We finally made a decision about the tickets. Oleg will go back home after the court, and I will most likely stay in Odessa to finish the process (unless the wait for the passports is too long). With that in mind we bought a round-trip tickets from JFK to Kiev, hoping that Oleg will use them to fly back and I'll only need to change my return ticket. We are flying by Aerosvit (Ukrainian Airlines), and the penalty to change a ticket is $150. We also bought one-way tickets from Rochester to JFK by JetBlue. Their prices for one-way ticket are exactly twice cheaper than roundtrip, so it makes sense to buy the return tickets later and not pay the $45 penalty fee (not a big fee, but why pay it?) We could've bought a little bit less expensive tickets (about $50 less each) if buying all flights together. But in this case we would have to fly through Detroit, or some other hub, have 3 flights rather than 2, and we were not comfortable with that. Not only it would be more complicated to change the tickets for 3 legs, but also there is a chance that the flight out of Rochester is cancelled (it happens from time to time). Since we live relatively close to New York (6 hours drive or 1 hour flight), we can always drive to New York to get to our flight to Kiev.
Originally we called Lonnie Rowland from the Rowland Enterprises, who was recommended by many people from the FRUA board. He gave us several very good quotes, but they were in line with what I found online, so I decided to buy the tickets without his help. Lonnie also provides a VIP service in the Kiev Borispol Airport. Since we speak Russian, we don't need this service, but many people used it and were very happy. Just last week Sean and Tracey O'Hara used the VIP service and were very happy they did! Not only their baggage was delayed and they had to fill out the forms in Russian at the airport, but also their SDA appointment was at the same day! They are currently in Odessa adopting their 2 beautiful daughters. Please keep them in your prayers as they are hoping to have a court date later next week.
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6 comments:
Now it must feel very real! Once those tickets are booked, the countdown to travel truly begins. It's so exciting to see some of the trips starting for families we've followed over this past year. Can't wait to read more as your travel date comes closer.
Congrats on getting the tickets. One more big milestone!
Good! One more step closer!
I went to the website that you linked to and I'll be going back. I didn't have time today to read much but I want to later.
Our 20 days was up on Friday. So we'll see when we get "the call". I think I am going to be so excited when that happens. I was happy to get the dossier submitted but to have a travel date--that will be the "real deal" then!
This is the part oft he process that always makes me the most nervous. I don't know why...I think it's probably because we don't fly all that often and the thought of having to change flights intimidates me! UGH!
Congrats on getting the tickets!
Congrats on navigating the wonderful world of airlines...ugh. Just make sure you confirm those seats. It seems every time we turned around something else was occurring. Sure wish you guys could have been here right now. Would love to have experienced Odessa with you. Will try and figure out what street #4 is on for the Bus 127. Do you know which number Raisa is in? Been enjoying your comments, hope the pictures remind you of your past in good ways!
Hi Nataliya,
Thanks so much for your good wishes! We looked at your blog, and it seems like if anyone should be able to adopt from Ukraine, it should be you! We'll keep following your blog, and if we learn any information that might help you, we'll let you know.
Vsego khoroshego,
Phil & Robin
Congrats on getting the flights booked. That was one of the hardest parts for us. We flew Aerosvit to Ukraine, but they were unable to get me & our son on a return flight home. It was a mess. We ended up flying a different airline home. And we are still fighting with Aerosvit to get the money back since the ticketrs were fully refundable.
We'll be following your journey throughout the holiday season. Congratulations on your appointment date!
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