Question about flight - Buying RT & only using one segment

[Sea Island Lady]

We want to book a round trip airfare, and use only the segment coming home. Can this be done with the new airport regulations...skipping the first part and not checking in until we are coming home?

[TERRY223]

Call your airline, they'll probably want to know WHY- also.:confused:

[KEG21552]

I tried with American to do something similar. I had reservations for my son to fly from Austin to Dallas to New York City. In the meantime, he moved to Dallas and I just needed to cancel the first part. They would not do it without a 100.00 charge so I ask what would happen if he just did not show up in Austin, but was there in Dallas for the connection. (Was not the same flight, he would have had to change in Dallas) They said the reservation would be cancelled if he wasn't there for the first segment. I know your situation is different, but I would sure check and get names.

Good Luck.

Karen

[Sheffie]

Have you looked in to having THAT be your first leg of the flight instead of the return one?

 

Maybe that would make a difference.

[London, Canada]

Have you looked in to having THAT be your first leg of the flight instead of the return one?

 

Maybe that would make a difference.

 

 

Excellent point...but in Canada, as far as I know, you don't need to use the first leg of a flight, just advise that you are not taking it...and will be using the return...a TA can confirm all for you...good luck.

[betsycam71]

Most airlines will cancel your remaining flight(s) if you don't show up for the first one.

 

For example: Delta's website says this:

 

I purchased a ticket and cannot make one of my flights. Will my reservation be canceled?

Yes. All flights in an itinerary must be taken in the order purchased, otherwise your entire reservation is subject to cancellation. If you are unable to make one of your flights, call Delta Reservation Sales at 800-221-1212 on or before your travel date. A change fee and additional collection may apply to change your ticket. See the Fares page for additional information.

 

Just my 2 cents. I would not intentionally try to do this.

[Sea Island Lady]

Have you looked in to having THAT be your first leg of the flight instead of the return one?

 

Maybe that would make a difference.

Duh!!! Now why didn't I think of that? :rolleyes: We just make the first segment on the date we want to return and pick a future date for the destination that we never take.

Thank you! :)

[BethCarp]

If you did it the other way around (book the part that you're using as your first flight) how would the airline know that you just didn't "miss" your second flight. Would there be any repurcussions even if they did find out?

[sally r]

Sea Island Lady (HI!) book your flight backwards. We do it all the time. Make sure the flight you want is the first one on your round trip. You can just toss the return tickets in the trash. Call your airline. They may give you a good price for a one way fare. OR book your return flight a ways out and do the transatlantic cruise backwards next spring!

We have a credit card that gives us air miles and we NEVER pay for air and always fly first class. We put every expense we can on it (pay it off every month) and it saves us gobs of money.

[Sea Island Lady]

We do the same thing with our VISA. ;)

[sally r]

Bethcarp, there are no repercussions if you don't take a flight segment..in fact, the airlines count on a certain percentage of no-shows.

[stew4united2]

Let me help here...as an airline employee. Providing you buy a non refundable ticket with change/cancellation fees, heres the scoop. lets use origin point A and destination point C with a same day connection at point B. Follow so far? Just a joke.:) Being that fares are constructed from origin to destination, the connection point is of no matter fare wise. The carrier expects passengers to fly from their origin to destination. Most connection points are dominated by 1 airline and fares are usually much higher leaving from such a city, so the airline will try to protect the premium it charges out of its hub by not allowing passengers who've purchased tickets from a less expensive point to begin their travel at the connecting hub. Expample: flying from Atlanta to LA might cost $400 round trip, but you can fly from New Orleans to LA with a connection in Atlanta for $200 round trip. I'm using Delta here and totally making up the fares for the sake of the example. Delta is forced to offer a low fare from New Orleans due to the considerable competition in that market, whereas in Atlanta they dominate and can charge a premium. Delta (most airlines) will cancel your entire reservation if you try to board in Atlanta without starting your travel in New Orleans as your ticket reads. Thats how they protect their $200. Now, you might find in many cases, round trip fares are less expensive than one way fares. In this case, you can make the choice not to take the return flight, without any refund. On the return, you can get off at a connection point if you wish, but again, no refund. Please remember that baggage checked will fly to the final destination even if you dont. I hope this info helps you. Bottom line...buy what you need and please don't try to take undue advantage of the airlines. Thousands of people with families to support are out of work in my industry due to a number of factors...fares are already at decade lows and fuel costs at record highs. Just play fair and everything will work out fine! ;)

[Globaliser]

On the return, you can get off at a connection point if you wish, but again, no refund. Please remember that baggage checked will fly to the final destination even if you dont.

