide the information found about various options for flight conditions, airlines, dates and prices in one table;
• Ticket search sites – allow you to make a reservation without going to the airline’s website;
• air ticket exchanges – offer various promotions and discounts;
• airline websites.

How to make a reservation

How to make a flight reservation for a visa? Having opened the most suitable search engine and entered the details of the desired flight, corresponding to the travel details in the requested visa by direction and dates, you need to select one of the proposed options. After filling out the column with your first name, last name, passport data, and contact email address, you can proceed to purchasing a ticket.

Immediately before payment, a window should appear with all the passenger’s entered data, as well as the reservation number, which is a sequence of six characters - numbers and Latin letters.

As easy as obtaining an airline ticket reservation for a visa, the consular officer can verify its validity. Therefore, the reservation must be made with the company and on the site where it lasts the longest, so that at the time of submitting the documents it still has legal force. As a rule, an unpaid reservation lasts from one to ten days.

Where to check and print your flight reservations

Tourist and airline companies use special global systems to issue tickets. In them, but in a version adapted for ordinary users, you can check and print an air ticket reservation for a visa. Basic systems:

Different airlines operate with different systems. Therefore, if no recognizable data about the global system was specified when booking a ticket, you will have to check each of them. To do this, you must enter your reservation number and last name in the window provided. If the information is found, it means that the ticket has been successfully booked, and you can print this file to present at the consulate.

Is it possible to get a visa without booking tickets?

Not all consulates require air tickets or flight reservations to obtain a visa. Therefore, in order not to do unnecessary work, before submitting the documents you need to check which documents should be prepared. For example, when applying for a Schengen visa, it is mandatory to present booked or purchased tickets.

Low-cost airline ticket

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An excellent alternative to a fictitious visa reservation is a real ticket for a low-cost airline. Low-cost airlines are low-cost airlines that reduce flight fares by reducing the services offered to passengers, as well as optimizing the work of company employees and equipment. Sometimes you come across tickets that are so cheap that even if they are purchased only for a visa and you don’t have to use them, you won’t mind throwing them away.

When using the services of a low-cost airline, the passenger receives an electronic air ticket for a visa, which will need to be printed and attached to the main package of papers when submitting the application. This ticket differs from a reservation only in that it has already been paid for.

Low-cost airlines do not offer real tickets, since all sales are made online.

Confirmation of another mode of transport

You can also book another type of transport - train, ferry or bus. In addition, a combined travel option using several vehicles may be allowed. In this case, you must provide tickets or reservations for each of them.

Before applying for a visa, you need to find out from official sources which vehicle reservations the consulate of a particular state allows for consideration. For example, they are very loyal to any means of crossing the border. But there are a number of countries whose consular services do not accept any other means of transport for entering the state, except airplanes.

Graduated from Moscow State University. Admiral Nevelsky, Faculty of Maritime Transport Management. I believe that in life you need to have time to test yourself in different areas. I like to travel independently and then share my experiences and impressions. I have visited more than 25 countries around the world.

And finally, the most interesting thing is the restriction of travel abroad for debtors. It is the status of the debtor that is easiest to “forget” when getting ready for your next vacation abroad. The reason may be overdue loans, unpaid housing and communal services receipts, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2018; we recommend finding out information about the presence of debt using the proven service nevylet.rf

The question of how to book tickets for a visa without redemption becomes especially relevant when receiving a document for multiple entries or in the case of floating travel dates.

Usually, there are two reasons for booking air tickets without payment:

• You don’t have a bank card at hand or you don’t have enough funds, but you want to secure a ticket at a low price.
• Air tickets are needed to apply for a visa, but there is no absolute certainty that the consulate will approve the application.

In these cases, there are two ways to book tickets without paying.

1. Booking on the airline website

Many airlines are sympathetic to the need for deferred payment when booking. For example, the largest European carrier Lufthansa provides two days to pay for your reservation. United Americans are ready to hold your reservation for a whole week, and Korean Air for up to ten days! It is important to remember that the company can unilaterally reduce the time required to pay for the reservation. They will immediately notify you of this by email or phone, so provide real information when booking. Be sure to study all the terms of deferred payment. Some airlines reserve the right to charge small fines if you fail to pay for your reservation on time.

