Travel Frequently Asked Questions
Travel Jargon and Ticket Types
Q. What is a travel leg?
A. A leg is a single segment of travel from when an
airplane takes off in one city to when it lands in the next city. A complete
itinerary or ticket may include several legs of travel. Example: a ticket
from Frankfurt to Fort Wayne might include 3 legs of travel - Frankfurt to
Washington, Washington to Chicago, and Chicago to Fort Wayne.
Q. What is a connection or a layover?
A. A connection is where a passenger stops and changes
airplanes in an airport between his initial departure city and his final
destination city. Example: In the flight above from Frankfurt to Fort Wayne,
the passenger has 2 connections - one in Washington and one in Chicago - where
he must de-board one plane and board a different plane for the next leg of his
travel (or maybe re-board the same plane). A layover is the amount
of time a passenger spends in the airport between the flights, waiting for
his or her connection to depart.
Q. What is a stopover?
A. A stopover occurs when the passenger does not depart an
intermediate point within a few hours of arriving. Example: A passenger flies
from Washington to San Francisco, has a 2-day stopover in San Francisco
before departing an international flight to Tokyo. YFU students are not
allowed to have stopovers with their YFU tickets (except for some YFU arranged
orientation programs).
Q. What is the difference between a one-way and a
round-trip ticket?
A. A one-way ticket allows for travel from one city to another,
in one direction only. Though it is only good for travel in one
direction, It may include more than one leg of travel. A round-trip ticket
allows for travel in both directions from one city to another, and then
back again to the original city (or to a different city) at a later date.
Q. What is a dated return ticket?
A. A round-trip ticket with a dated return is issued with the
return flight booked for a specific date. The airline will charge a
fee to change the return date after the ticket is issued.
Q. What is an open return ticket?
A. A round trip ticket issued with an open return means the
return flight is not booked for a specific return date, but can be
reserved for any date within the period of the ticket’s validity (one year).
The return date can be changed with no fee, but the routing must remain the
same.
Q. What is a paper ticket?
A. A paper ticket is a document printed on heavy airline stock
paper which is proof of payment for a sold seat on a particular flight. The
ticket must be presented at check-in. If a student loses a paper ticket,
he or she will need to pay a fee to have it reissued and/or replaced.
Q. What is an Electronic or E-ticket?
A. An E-ticket is proof of payment for a sold seat on a flight,
but it is confirmed electronically in the airline computer system and
requires no paper document for check-in. E-tickets have confirmation
numbers or record locator numbers. A printed itinerary can be provided.
Q. What is a boarding pass?
A. At the airline check-in counter, they will check you and your
luggage through to your final destination (if possible) and give you boarding
passes for each leg of your trip. The boarding pass confirms that your ticket
and ID have been verified by airline personnel and allows you entry onto
the airplane, after clearing security. It also shows your gates and seat
assignments.
Back to the top.
Group Flights, Airlines, Schedules, and Flight
Routes
Q. Why does YFU fly students in groups?
A. YFU Travel arranges group flights (designated by a
three-digit number unrelated to the airline flight number) for several
reasons:
- Airlines can block seats for us at a lower cost for groups.
- We have more control over the arrival/departure dates and airports for
over 4000 students’ flights during the summer travel season, and therefore
better management of student movement and airport assistance.
- Group flights allow for easier confirmation of the safe arrival and/or
departure of all students, as well as easier communication between
partners about any travel issues. Example: We can tell a partner that “all
50 students on YFU group #538 arrived safely as scheduled” or “group #267
departed 30 minutes late from Chicago.” This is easier than communicating
hundreds of individual flight delays, changes, or cancellations to
partners.
- Logistically, a group of students arriving on a single international
flight is more easily met and assisted by YFU Travel Airport Staff or
partner countries than many individuals arriving on separate flights,
airlines, and airports. We are able to staff a core set of gateway
airports where all international group flights arrive or depart, rather
than have students fly individually through random unstaffed airports
alone with no help (except for those who choose to do so at their own
expense and risk). We have the resources to provide Airport Assistance to
all YFU group flights, and to chaperone any necessary scheduled or
unscheduled overnights at certain gateway cities if we arrange flights in
groups, which we could not do for individuals.
- Students that fly on the same international group flight may also have
other students on their connecting domestic flights, making for safer
travel and connections.
- Booking students onto group flights is less time consuming and does
not require the large staff that individual bookings would require.
Q. Why does YFU Travel use mostly United Airlines?
A. Our preferred Travel Vendor in Frankfurt (Skylink Travel House)
negotiates low cost group seats for us with various airlines. Over the
past several years, United and their partner Lufthansa have been the major
airline of choice for YFU Travel for several reasons:
- United and Lufthansa serve most of our Partner countries’ Asian
and European departure cities. UA/LH’s European hub is in Frankfurt, which
allows us to consolidate student groups from several countries onto flights
to the USA, and also enables us to provide Skylink staff airport
assistance in the Frankfurt Airport.
- United and Lufthansa have offered YFU large blocks of seats at very
low rates during the busy summer travel season, when other airlines have
not been willing to give us any seats, preferring to sell them at higher
rates to other customers. They also often allow us to issue one-way
tickets rather than roundtrip tickets for international students, which
benefits us since many students’ departure cities change during the year due
to re-placement, and we are then able to arrange their returns from a
different departure point without any re-issue fees.
- United also flies to most major destinations within the USA, so
we are able to add on most domestic flights to the international ticket at a
minimum cost, rather than purchasing complete new domestic tickets on
different airlines. Keeping most travel on United also lets us consolidate
most of the domestic connections to a few major hub airports with
many connecting flights per day. We can keep these hubs staffed on a regular
basis throughout the summer travel season, allowing us to meet all
international flights and lessening the chances of students getting stranded
alone in an unstaffed airport.
- We do use other airlines including Delta, American, Continental, and
Northwest when necessary, particularly for domestic travel in the Midwest
USA, to smaller US markets, and to and from Latin American countries.
Q. Why do I have a five-hour layover when there
is an earlier departure on a different airline?
A. We keep students’ travel completely on one
airline whenever possible, even if there are earlier connections on other carriers. It is always preferable to keep as many legs
of travel as possible on the same airline for several reasons:
- If domestic flights can be booked on the same airline as the
international leg, and they are issued together as one ticket, the cost
savings is potentially hundreds of dollars.
- By keeping all legs of travel on a single airline, luggage can be
checked all the way through to the final destination, saving time,
potential delays, and the hassle of dealing with multiple check-in procedures
in the airports.
