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I would like to give a plane ticket from Perth to Melbourne (Australia) as a gift. However, since it is a surprise, I do not know the dates. How can I do this?

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You could:

  1. Give money instead of a ticket and the receiver could buy the ticket themselves. The advantage is that the receiver may choose additional booking details (e.g luggage, leg room). The disadvantage is that the receiver has to spend time booking the ticket or (as @phoog noted) the person may misuse the money;

  2. Give a gift voucher. For example Virgin Australia has them as it is written on their website. This resolves the issues with misusing the money preserving ability to choose additional options, however, you fix the carrier, so it may cost more than the cheapest option.

  3. Buy a fully flexible ticket, so that the receiver can change the date. For example, Virgin Australia has such tickets (according to their website):

    Flights booked via our website, mobile website or downloadable mobile application can be changed online or via the application up to 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure; or via the GCC up to flight departure. No change fee is applicable. Any difference in price between the original and new fare must be paid.

    However, in this case the price is higher than economy tickets.

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    Another disadvantage of #1 is that the recipient might decide to buy clothes with the money, or an air ticket to some other city, or anything else.
    – phoog
    Mar 20, 2016 at 13:15
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    As a slight modification to #2, a gift voucher from a travel agency might also be worth a thought. The advantage is that there's still some choice concerning the airline (assuming that Virgin Australia is not the only choice to go by in Australia, and also that Virgin Australia does not have 100% of coverage of Australia's domestic flight network).
    – O. R. Mapper
    Mar 20, 2016 at 19:39
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    @phoog Doesn't that make the gift better? What with it being something the receiver wants, rather than something the giver wants the receiver to want?
    – David Richerby
    Mar 20, 2016 at 20:33
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    @DavidRicherby: Perhaps, but whether it's better to give a gift or cash is a broader question. I think in this case we have to assume that the OP has settled on giving some form of gift, not cash. (And, for what it's worth, no I don't think giving cash is "better". The whole point of giving a gift is to choose something that the receiver does want, thus showing you know them well and care about them wholly. More than anything else it's supposed to be a touching gesture. Giving simply cash is lazy and thoughtless, though sadly many are just obsessed with financial value these days.)
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Mar 21, 2016 at 4:16
  • @DavidRicherby I was cynically thinking of someone buying the ticket as a gift for a scammer.
    – phoog
    Mar 21, 2016 at 4:55
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Are you buying them any ticket they want or have you a budget in mind?

You could always just give them a card with nice penmanship saying you are giving them a ticket from X to Y on the date of their choice. Of course a handwritten card maybe way too old fashion for this crowd.

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  • That was my first thought. They open the card, and you simply explain that whenever they want to fly, send over the details and you'll buy the ticket.
    – Insane
    Mar 20, 2016 at 20:36
  • +1 this is actually a very nice idea, plus it adds a personal touch to the entire thing.
    – Burhan Khalid
    Mar 21, 2016 at 5:35

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