2. Booking on the website of ticket agencies

This option is the most common, since the agency can provide a deferred payment service for tickets for those airlines that do not themselves have such an option. The agent.ru service is popular among experienced travelers, where you can book tickets without payment for a period of 12 to 72 hours. The time directly depends on the departure date. When booking tickets for the coming days, you should not hope that you will be given more than a day to pay. But when searching several months before departure, you can easily find booking options for several days.

If you need a paper copy to apply for a visa, booking verification services will help:

• checkmytrip.com
• viewtrip.com
• virtuallythere.com
• myairlines.ru

After making a reservation, enter your 6-digit PNR code on one of the services (should be sent to your email after booking) and the passenger’s last name in Latin. Afterwards you will see your reservation with the status “confirmed” and you will be able to print the document.

How to book a ticket without paying? Step-by-step instruction.

1. We go to the website Agent.ru
2. We choose “from” – “to”. We uncheck the “and back” box if we only need a one-way ticket. Select the departure date. Enter the number of passengers and click “Find flights”.
3. A window will open in which you will need to select a flight. You can book tickets without payment, so that the reservation lasts up to 10 days, with two airlines - Emirates and Qatar. The easiest way is to print the booking confirmation for Qatar flights, so scroll down the list until you see the Qatar ticket. We do not look at prices and flight duration, since we will not pay for or redeem this ticket anyway.
4. If you need a ticket to one of the European countries, then below is a list of airlines and the period during which companies hold an unpaid reservation:

• Aeroflot – 7 days
• AirBaltic – 3 days
• AirBerlin – 4 days
• Air Europa – 7 days
• AirFrance – 4 days
• Alitalia – 11 o'clock
• Austrian Airlines – 24 hours
• EuropeAir – 7 days
• Iberia – 1 day
• KLM – 3 days
• LOT – 3 days
• Lufthansa – 1 day
• SAS – 10 days
• Swiss airlines – 1 day
• TAP Portugal – 3 days
• Turkish Airlines – 3 days
• Ural Airlines – 3 days
• UIA (Ukraine International Airlines) – 10 days

1. Please note that this listing states that the reservation is valid UNTIL a certain number of days. In each specific case, booking tickets without payment may last a little less. Therefore, after you have booked your tickets, pay attention to the counter.
2. In the window that opens, fill in all the fields. Select “New user”, enter your email, come up with a password, enter your First Name, Last Name (in Latin letters as in the passport), gender, citizenship, series and passport number, passport expiration date, phone number, put a tick in the “I agree” field, Click on “Next: placing an order”.
3. A new window appears in which the order number and reservation code are written. Copy the received code.
4. We go to the website www.checkmytrip.com (you can try to make a reservation on the websites viewtrip.com and www.virtuallythere.com). Here you can check the status of your reservation and print out your reservation confirmation for the embassy. In the “Reservation number” column we enter the reservation number copied a step earlier on the Agent.ru website, in the “Last name” column we enter our last name in Latin as in the international passport, and then click on the arrow.
5. Our reservation details appear in the window. To save the receipt to your computer, you need to click on the “PDF” button; to print the confirmation, you need to click on the “Print” button
6. Print your confirmation receipt for presentation.

What to do if you can't find your reservation?

There are rare cases when none of the above sites have your reservation. There are several reasons for this:

• You have a 5-digit reservation number, but the sites listed above find reservations only using a 6-digit code. In this case, we need to go directly to the website of the airline that operates the flight you need and check your reservation on their website. To do this, you need to enter the reservation code and your last name, as in your passport.
• Your reservation has expired. Check the status of your reservation in your personal account.
• The program sometimes crashes. If your reservation is nowhere to be found, then most likely your order did not go through and you need to repeat the procedure.
• If the company canceled the reservation the next day, try writing to agent.ru support and clarifying the reasons for canceling the tickets.

What kind of reservation is suitable for the embassy?

If you are booking tickets to obtain Schengen, then you will need tickets whose reservation lasts for at least 7 days, or even 10 ideally. Tickets must be valid for as long as possible while your documents are being processed.