- If one of the flights is delayed, causing the passenger to miss the
connection on the same carrier, it is the airline’s responsibility to
rebook the passenger onto the next possible connecting flight to that
airport. If the flights were on different airlines and different tickets, the
passenger might not get protected onto a later flight, and a new ticket might
be required for that leg.
Q. Why do I have such a long layover?
A. YFU policy is to have minimum connection
or layover times of 60 minutes from one domestic flight to another domestic flight, and
three to four hours for a connection from an international flight to a domestic
flight (to allow time to clear Customs and Immigration). Depending on
flight schedules and availability, layovers can be several hours. In our
experience with YFU students, it is preferable to have a longer layover
than a short one which doesn’t leave enough time to make a connecting flight. Missing a flight causes inconveniences for multiple parties including the
students themselves, YFU airport and travel staff, Airline rebooking agents,
District Staff, and Host Families who must rearrange their plans and schedules
to accommodate the new itinerary. A four-hour layover might seem long, but
allowing for some flight delays, time for the student to navigate the
airport, and/or get from one terminal to another, it is preferable to
having a student rush to his or her next flight only to miss it and require
the hassle of rebooking. Clearing Customs and Immigration can usually take
about two to three hours for international arrivals.
Another reason for a long layover might be
because you are flying to a small airport that is only served by one or two
flights a day. If you arrive into the USA after the only morning flight
to your Host Family’s airport has departed (or before it has departed, but
without enough time to clear Customs before it departs), you might need to
wait several hours before the next (and only other) flight departs for that
town.
Q. Can I go sightseeing in Washington if
I have a very long layover at Dulles airport?
A. No. For safety reasons, students are not
permitted to leave the airport without YFU staff. You need to stay behind the security area and pay
attention to any announcements or postings of your flight’s schedule in case
of any departure time or gate changes. You do not need to remain in the
departure gate area for the whole time, but pay attention to the time
and make sure you are in the gate area about 45 minutes before departure,
which is when they will begin boarding. If you nap while waiting in the
airport, set an alarm to make sure you do not miss your flight! If you meet
with YFU airport staff, follow their instructions.
Q. Why must I have so many connections
before I get to my final destination?
A. One reason is that we try to keep all
flights on the same airline for the complete itinerary. So a flight from Washington to San Diego might include
a connection in Denver or Chicago on United (the airline you flew from
Frankfurt). Even though you could get a direct flight to San Diego on another
airline, we prefer to keep the complete itinerary on United to prevent
unnecessary re-check-in and luggage transfers, and to keep costs low.
This also ensures that United will protect you
on later flights if you miss any due to their own flights being cancelled
or delayed. Example: If an international United flight arrives two hours late
and you miss your United domestic connection, United (UA) will automatically rebook
you on the next flight out, whereas if the domestic flight was on Northwest
(NW) and you
missed it because the UA international flight was late, NW has no
responsibility to re-accommodate you due to UA’s delay.
You might also have several connections if you
are flying to a small airport serviced by few carriers. Example:
In order to get to Duluth, Minnesota, you must first get to Minneapolis to
catch the connecting flight on Northwest Airlines. No matter what airline,
there are no direct flights from Washington, Chicago, or San Francisco to
Duluth. A connection in Minneapolis is required.
Q. Where will I stay overnight if my
itinerary is spread over two days?
A. If your itinerary includes an overnight stay,
you will be met by YFU airport staff either at your gate or in the baggage claim area. If you do not see
staff at your arrival gate, proceed to the baggage claim area to pick up your
bags and meet them there. YFU staff will accompany you (and possibly other
students) to a nearby airport hotel on a free shuttle bus. They will check
you in to a room (you might share with another student of the same gender),
and take care of meals for you. YFU will pay for the room and food. YFU
staff will also stay overnight in the hotel, and the next morning you will all
go back to the airport on the shuttle and check-in for your continuing
flights. While staying overnight, students must remain in the hotel at all
times.
Q. Why do I have to overnight in a hotel
even though I arrived as early as 4:00 pm?
A. Some students cannot complete their travel to
their final destination all in one day, due to airline connection schedules,
and/or connection time requirements.
- When building itineraries we try to ensure enough connection
time for international arrivals to clear Customs and make their domestic
connections. If your arrival time and the next flight’s departure time are
too close (less than two hours), and there are no more flights that night,
you will need to overnight and continue your itinerary the next day.
- You might require two more legs of travel, but you can only make it
to the first city’s airport today. If that airport is not a YFU staffed
gateway, then you will remain at the current staffed airport city overnight,
then continue on your itinerary tomorrow. Example: You are in Chicago
and you need to fly to Muskegon via Milwaukee. There is a flight to Milwaukee
tonight, but no more flights to Muskegon after you arrive there. We will keep
you in Chicago, since we do not have staff in Milwaukee to overnight with you.
You will fly both of those legs the next day.
- We do not schedule students on the last departure of the night
out of a smaller airport because these flights are often cancelled due to lack
of passengers. In the case above, even if there was one late night connection
from Milwaukee to Muskegon, we would not put a student on that last flight of
the night, as chances are good that it will be cancelled, and the student
stranded in unstaffed Milwaukee airport overnight. We prefer to keep
students in YFU approved hotels with YFU airport staff supervision. We only
schedule students on late flights if they are flying from a staffed airport to
their final destination. If that flight gets cancelled, there is airport
staff there to overnight with the student and get him or her rebooked for the
next day.
Q. If I live in Baltimore, which is served by an international
airport (BWI), why do I have to drive an hour to pick up
my inbound student at Washington DC’s Dulles Airport (IAD)?
A. YFU tries to fly each student into the
closest local airport to the student’s or Host Family’s town. However, if the international gateway
airport is within 75 miles of that town, we consider it to be one of that
metropolitan region’s local airports. Example: If the above student’s
international group flight arrived from Santiago, Chile into Atlanta, we would
then fly that student domestically to into the Host Family’s closest airport -
Baltimore’s BWI Airport - as the student requires an additional domestic
flight to get anywhere near the Host Family's home town. However, if the student’s group
flight arrives internationally from Buenos Aires, Argentina into Washington
DC’s Dulles Airport, we consider that to be close enough to Baltimore NOT to
warrant an additional domestic flight, as it is only 56 miles away, and there
are no flights available between these two airports because they are so
close to each other.
It is unreasonable to have the above student fly
from Washington to Chicago, then back to Baltimore over a period of five or more
hours (creating more opportunities for missed connections, cancelled flights,
and/or lost luggage) when the Host Family is only one hour away by car from
the student’s initial entry point. Whenever possible, it is preferred that
students fly with the fewest connections. We try to avoid extra flights for
the safety and comfort of the students, as well as for the cost savings. A
one-time airport pick-up with ninety minutes of driving or 75 miles is not
unreasonable under most circumstances.
