How to Say 'A Return Ticket to the Airport, Please' in French
Learn to buy a round-trip ticket in French, including return date and time, with polite phrases and a realistic ticket-office dialogue.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
If you already know how to ask for a single ticket in French, the next useful step is buying a return ticket. In French, a round-trip ticket is usually called un aller-retour (literally 'a go-return'). You will ask for the destination, then add the return date and time. This lesson gives you complete, polite phrases for a ticket counter, a train station, or a bus office, and shows how to understand the seller's reply.
By the end, you can…
- ask for a return ticket to a destination in French.
- give a return date and time using simple French phrases.
- ask and answer questions about ticket price and departure details.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Un aller-retour pour l'aéroport, s'il vous plaît.
A return ticket to the airport, please.
uh(n) ah-lay ruh-toor poor lah-ay-roh-por, seel voo pleh
Standard polite request at a ticket counter. Use pour before the destination. In Canada, you may also hear un billet aller-retour.
Je voudrais un aller-retour pour Paris.
I would like a return ticket to Paris.
zhuh voo-dreh uh(n) ah-lay ruh-toor poor pah-ree
Je voudrais is a polite way to say 'I would like'. It works in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada.
Le retour est pour quand ?
When is the return for?
luh ruh-toor eh poor kah(n)
Use this to ask about the return date. The seller may answer with a date or ask you for one.
Je reviens le 15 juin.
I'm coming back on June 15.
zhuh ruh-vyan luh kanz joo-an
Use le + date for a specific return day. For 'on the 15th', say le quinze.
Il y a un train à 18 heures ?
Is there a train at 6 p.m.?
eel yah uh(n) tran ah deez-weet uhr
Use à + time for departure or return time. French often uses the 24-hour clock for transport: 18 heures = 6 p.m.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is: un aller-retour + pour + destination. For example, Un aller-retour pour Lyon, s'il vous plaît. To add a return date, use pour + date: Un aller-retour pour Lyon pour le 3 mai. To add a return time, use à + time: Un aller-retour pour Lyon pour le 3 mai à 17 heures. If you only need a single ticket, say un aller simple. The word billet ('ticket') is common in Canada and also understood in France, but in France un aller-retour alone is very natural at a counter.
When to use it
Use these phrases at a train station, airport shuttle desk, bus station, or ferry office. Start politely with Bonjour, then say your request. If the seller asks « Aller simple ou aller-retour ? », answer « Un aller-retour, s'il vous plaît. » If you need to change the return, say « Je voudrais changer le retour. » For a same-day return, you can say « Un aller-retour dans la journée. » In Belgium and Switzerland, aller-retour is also standard; in Canada, billet aller-retour is very common.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Bonjour, un aller-retour pour l'aéroport, s'il vous plaît.
Hello, a return ticket to the airport, please.bon-zhoor, uh(n) ah-lay ruh-toor poor lah-ay-roh-por, seel voo plehBien sûr. Le retour est pour quelle date ?
Of course. What date is the return for?byan sewr. luh ruh-toor eh poor kel datPour le 15 juin, à 18 heures, si possible.
For June 15, at 6 p.m., if possible.poor luh kanz joo-an, ah deez-weet uhr, see po-see-bluhD'accord. Ça fait 24 euros.
All right. That comes to 24 euros.dah-kor. sah feh van-kat uhr-ohA little context goes a long way
In France, a simple Bonjour before your request is expected and makes the interaction smoother. At ticket counters, the 24-hour clock is normal for schedules, so 18 heures means 6 p.m. In Canada, you will often hear billet instead of the France-style usage of aller-retour alone, and prices are in Canadian dollars. In Belgium and Switzerland, French ticket vocabulary is similar, but currency and some route names differ.
One thing to watch for
Saying « Un retour pour l'aéroport » when you want a round-trip ticket.
Try this instead: Un retour by itself usually means only the return part, not the whole round trip. Say « Un aller-retour pour l'aéroport, s'il vous plaît. » If you want only one way, say « Un aller simple pour l'aéroport, s'il vous plaît. »
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask for a return ticket to the station in French?
Show a sample answer
Un aller-retour pour la gare, s'il vous plaît.
This uses the pattern un aller-retour + pour + destination. You could also say Je voudrais un aller-retour pour la gare, which is equally correct and slightly more polite.
2You want to return on May 3 at 5 p.m. Add this to your request in French.
Show a sample answer
Un aller-retour pour Lyon pour le 3 mai à 17 heures, s'il vous plaît.
Pour le 3 mai gives the date, and à 17 heures gives the time. In everyday speech, you may also hear à 5 heures de l'après-midi, but transport schedules usually use the 24-hour clock.
3The seller asks « Aller simple ou aller-retour ? » What does this mean, and how do you answer if you want a round trip?
Show a sample answer
It means 'One-way or round-trip?' You answer: Un aller-retour, s'il vous plaît.
Un aller simple is a one-way ticket, and un aller-retour is a round-trip ticket. Adding s'il vous plaît keeps the answer polite.
Use un aller-retour pour + destination to ask for a round-trip ticket, then add pour + date and à + time for your return. Keep Bonjour and s'il vous plaît for polite service.
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