For most cruisers, this is going to be the thing that prevents this from being of any use at all.

 

Plus, if you have boarding passes for both sectors of a connecting journey and you fail to turn up for the second one, you could be inconveniencing the other passengers on that second flight if it's held up while the ground staff are looking for you. That, it seems to me, is selfish.

 

If you're going to play games like this, it's better to fly the entire outbound trip as booked and completely miss the return journey. That minimises the problems and the risks to yourself.

[stbmom]

I flew on a major airline and they checked me in as the wrong person on one of my segments going. When I went to return, they had major questions about why I didn't take one of my segments. I had to show them my boarding pass from the last flight (luckily I didn't throw it away). So, again, it's fine if you don't take the return, but don't play around with it if you need to be somewhere. With security concerns and all that other stuff - they are becoming more strict.

Are you flying somewhere that discount carriers that speacialize one one way fares don't go?

[ducklite]

Bottom line...buy what you need and please don't try to take undue advantage of the airlines. Thousands of people with families to support are out of work in my industry due to a number of factors...fares are already at decade lows and fuel costs at record highs. Just play fair and everything will work out fine! ;)

 

Sorry, I don't buy it. Southwest has a strong balance sheet and doesn't charge a premium for a one-way ticket. I'm in a situation in January where I need to fly back and forth to Florida three times, and won't always have a Saturday stayover. I'm booking tickets with two carriers and mixing them up to give me a Saturday stayover for each flight, and don't feel at all guilty about it. And no, I won't get caught. They don't code share.

 

If the airlines want to improve the bottom line, here's how they can do it... treat passengers fairly and with respect.

 

I have two carriers I'll NEVER fly again (one is the one you work for) because of repeated poor treatment by employees. I'm not that difficult to keep happy. But when you make an emergency landing due to operational (human) error, causing me to miss my connection, then shuttle me back and forth between three terminals in Dulles for over three hours to get me onto another connection with other carriers after not properly endorsing my ticket, yadda yadda, and when I ask if I can make a phone call home to tell them I won't be on my flight you scream at me that there is a public payphone down the councourse, I don't need that, there are other carriers I can use. And I do.

 

I travel an average of 6-8 times a year for leisure travel, ie I pay for the ticket out of my pocket. I will pay a higher fare rather than fly these two carriers on my permanent no-fly list. They have lost my business, forever, because they treated me so poorly so many times. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels the same way. That's a lot of lost revenue.

 

I was on a flight a few weeks ago that was delayed by weather. The gate agent kept us all up-to-date on a regular basis, every 10-15 minutes with announcements as to where the plane was, when it would arrive, how long it would take to turn it around, and even encouraged people to go find some dinner at one poijnt when it was further delayed due to landing backups. Once onboard the flight attendents looked tired, but were still pleasant and friendly. That was great service, and made me glad I had chosen to fly with that carrier.

 

But I digress. It seems to me that the ones taking the advantage are the airlines. Charging more for a one way ticket than a r/t is absurd. There is no economics behind it other than greed. And those practices are exactly what has driven savvy travelers to use back-to-backs and other ways of getting around a riduclous fare scheme. As I said, Southwest sets an example of how fares should be priced, and they have a strong bottom line.

 

Anne

[springtxbill]

I agree that there is no reason a rt should be cheaper than one way, or that a last minute flight should be $1000. Last Tuesday before Thanksgiving my wife was delayed at the airport and there was a soldier just back from Iraq that Continental charged him $1000 each way to I believe Brownsville from Houston to be with his family for a few days before going back. Such things do not make sense and is why the "major" airlines are in trouble and lines like Southwest are making money.

[dad son team]

The airlines, any of them, will cancel all flights AFTER a flight you do no show for. If you call and tell them that you are not going to make your flight, they will recalculate the fare for the remaining flight and charge you any additional fees.

 

The reason some oneway fares are higher is strictly because they are more profitable for the airlines as the majority of the people that pay them are business travelers and they don't flintch as fast as the leisure traveler. They usually have no advance purchase, are refundable, and do not have a minimum stay requirement. The arguement is that the airlines can charge lower leisure fares to the "common" people because they over charge the business traveler to make up the difference.

 

I actually had a conversation with someone last night about airline fares and realized that the fares we are paying today are not much higher, if at all higher, than they were 15 years ago. I can still fly to Florida from NY for $200 r/t, and, when they are on sale, to LAX for about the same. As a matter of fact, I traveled to LAX in Oct. for $229, and I am going again next week for $269. I am sure the airlines expenses are higher today than they were 15 years ago.