Back to the top.
Non-YFU Travel
Q. Why do some countries choose to arrange their own
students’ travel rather than use YFU Travel’s services?
A. YFU Travel offers each partner country the service of
having us book and arrange round-trip
group travel for their students, staff assistance in 12 US
airports and hotels, and 24-hour on call telephone assistance. YFU Travel
takes on the risk and covers any unplanned expenses that can occur during
the hectic travel season such as hotel overnights, issuing new tickets, etc.
Some countries still choose to arrange their own travel
rather than accept YFU Travel’s Offer, perhaps because they believe the
cost of YFU’s travel service is too high, and that they can find better
fares by purchasing tickets for their students in their own country through
their own travel agencies. They might still be eligible to receive some of YFU’s assistance services such as the 24-hour on-call phone service; however
YFU Travel is not able to help with unscheduled overnight chaperones, or the
rebooking or issuing of new tickets if there are problems on travel dates. Some countries believe that this trade-off is worth it to purchase cheaper,
more restrictive tickets through alternate agency sources. Sometimes they
can save money, but sometimes they end up paying more in airline fees later
due to emergency situations or restrictions on their tickets that may
require changes. It is the decision of each partner country whether they
use YFU Travel’s services or arrange their own travel for their students.
Q. Which countries do not use YFU Travel’s services?
A. For 2006 the following countries arranged their
own travel to the USA for their students and they will also arrange the return travel in January and/or June
2007:
- Australia
- Bulgaria
- Ecuador
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Sweden (each
student purchases travel individually due to Swedish consumer laws)
- Uruguay
For 2007, the same above countries will arrange their
own travel as well as:
Q. Does YFU Travel provide airport assistance to
the students from those countries who arrange their own travel?
A. YFU Travel will
provide airport assistance if the students’ flights are arranged into
one or more groups, arriving into one of our staffed gateway airports
during the set travel date window. If students fly individually on
different flights, or into unstaffed airports, or on a date outside the
regular travel window, YFU travel will not provide airport staff (Sweden).
Q. Does YFU Travel send the same letters and
information to the students whose countries arrange their own
travel?
A. Since YFU Travel does not have the flight information
until the partner countries send
it to us (sometimes only
shortly before the travel date), we do not send the same
communication letters
to these students. We mail travel information to the students as we learn
of it from the partners, but the partners have usually already informed the
individual students of their itineraries before we get it in the office. We
cannot offer the CDR service to these students since we did not issue the
tickets. It is up to each partner country to decide if and how they will
allow travel changes.
YFU Travel sends each partner country several pieces of
helpful travel information to share with their students before departure
including luggage restrictions, airport security information, luggage tags,
and our airport assistance 1-800 number.
Q. What is an Independent Traveler?
A. An Independent Traveler is a student who
chooses to purchase his or her own ticket rather than use the YFU ticket and group flight. Independent travelers do not receive
YFU Airport Assistance, and are required to purchase round
trip tickets (or two one-way tickets) as they are responsible for arranging
their own outbound AND return travel. They are responsible for any
necessary rebookings on travel dates and any fees associated with changing
their tickets if they need/want to adjust their travel date or departure
city.
Independent travelers are coded as group flight #999
in the YFU database for identification. All students from Sweden are
coded as Independent Travelers.
Q. What is an inbound exception?
A. International students who need to arrive in the USA before or
after the group flight from their
country for school reasons or due to illness
are allowed to travel alone on a non-group flight. Their travel is still
arranged by YFU and they do receive YFU Airport Assistance. These students
are coded as group flight #995 in the YFU database for
identification.
Q. What is a CDR?
A. A CDR is a Change of Date Request for a return
flight. Students who complete CDRs fly
separately from the YFU group and are coded as group
flight #998 in the YFU database for identification. YFU Travel still
arranges their travel, but they do not receive YFU Airport Assistance since
they choose to travel off the group flight and date.
Back to the top.
Dates
Q. When do International Students (IS) travel?
A.
IS Inbound students arrive throughout the month of August and return
around January 5 (semester) or in the last two weeks of June (year).
IS Inbound Winter
students arrive around January 10-15, and return in the last two weeks of June
with the year students (semester) or around January 5 of the following year
(year).
Q. When do
American Overseas (AO) students travel?
A.
AO short term summer programs run mid-June or July until early-mid
August.
AO long term programs may begin anywhere between July and early
September and return either December-January (semester), or June-July
(year).
AO Winter
long term programs begin in December or January and return throughout
the summer (semester) or the following December or January (year).
AO Year and semester
programs to Japan begin in March and return in January or August.
AO Year program to
Thailand begins in May and returns in March.
AO
APS special winter program to France or Spain begins in January and
returns in March.
Q. Who
sets the dates for programs and flights?
A.
AO program dates are set by each hosting country. YFU Travel arranges
flights according to the dates the partners want the students to arrive
into and depart from their country. Return dates are tentative until YFU
Travel sends confirmation of the return date in writing to Natural
Parents.
IS program dates
in the USA are August 1 to June 30 for year-long programs. IS Students are
assigned to inbound group flights throughout August by YFU Travel according
to the school start date in their hosting region as well as other factors
including Host Family requirements, Natural Parent & Partner Country
requests, airline seat availability, and airport staff capacity. Priority
is given to school start dates and/or exams. Returns are arranged over the
last two weeks of June with the earliest arrivals also departing earliest. Winter programs begin in mid-January and winter returns are in early
January.
Q. Can I change my travel date?
A. IS Inbound and AO outbound dates can only be changed for
reasons of school, illness, or visa
issues. AO & IS return dates can be changed by following the
YFU Change of Date Request (CDR) procedures which are mailed to all
IS students and AO Natural Parents a few months into their exchange program (October and
January). There are YFU and/or airline-imposed fees to go off the group
travel return date and students who choose to change their returns do not
receive YFU airport assistance. (See more CDR questions below).
Back to the top.
Letters and Tickets
Q. When will
IS students and/or AO Natural Parents receive letters with their
confirmed group return date and CDR information?
A. Students
receive a letter with the group flight return date and CDR information In
mid-October (for winter returns) or in January (for summer returns).
Return dates are subject to change until students and/or parents receive
this letter in writing from YFU Travel.
Q. When will
students receive tickets?
A. AO
outbound student tickets are mailed out about two to three weeks prior to
departure, but only if the student’s tuition balance is paid in full. We
will hold tickets until we receive final payment for the program, even if we
must send a ticket for overnight delivery a few days before departure.
- AO returns are
booked as a part of their round-trip ticket, so they already have those
tickets.
