How can I buy a plane ticket without a set date?

I want to get a one way plane ticket for a friend's birthday that they can use whenever they would feel like it - well within a considerable amount of time prior to booking it. Is there a way I can buy a plane ticket without a set date and maybe pay extra fees for them to actually pick a date later? I need the ticket to be used up within the next year or two. Thanks.|||I doubt you can buy a ticket for a non-specific date to a non-specific destination - and (s)he must be some friend if you only want it one way!





You can buy airline gift vouvhers - BA, Monarch, Thomsonfly all do them. But don't buy the Ryanair or easyJet ones - they will cost money to redeem (http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_rad鈥?/a> )|||Almost all airlines have done away with "open tickets". It really started after 911 as a security thing.





These days you have to actually set a date to the ticket with a reservation. If you but an expensive coach ticket, or a fitst class ticket, sometimes these tickets flexible so you can change dates without a problem. But these types of tickets are very expensive.|||most airlines no longer offer the open ended tickets anymore. but instead how about buying them a gift card for that airline? I know my mom and dad always buy me gift cards for southwest airlines. I get them in email. or i'm sure you can get an actual card!!!!! just do some research, and buy it for a decent amount, usually if you book it far enough ahead of time the lowest fare is anywhere from $49-$149 each way. so a $200 or $300 gift card would be good for one or maybe even two flights!!!! hope this helps|||from what i know, you can buy a ticket that is good for 6 months...i forgot what exactly its called...but that ticket, does not necessarily have a date as long as it will be used within 6 months of purchase...but of course there's always a need for confirmation of the date...