 

Please understand that I am not defending airline pricing. I think it is one of the most confusing, backwards, and just plain stupid system on the planet. I am just making a point.

[rngrblu9]

sally r & sea island lady:

 

hi all! what credit cards do u have that gives air miles?! please share...thanks!

[sally r]

We use the Alaska Airlines Visa, rngrblu9. Won't work for those on the East coast very well. Their hub is Seattle so is perfect for us. Also their miles don't expire. Alaska's partner airlines are Continental, Delta and Hawaiian so we can usually get a flight. Find an airline that flies to your most visited destinations and apply for their card. American Express also has a good mileage plan.

 

Alaska Airlines, which is doing well, also has what they call "common sense" fares: Half price one way tickets and reasonable first class fares. Also, if we are taking a cruise where we only need to fly one way, say back from Honolulu, Alaska will only charge my mileage account half the required miles! All I have to do is fax my cruise receipt and itinerary to them.

[DannyS]

If you skip one segment of a trip, the rest of your trip after that segment will be cancelled.

 

If you aren't checking bags, you could "miss your connection" and end your trip in a hub city. However, your bags must be checked to your final destination. If you try claim your luggage as "lost" and have it shipped to where you decided to end your trip, they'll want the difference in fare + change fees before they give you your bags.

[Sea Island Lady]

Had no idea this thread would take off with all the disagreeing. :eek:

 

I guess I should clarify what we are doing and should have used the Floataway Lounge to ask this question since it is unrelated to cruising. I forget because this board is so friendly and always so knowledgeable and helpful! ;)

 

We want to book a round trip airfare, and use only the segment coming home. Can this be done with the new airport regulations...skipping the first part and not checking in until we are coming home?

When I say "we", I mean my DH and I want to book a flight for our daughter as a surprise Christmas gift. Our daughters best friend will be driving home for Christmas. She lives in Baltimore. She wants our daughter to ride back with her and stay a few days, and then fly home. Our daughter looked into a one way ticket back from Baltimore and the prices are ranging from $249 to $462. The lowest fair takes her on an overnight layover to Orlando! :eek: The others have really long layovers. She gave up on the idea of visiting with her friend.

We can get her a one week round trip flight (using the first segment from BWI as suggested here) for $163 ....one stop in Charlotte...short layover.

Does anyone see a problem with this?

 

rngrblu9 - We use our banks Visa card that gives us a point for every dollar spent.

[stew4united2]

Indeed...I absolutely agree that airline pricing is backwards, confusing, and makes little sense to the consumer. Very true as well that oneway tickets are priced through the roof on the "Majors" in many instances in an attempt to force business travellers to pay a premium for the need to travel last minute. With the advent of the internet and the explosion of "low cost" airlines in the US, low prices are the norm. Those talking about Southwest...some facts to be aware of please....Southwest has one airplane type saving on training and upkeep. Many of the cities they serve are "B" airports like Chicago Midway and Oakland, this offers lower operating fees and less facility congestion. They offer no meals/inflight entertainment/or international service. Their Rapid Rewards program is brilliantly simple and rewards expire, so they don't bank millions of free tickets that drag the bottom line. And finally their employees are very, very efficient...treated with respect from their Company and it shows. Southwest has a winning model making it possible to charge decent fares and bare bones, but friendly, service.

 

No matter what airline any of you fly...every one of them will dissappoint someone with "poor service"...Southwest has done it...Jet Blue has done it...God knows, the majors do it. So just find who works for you and keep buying tickets! All of us have had bad service...all of us have experienced exceptional service. Everyone is human, we all have bad days and sometimes frustration is unloaded in the wrong direction. Personally, all I can do is my best. Thank you for all of your input and opinions.

[DannyS]

Southwest also does not offer convenient coast to coast travel, nor do they serve many major cities.

 

Southwest also does not offer assigned seating. They have a cattle call at the gate, and you get to fight for a window or aisle, or get stuck in the middle.

 

Southwest is less expensive - but it is also the aviation equivalent of Greyhound.

 

I know many people who tried Southwest for their low fares, and swore that they'd never fly them again after experiencing the product.

[Sea Island Lady]

Is Southwest the airline that is featured on that "Airport" show about all the problems...drunks, missed flights, etc?

[jwlane]

show about all the problems...drunks,

You want them on your flight?