- IS return tickets
are mailed out about two weeks prior to departure.
- IS Inbound tickets are mailed to the Partner country
about three to four weeks before departure whenever possible, pending last minute
placements and/or changes.
Q. When will
Host families receive their inbound student itinerary information?
A. Host families who have confirmed students by the end of June will receive
a preliminary letter in early July informing them of the
international arrival date of their inbound students. After
that, new Host Families will receive this same letter on a rolling basis
as the student’s placement is confirmed - hopefully via e-mail.
The final letter with the complete itinerary cannot be
sent until most of the students on a particular group flight have confirmed
placements. We try to do this two weeks before the arrival date. Letters for students who do not have confirmed placements at this time get
sent to the Districts to be forwarded to Host Families as students are
placed.
Q. When do
CDR students receive their tickets?
A. CDR
tickets are sent to students immediately upon completion of rebooking and
issuing or reissuing the ticket, usually within two to three weeks of receiving the
request.
Q. My ticket says my return date is May 20, but the
program doesn’t end until June. Is my ticket wrong?
A. For IS students, almost all tickets are issued
only one-way, with a pending open-return for a date
that we determine later in the year. When you receive your
ticket, we have only issued (and you only receive) the inbound to the USA
portion of the ticket. The itinerary cards attached to the front of your
inbound ticket might show a return date in March or May, but it will also
say “OPEN.” The return date shown is not a valid return date, but a
point in time that was as far ahead as we could enter at the time of issue. As long as it also says OPEN, then the return date is not yet confirmed or
booked. We will inform you of your return date in January (for June returns)
or in October (for winter returns).
* The only IS students who were issued round trip tickets for
2006 were from the Philippines.
For AO students, all tickets are issued round trip. Most have open returns, but some have dated returns. Though your ticket
might have an open return for a date not yet confirmed or booked, the
original itinerary card or e-ticket print-out might show a date that was as
far ahead as possible at the time of issue. Likely the date you see is not
an actual return date assigned for a YFU program. We will inform you of
your return date in January (for June returns) or in October (for winter
returns).
Q. When I arrive into the USA do I need to send my
return ticket to YFU Travel?
A. If you flew here on a round trip paper ticket and are
holding the return portion of your ticket, you will
receive a letter from YFU Travel asking you to send us your
return ticket for safekeeping. This year only students from the
Philippines received such letters because everyone else flew here on
one-way tickets. You may have heard from your home country’s office or YFU
volunteers that you need to send us your tickets because this was necessary
several years ago, but now you will only have boarding passes and itinerary
cards, which you do not need to send us. We will issue new return
one-way tickets and send them to you before you fly home.
Back to the top.
Change of Date or Airport (CDRs)
Q. What is a CDR?
A. A CDR is a Change of return flight Date Request. Students may request to return on a different date than the scheduled group flight for various
reasons, if approved by their natural parents, host family, home country,
and hosting YFU offices. Date changes are limited to the period of a
student’s visa validity. Information on how to request a CDR and the
applicable fees are sent in the letter informing students of the group
flight return date.
Q. What is the deadline to request a
CDR?
A. For June returns, CDR information is mailed to
students/Natural Parents in January. The first deadline to submit requests is April 1, then the fee goes up, with a
final deadline of May 1. For winter returns, the CDR info is mailed
in October and the deadline to submit requests is December 1.
Q. Why is there a deadline for CDRs?
A. YFU Travel must submit the final travel manifests to
its travel agency in Frankfurt in time to issue tickets, notify partners of itineraries, and mail
tickets or itineraries to students. We must set deadlines in order to get
everything accomplished in a timely manner. Once tickets are issued, fees
will be charged by the airline for additional changes. We try to set
deadlines that allow enough time to make any changes without too many
additional airline fees being imposed.
Q. Why does YFU charge fees for date changes (CDRs)?
A. The cost for travel is included in the program tuition,
as part of a group flight. The total travel cost includes round-trip travel and airport assistance in specific
gateway airports on the assigned group flights and dates. Those students
who request CDRs are choosing to go off the YFU assigned group
flight. We are willing to work with those students who ask for individual
travel changes, but as it takes extra time and effort for several
parties within the YFU organizations and the travel agency to meet the
needs of each individual request, we must charge a fee for this service.
Q. What does the CDR Administrative fee cover?
A. The YFU CDR Administrative fee covers the processing
of the CDR request within YFU, which may include several e-mail or telephone communications
to the partner country to confirm that all parties (Host Family and/or Natural Parents)
are in agreement with the request, communications with the travel agency
to check on date availability and possible airline fees, communications with
the customer for payment verification, as well as the final written
confirmation of the new itinerary to all parties involved.
Q. What additional fees might be required for a
CDR?
A. Some CDRs might require a ticket to be re-issued.
If the ticket needs to be reissued for a new date the fee is usually $100 for each airline involved. If
the ticket needs to be reissued with a new routing, the fee is usually $150,
plus any fare and tax differences that might occur due to the new routing
and possible zone differences of the new itinerary. Some student’s
itineraries include legs on more than one airline. There might be fees for
each airline. These fees are charged by the airlines, not YFU. YFU
collects them from you and pays the airline upon ticket re-issue. YFU
cannot waive airline imposed fees. We offer the service to you, but we
still must adhere to the airline fare rules and pay all change fees.
Q. What if the date I request is not available?
A. YFU asks that you provide a range of acceptable return
dates when requesting a CDR, since we cannot always get a seat on your first choice preferred
date. If the return date that you request or a date within your range is
not available then YFU travel will look for the next (or earlier) available
date. We will inform you of the possibilities and ask if you accept the
available date rather than your preferred date. You can choose to accept
one of the available dates or remain on the group flight. Once we have
done the research and offered you a date, the Administrative fee is charged,
even if you do not accept the date we offer to you.
Q. YFU says the date I want is not available, but the
airline says there are seats available on that date (or I found seats on
the website). Why can’t YFU get me a seat?
A. YFU Travel issues student tickets on preferred airlines
at group contract rates with class of service and fare rule
restrictions. There are a limited number of seats on a flight in each class of service. While the airline may tell you they have seats available for a particular
flight or date, it is not guaranteed that seats are available in the
particular class of service that YFU Travel’s contracts require us to buy. Since we are a group travel organization, we block enough space in the
relevant class of service for the group flight date only. If you choose to
use your YFU ticket to fly on a different date, you are still bound by YFU
Travel’s class of service and group fare rules and restrictions. We will
help, but we cannot guarantee that you can get a seat on any date.
