Flying in/out of Asia, especially Manila, is always tricky. Most of the time, immigration officers ask to see an onward ticket. Whatever their reason is for doing so — avoiding human trafficking, overstaying or what have you — it’s always best to have one handy. Over the years, I’ve found that I’ve always been asked to present an onward ticket. Maybe it was my age… Or maybe it was the fact that I’m a solo-traveling female… I never really understood why it was always me, but after a few times of being stopped, I learned that buying the cheapest ticket to any random place was my solution. But then it got to me, wow, I’m losing so much money with these “disposable” tickets. (Anyone else here ever had that realization? Raise your hands.)

Good thing though, my friend introduced me to Fly Onward — the easy and hassle-free solution to getting through immigration and the dreaded “Can I see your onward ticket, please?” question. Now, digital nomads and perpetual travelers can rejoice! 

For those of you wondering, no this is not a paid post. Just sharing helpful and useful information. You’re welcome!

Read on to learn more about how Fly Onward works…

What is Fly Onward? 

FlyOnward is an exclusive Flight Ticket Rental Service. (Key word: RENTAL). They provide you with international flight tickets (travel itineraries) with your name on them to use as proof of onward travel plans when you travel abroad. Think booking on Expedia then canceling 24hrs later to get a refund… minus of course a) the hassle (eep! no wifi, can’t cancel!) and b) the possibility of forgetting to cancel (going through different timezones is no joke! Hello jetlag).

How does it work? 

By booking an onward ticket, you need to provide Fly Onward with your title, full name, date of your desired onward flight, and of course your departure country. The arrival country is optional; leave it blank and they’ll select a random one for you (recommended).

After an order is made, Fly Onward staff will process the booking with your provided information. An email with your e-ticket (a PDF file) will be sent to you immediately from the airline (not from Fly Onward). You can print out this ticket. The ticket will come with a “Confirmed” status which means has been paid in full (by Fly Onward). After that, you can go to the website of the airline, select “Manage My Booking” menu, input your name and booking reference code to see details of your ticket.

Depending on your booking option, the ticket will last for exactly 24 hours or 48 hours, so all you need to do is make sure you’re arriving at your destination within 24 hours or 48 hours of booking your onward flight with Fly Onward. The ticket will be automatically canceled after that period.

Are these tickets fake?

No. These tickets are 100% real… only catch is, they expire in 24 or 48 hours (or longer if you send an email request)  since technically, they’re only “rented”, not bought (by you at least).

Come on now! Ok, so how do I know it’s really legit?

1. Your ticket is sent or forwarded by the airline.
2. Your ticket is manageable on the website of the airline and shows paid/confirmed status. After you have received your ticket, go to the airline’s website, select booking management tool which usually reads as “Manage My Booking”, “My Trip”, “My Booking”, etc… and use your booking code & your last name to login.

How much do I need to pay for a rented ticket? 

$9.99 for 24hrs validity and $16.99 for 48hrs validity.

Have you yourself used this service? 

Yup! It was easy-peasy, glitch-free and 100% convenient.

How fast after you booked did you receive your ticket? 

25 minutes after going on http://www.flyonward.com, I got my confirmed tickets from Vietnam Airlines. I requested a one-way ticket from Bali, Indonesia to Manila, Philippines and they sent me one from Jakarta to Ho Chi Minh (business class) and Ho Chi Minh to Manila (economy).

Would you use this service again?

Sure, why not? $9.99 sure beats being asked 100 questions by immigration officers or being asked by airline staff to book a ticket on the spot.

Hope this post helped! Cheers to us digital nomads! And to all you perpetual travelers… fly high!

Peace, Love and Lipgloss,

morenabeachbum