Q. Why are some students not eligible for CDRs?
A. The YFU offices in China, Chile, and Japan want all
of their IS students to return as scheduled together on the group flight. They have asked that YFU
Travel not offer CDRs to their students. They will rarely make an exception
on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, AO students in Japan are not
eligible for CDRs, as YFU Japan requires that all students complete the
program and return as a group as scheduled.
Q. Why are CDRs done differently for German students?
A. Consumer law in Germany requires that any requests
to change the travel of an exchange student be initiated by the student’s Natural
Parents. This is why German students are sent a letter telling them to talk with
their natural parents about submitting a CDR. German Parents submit the
request and payment to YFU Germany who forwards the request to YFU Travel
for processing.
Q. What if I have exams on the departure date at
the beginning of my AO program?
A. Most AO summer programs begin in late June and some
students may just be getting out of school at that time. It is preferable that all AO
participants arrive together on one group flight, as some partner countries
arrange group orientations for all participants upon arrival. If you can,
it would be good to try to reschedule your exams if possible. If
that is impossible, and the hosting country agrees to a late arrival, we
can change your travel date for no charge, but you will have to travel
alone. The only other reason you can travel late is for illness or if your
visa is not ready (which would require a ticket reissue fee).
Q. Can my AO student return to a different airport
from the one he/she departed?
A. Since AO students are issued round-trip tickets, they
already hold a return ticket to the original departure airport (unless previously arranged with YFU travel
before departure). In order to return to a different airport, the return
portion of the ticket will need to be reissued for a fee (usually
$150). Prior to departure, AOs are sent a letter asking them to confirm
which airport they want to depart from and return to. These airports do not
need to be the same, and there is no extra charge to have different
airports, provided that the ticket is issued that way the first time. Any
changes to a ticket that is already issued will require fees. Routing
change fees are in addition to any YFU administrative CDR fees for
date changes.
Q. I want to take my IS exchange student on vacation and
have him depart from a different airport from the one where he arrived. Will there be a fee?
A. Most IS students are issued separate one-way tickets for
their inbound and return travel, so departing from a different airport than the arrival airport
does not require a reissue fee, as a new one-way ticket will be issued from whatever airport is requested. As long as YFU Travel is
notified of the new departure airport before the return ticket is issued (in
May), then this can be arranged without a fee (if still on the group flight
date). Date changes will still require a fee.
Q. I want to extend my program from the semester
to the year program. What do I need to do?
A. You need to contact your District office at
1-866-493-8872 to get the process started to extend your program and change your travel date.
Q. I am homesick and I do not like my Host Family. I am
not having a good time and I want to return home
now. How do I get my travel changed?
A. If you are having difficulty adjusting to the
program, your school, or you are having problems with your host family,
these are issues that you need to discuss with YFU representatives in your
field or the Support Service Manager in your District before we can arrange
for you to return home early. Often adjustment issues can be worked out and
students are able to successfully complete their program, even if it is off
to a rocky start. If you need to talk to someone about a desire to return
home early, please call your District Office at 1-866-493-8872.
Back to the top.
Travel Documents
Q. Do I need a visa to go to “x” country?
A. Depending on what country you are going to, how long your
program is, and your own country of citizenship, you might need a visa for your YFU
program. Contact your Admissions Counselor or the country’s
consulate website for information on how to apply for a visa and the
various fees. The process can be very involved. It might require you to get
official documents from your police office or public records department,
and/or to travel to a consulate. Visas can take several weeks to process
after you have submitted all the required information, so do this early to
avoid delays.
Q. I have not received my airline ticket
and I leave in three days. What should I do?
A. AO students will receive their tickets about
two weeks before departure - if their program tuition is paid in full. If you have paid in full, and you still have not received your ticket by one
week before departure, please call YFU Travel at 1-800-705-9510 in case it
needs to be tracked. If you have not paid, we cannot send your ticket. Call your admissions counselor to pay your balance immediately!
IS students will
receive their tickets about two weeks before departure. Many of them
are electronic tickets. If you received an itinerary print-out
with a note at the bottom that reads ETICKET 0161234567890, then your ticket
is electronic and you will not be sent anything else. Use the print-out for
check-in at the airport. If you have not received anything by one week
before departure, call YFU Travel at 1-800-705-9510 to have the package
tracked.
Q. I lost my paper ticket. What should I
do?
A. A paper ticket must be presented for check-in at the
airport. Before you consider it lost, dig through all of your belongings, luggage, bags, pockets, under the
bed, etc. If you are already in the airport, retrace your steps and see if
you left it in a seat, at a counter, in a restroom, etc. Check if your host
parents might have put it somewhere for safekeeping. If after all efforts
are exhausted, you do not find your ticket, call YFU Travel to inform
them. DO NOT PURCHASE A NEW TICKET! YFU can have the ticket
reissued. You will need to pay a $100 fee to get it replaced. YFU
is not responsible to refund any money that you pay to an airline without
our approval first. Always call YFU for any ticket problems before paying
anything to the airline.
If you lose your boarding pass after checking in for the flight
and clearing security, but before boarding the plane, this is not a serious
problem. You can have the airline agent re-print your boarding pass at the
gate.
Q. I lost my passport. What should I do?
A. Before you consider it lost, dig through all of your
belongings, luggage, bags, pockets, under the bed, etc. If it is definitely lost and you are not traveling
for a few days, you will likely need to apply for a replacement passport
and fly on a later date. Find out how long this will take from a
passport agency and alert YFU immediately in case we need to alter
your travel arrangements.
If you are already in the airport, retrace your steps and
see if you left it in a seat, at a counter, in a restroom, etc. Most
students find it hidden somewhere in their own belongings or in a pocket. If it is definitely lost, notify a YFU staff member and call YFU Travel at
1-800-705-9510 in case we need to change your travel.
Q. I did not receive any luggage tags with
my ticket. What should I do?
A. YFU Travel sends students blue YFU luggage tags to print
your name and contact information and attach to your bags. If for some
reason you do not receive the tags, do not worry. They are for
identification purposes only, so any type of tag will be fine. You can use
the tags provided by the airline (find them at the check-in counter) or you
can purchase or make your own. Always write down the address and phone
number at your Destination so if it doesn’t arrive with you, the airline has
the address to send it to, rather than sending it back to where you came
from! Be sure to affix a tag to the outside of each bag and also to enclose
a piece of paper with the same information INSIDE the bag in case the outer
one gets separated.
Back to the top.
Luggage
Q. What are the luggage weight restrictions?
A. Most airlines have a limit of two checked bags with a
maximum weight of 50 pounds per bag for international flights.
However, some airlines for domestic US flights or flights in other countries
may have lower maximum luggage weight allowances. Please contact the
airlines directly or check their websites for luggage restrictions. Plan to
pay fees for extra pieces of luggage or overweight luggage. You are
responsible for your luggage and all luggage weight limits are subject to
changes at the airlines’ discretion. YFU will NOT pay for fees for excess
luggage, so plan to pack light.
Q. What items are prohibited in checked luggage
and in carry-on luggage?
A. Flammable and explosive items are prohibited in all
luggage. Most sharp objects and some liquids are prohibited in carry-on luggage. Airlines often update
what items are prohibited in checked and carry-on luggage. For a complete
list of permitted and prohibited objects and the most up to date
information, please contact the airline, go to the airline’s website,
or check out the Transportation Security Administration’s website at
http://www.tsa.gov.
Q. Can YFU recover an item that I lost or that Airport
Security confiscated from me?
A. YFU cannot recover any items confiscated from security. DO NOT pack or bring any prohibited items to the airport. If you lost something, contact
the airport’s lost and found. Your luggage and belongings are YOUR
responsibility. Unattended bags/items may be stolen or removed.
Q. I want to bring a special or large item
(musical instrument, sports equipment, skis, etc.) with me. How do I pack it and/or carry it. Is it part of
my baggage allowance or extra baggage?
A. Please consult the airline directly or the TSA website
at http://www.tsa.gov for information about carrying special items on the airplane. You might also
consider consulting your host family to make sure they are able to fit the
item in their vehicle if they are picking you up form the airport (many
foreign cars are very small). Depending on the item and its size, fees
might be required.
Q. My luggage did not arrive at my final
destination. What do I do?
A. At your final destination, go to the airline’s baggage
office (usually located near the baggage carrousel) and fill out a lost luggage claim form
with the claim numbers on your baggage claim tags (usually attached to your
boarding pass envelope). Usually, the bags arrive on a later flight and
can be delivered to you at your home or Host Family’s home with a day or
two. YFU is not responsible for lost luggage and has no way to track it
down for you. This must be done by the airline at your final destination.
Back to the top.
At the Airport / Airport Assistance
Q. How early should I arrive at the airport for my
flight?
A. You need to arrive at the airport with plenty of time to
park, wait in line to check-in for your flight, clear the security lines, and get to your gate before
they begin boarding. If your first flight is a domestic flight, you should
arrive two hours before the scheduled departure time. If you first
flight is an international flight, you should arrive three hours before
the scheduled departure time. Check the airline’s website (or call their
flight status phone number) before going to the airport to confirm the
flight’s departure time and status.
Q. How can I check a flight’s status from home?
A. On the flight date the easiest way to check a flight’s
status is go to the airline’s website. There is usually somewhere on the site marked FLIGHT STATUS
where it asks you to input the flight number and date (or departure and
arrival airports). It will then show you if the flight is delayed, the
actual time the flight departed, and when it is expected to land (and
possibly the arrival gate). This is convenient in case of bad weather so
you can be aware of any delays before you go to the airport. If you cannot
find the flight status information on the website, you can call the
airline’s automated flight arrival and departure number. It is a good idea
to do this for every flight, no matter what the weather, as there is always
the possibility of other airline related problems that might cause delays or
cancellations (mechanical, crew, etc.) or flight number changes.
Q. Can I use the online check-in service from home
before I go to the airport?
A. No. Your ticket is part of a group reservation and
online check-in is not available for passengers on group tickets. While you can check-in individually, you must do so in person at the airline
counter. You would need to stand in line to check your bags and to get your
passport and/or visa screened anyway, so just plan to get to the airport in
time to wait in check-in lines.
Q. Will there be YFU Airport staff in the airport?
A. YFU Travel staffs the following international gateway
airports:
- Atlanta
Hartsfield - Jackson International Airport – ATL
- Chicago
O’Hare International Airport – ORD
- Dallas /
Fort-Worth International Airport – DFW
- Denver
International Airport – DEN
- Detroit
Metropolitan Wayne County Airport – DTW
- Houston
George Bush International Airport – IAH (international departures and
arrivals only)
- Los Angeles
International Airport – LAX
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – MSP
- Portland
International Airport – PDX
- San Francisco
International Airport – SFO
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport – SEA
- Washington
Dulles International Airport – IAD
- Frankfurt,
Germany International Airport – FRA
Q. What is the YFU Airport Staff uniform?
A. YFU
Airport Staff wear white T-shirts with a large blue YFU logo on the
front and “TRAVEL STAFF” printed on the back. They might also have a blue YFU
bag or a clipboard with the YFU logo on it.
Q. Will YFU Airport staff help me check-in and get
to my departure gate?
A. No. Since most students do not begin their travel at one
of the above staffed airports, YFU staff is not available to help you
check-in. Even if your initial check-in airport is one of the above
staffed airports, YFU staff members are usually stationed behind the
security area, where they can assist students with connections. Since your
parents or host family brought you to the airport, they should stay with you
until you get your boarding pass and are able to go through the security
line. Once behind security (where your parents cannot go), you can proceed
to your departure gate. You should always call YFU Travel if you have
any problems during your check-in procedure or finding your gate. We
can assist you over the phone or send a staff person to you if possible
and/or necessary.
Q. The agent at the ticketing counter says there is
something wrong with my ticket (or reservation) and will
not check me in or give me a boarding pass. What should I do?
A. If airline personnel tells you that there is a problem
with your ticket, please have them call us on our 1-800 number while you
are still at the counter. Do not give up your place in line, but ask the airline
agent to call 1-800-705-9510, so they can tell us the exact problem. We can
usually solve the problem or answer their questions while you are still at
the counter so they can issue your boarding pass within a few minutes.
Q. My flight is delayed and I will miss my connection or
international flight. What do I do?
A. If your flight is delayed to the point where you will
miss your next connecting domestic flight or the international group flight and you know this as you are in
line to check-in, make sure that the airline agent who is checking you in
rebooks you through to your final destination if necessary.
Example: You are departing Omaha and connecting
in Chicago for your international flight to Paris. If your flight out of
Omaha has been cancelled or delayed, but you can be rebooked on the next
flight to Chicago, arriving with at least one hour of connection time
before your next flight, you should still be able to make the flight to
Paris. Call YFU Travel and inform them of your new arrival time in Chicago
so that they can have staff waiting there to rush you to your international
connection.
But if your delay causes you to arrive into Chicago only 15
minutes before the international flight’s scheduled departure time, you will
not make it to the group flight in time. In this case, make sure that the
airline agent in Omaha rebooks you on the next flight(s) from Omaha all
the way through to Paris (not just Chicago). You don’t want to arrive
in Chicago and then have to wait in line again to get rebooked to Paris if
you can do it all in Omaha. Or if necessary they might book you via
another airport like Washington. This is OK, as long as it is one of the
YFU staffed gateway airports listed above. In any case of rebooking, you
must call YFU Travel to inform us of your itinerary changes. Then we can
inform the airport staff in your connecting airport and the YFU office in
the country you are flying to, to alert them of your new arrival time.
If the flight is delayed or cancelled after you are
already checked-in and behind security, DO NOT LEAVE THE SECURE AREA. If you are in a staffed airport, inform airport staff of the delay and they
can help you to get protected on another flight in case you will miss any
connections. If you are not in a staffed airport, go to the customer
service counter (within the secure area) and ask to have yourself rebooked
through to your final destination. It can sometimes be helpful to let
them know that you are a student and that you are a part of a group
meeting up in XYZ airport for your international flight. Always call YFU
Travel with the new information.
Q. My flight is cancelled and the airline tells me
they cannot rebook me until tomorrow. What should I do?
A. If your Host family or parents have brought you to your local
airport at the beginning of your travel and your first flight is cancelled, you should try to get
yourself rebooked on the same airline and date, all the way through to your
final destination if possible. If there are no more flights that day (bad
weather, late evening, etc.), then call YFU Travel so that we can advise
you of what to do. The airline might offer to rebook you on a
different airline that will take you through an unstaffed airport. While this might be an acceptable situation, please ask us first, as we
prefer to have all YFU students travel through staffed airports
whenever possible so that you do not get stranded alone for the night in an
unstaffed domestic or international airport. We might be able to fly you as
far as a YFU staffed airport, where you can overnight with staff and get
rebooked the next morning if necessary. Or we might advise you to return
to your home and rebook you for the next day (only if there is no way
for you to get to your final destination or a staffed YFU airport).
Depending on the delay situation, the availability of flights, and the
flexibility of your parents/host family, there may be different solutions
for individual cases.
Q. I have been rebooked onto a later flight. What
will happen to my luggage?
A. If your luggage is already checked-in and you miss a
flight, your luggage probably missed the flight too. It will likely be re-routed with you onto your next
flight. Keep your baggage claim tags in case for some reason your
luggage does not arrive at the same time you do. Chances are it was just
put on a different flight and will arrive in a matter of hours. Fill out a
claim form at the airline baggage office so they can find it and have it
delivered to you.
Q. My itinerary has changed. Who will notify my
parents or host family of my new arrival time?
A. You must inform YFU staff at the airport or call YFU
Travel with any flight changes due to airline delays or missed connections. We will pass along all new
itinerary information to the District Offices who will notify Host Families
and Natural Parents of any new arrival times. We will also inform our
Partner Offices abroad of any changes to international flight arrival times.
Q. I have arrived at a YFU staffed airport to make a
connection, but I do not see any YFU Airport Staff. What should I do?
A. While YFU Airport Staff will try to meet as many arriving
students as possible, there are often too many students flying through an airport on each day for them
to personally meet and escort everyone. If they do meet you, they will not
be able to stay with you the whole time you are in the airport, as there are
other students who might require assistance. Students with flight delays or
cancellations who need rebooking will take staffing priority. You should
not wait for YFU staff to come and get you. Upon arrival, proceed
directly to the departure gate for your next flight. If you are unsure
of where to go, check the screens marked “DEPARTURES” and find your flight
number and the assigned gate. If you can navigate the airport on your own,
that is great. If you need YFU Staff assistance and do not see anyone, you
can call 1-800-705-9510 toll-free from any pay phone to receive help. If it
is a group flight, you will likely meet other students at the gate. YFU
staff will stop by periodically to check on your flight in between assisting
other students with rebooking and/or connections.
Q. Who will meet the AO groups flying to
other countries?
A. Each YFU program abroad is run a little differently. Sometimes you will be met by YFU staff and/or volunteers
who will take you to a hostel or central location for a group orientation. You might stay at this site for a few days before continuing on to your Host
Family. Other times, you might immediately travel onward to your
host family via another flight or on a train. Staff or volunteers will help
you with these connections. In some cases your Host Family will be
at your international arrival airport to meet you and take you home. For
more information, contact your Admissions Counselor at 1-800-TEENAGE.
Q. How will I get from the international arrival airport
to my Host Family’s home in another country?
A. The YFU partner offices abroad arrange the travel
within each of their own countries. So while YFU Travel arranges your travel as a group into Helsinki,
once you are met at Helsinki’s international airport, your travel
arrangements are turned over to YFU Finland. Each student’s domestic travel
within Finland will be arranged separately. Some might fly, some might take
a train, and others might be met at the airport by the host family. YFU
Travel does not have the travel details for individual students after
arriving at the international gateway. Contact your admissions counselor or
your host family to find out what to expect once you arrive.
Q. I just arrived at my final destination, and my host
family is not here to meet me. HELP?
A. Sometimes the Host Family (or volunteer or whoever is
scheduled to pick you up) lives quite a distance from the airport. It might take them a few hours to
get there or there might be traffic delays. When you arrive, proceed to
the baggage claim area and collect your bags. If you still do not see
anyone looking for you, stay in the baggage area for a while, as they
might be parking the car or just in the wrong part of the airport. Listen
to announcements and pages in case you are called. Do not panic. If after
30 minutes you still have not been met, go to a pay phone and call YFU
Travel at 1-800-705-9510. We will be able to contact your District
Office and/or Host Family to find out if there is a problem or if your
family is on the way. We will ask you to call us every 15 minutes or so to
check in and to see if we (or you) have any new information. Usually the
Host Family is just running a little late. If there is some kind of a
problem or emergency, we will make alternate arrangements for you.
Q. How long will it take for a student to clear
Immigration and Customs?
A. For an AO student returning home to the USA it
can take about one hour to get through the lines, depending on
traffic. It might take longer for an AO to clear Immigration and Customs upon arrival in a foreign country.
For an arriving IS student it usually takes two to three hours
to get through Customs and Immigration, depending on which airport and what
time of day/how many flights arrive around the same time.
Q. What time should I plan to arrive at the airport to
pick up my student?
A. It is preferable to be early, as arriving international
students tend to worry and get nervous if no one is there to pick them up at their final destination! So
please consider traffic and parking when figuring what time to depart
for the airport.
If you are picking up a
student at the international gateway airport, remember that it will
take the student time to get through Customs and Immigration. You should
plan to get there with enough time to park and be in the international
arrivals area, assuming it will take about an hour after the flight’s
arrival time for the student to exit, but plan on waiting a while longer in
case of lots of passenger traffic.
If you are picking up a student at a domestic airport,
you should plan to be inside the airport by the time the flight arrives, but
you will need to wait outside of the security area. If there is not a
convenient waiting place right where passengers exit the secure area, you
can wait in the baggage claim area of the student’s flight.
Q. I got to the airport to find that my arriving
student’s flight is delayed by two hours. Why wasn’t I notified earlier
by YFU?
A. Flight changes, delays, and cancellations can occur at any
time. YFU Travel passes along updated itinerary and
arrival information to our District Offices as we learn of it from students
or staff in the
airports. The Districts then forward the information to host families,
natural parents, and volunteers. While we monitor flight departures and
arrivals from our headquarters in Bethesda, we might not be aware of every
single flight delay or missed a flight out of an unstaffed airport if the
student has not called to inform us. It is always advised that those on the
way to pick up students check the flights’ status on the airline’s website
for the most up-to-date arrival information. If we hear anything we will
try to contact you. But sometimes we might not be aware of a student missing
a flight or of a delay until you are already on the way to the airport (or
until the flight arrives without the student). Unless the
students call us in those situations, we don’t know any more than you
do; then we have to track them down.
Q. Why was my student’s flight delayed/cancelled/changed?
What will you do about it?
A. Airlines might delay or cancel flights due to many
reasons including bad weather, aircraft mechanical problems, crew
issues, etc. Sometimes delays can begin to build up in a sort of domino
effect (one flight arrives late, which delays the aircraft or crew for
another flight, which must then be delayed, and so on.). YFU cannot
control these problems and it is the responsibility of the airline to
rebook students in cases where they have delayed or cancelled a flight. YFU
can help with rebooking if necessary and will help booking and chaperoning
overnight hotel stays, but delays and cancellations are a fact of high
season travel that cannot be avoided completely. Students are asked to be
patient and listen to airline staff and YFU staff instructions for
rebooking.
Q. Who answers the YFU Travel Emergency 1-800 phone
number?
A. During regular office hours, and into late hours during
the busy travel summer season, the 1-800 number is answered by Travel Assistance Coordinators
TACs).
These seasonal staff members are stationed at YFU’s headquarters in Bethesda
Maryland during the summer and they supervise the Airport Assistance Staff
in the various US airports. They monitor all student flights, making sure
that all the students arrive safely where they are supposed to. They keep
an eye on flight delays, schedule changes, and cancellations and inform the
airport staff who are waiting for the students at their next connection, as
well as the appropriate District Office personnel so that the information
can be passed on to Host Families and/or parents waiting for their students
to arrive. They answer calls from students whose flight itineraries have
been changed or updated, help students to get rebooked after flight delays,
and arrange for overnight accommodations at airport hotels. They also
facilitate meetings between airport staff and students when a student is
lost in the airport, or connect students with host families who are trying
to find them in the airport.
The TACs are seasonally hired staff and are not travel
agents. They help to coordinate all the details in the airports and
help track down information about various students or flights, but they do
not have access to the same information as airline staff in the airports. While they can assist students over the phone by speaking with airline
personnel and/or our staff at other airports, we cannot instantly issue new
tickets or confirm if a student made a particular flight if none of our
staff was there to see that student board. It might take time for us to
follow up on a particular problem or question, so please be patient when you
call for information or assistance. TACs are very busy with many calls and
flights during the summer travel season.
Before or after regular office hours or when there are no
scheduled YFU group flights, the 1-800 number is answered by an off-site
24-hour answering service. If the call involves travel that day, the call
will be forwarded to the appropriate YFU Travel staff member for assistance. This can take some time, so please be patient when working with the
answering service.
Back to the top.
Miscellaneous
Q. Can I go visit my son/daughter who is in Sweden on
exchange?
A. Natural Parent visits are discouraged, as they can
disrupt the student’s period of adapting to the host family and culture and can create feelings of
homesickness. It can also be uncomfortable or awkward for the host family
to have the natural family around during the exchange. Visits can
sometimes be arranged, preferably at the end of the program, particularly if
the visit is limited to just a couple days, if the partner country and
host family agree to the visit, and it will not disrupt the student’s
program. To discuss arranging a visit, please contact your District
Office’s Support Services Manager.
Q. Can YFU Travel purchase a ticket for my host
brother/sister to fly home with me at the end of my YFU program for a visit?
A. No, YFU Travel cannot arrange or purchase travel for
non-YFU students. If you choose to purchase any tickets for natural or host siblings, parents, or
anyone else to accompany a YFU student on a flight, you do so at your own
risk, as YFU flights are subject to change until the ticket is issued, which
is usually within a few weeks of the travel date.
Q. Can I fly from my Host Family’s home in Albany to
Dallas to spend a few days with my relatives before flying home
to Japan on the regularly scheduled YFU group return flight?
A. YFU student tickets do not allow stopovers, so all travel
on a YFU ticket must be continuous. So, while we can change your return flight to Japan to depart
from Dallas instead of Albany, you would need to arrange and pay for your
own domestic travel from Albany to Dallas on the earlier date you
choose. If you are flying internationally on a date other than the group
flight date, CDR administrative fees will apply.
Q. I have purchased my own ticket from my Host Family’s
home to visit friends in Miami before departing home on the YFU group flight date to Brazil. Can I
get a direct flight from Miami to my home town of Recife instead of
going through Chicago and Sao Paolo?
A. No. YFU can change your return itinerary to depart from
Miami, but you will still travel on the YFU group flight
via a staffed gateway airport into the international arrival airport agreed
upon by your home country. If you have completed a CDR request to fly on a
date other than the group, we will try to get you on the most direct flight
home since you do not have to meet up with a group in a specific airport,
but you must still travel on a YFU contract ticket, so we will use certain
preferred airlines, routes, and gateway airports. Your alternative is
to purchase your own ticket for your return flight.
Q. I am the uncle of a YFU student who has a long layover
and will be staying overnight at a Chicago airport hotel with YFU airport staff. Can I take
him out to lunch/dinner during his layover?
A. No. YFU is responsible for students from the time they
leave their home or Host Family until they arrive at their final destination airport. While we
understand that family members or friends in the area might like to take a
student out while they are in the same city, it is not safe for us to let
students out of the airport or hotel without YFU staff. We are responsible
to make sure the student makes all connecting flights and therefore we
cannot let the student leave the airport or hotel in case flight times
change (in addition to other obvious safety reasons). If a family member
would like to visit a student, in rare cases, it might be possible for them
to meet within the airport or hotel with the approval of the Travel
Director, as long as it does not conflict with the staff’s schedule for transporting the student or group to and from the hotel. These meetings
will be arranged on a case-by-case basis when possible.
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