A Different Southwest Airlines Question....

[speedyf]

I was just curious if anyone had ever booked a trip on Southwest going to Ft. Lauderdale or Ft. Myers....but, stayed in Orlando instead of continuing on with the last leg of the trip.

I noticed that many of the trips into Ft. Lauderdale or Ft. Myers on Southwest have a layover in either Tampa or Orlando. I received a DING fare a few weeks back for New Orleans to Ft. Lauderdale that was actually cheaper than the flight from New Orleans to Orlando. The flight stopped in Orlando for a 3 hour layover before continuing to Ft. Lauderdale. What would stop me from flying into Orlando and never catching the connecting flight out to Ft. Lauderdale? Is it unethical?

It just seems stupid that a flight to Ft. Lauderdale that stops in Orlando would be cheaper than a flight directly to Orlando....but, then again....air fares are never all that logical.

I know you wouldn't be able to catch the same deal going back.....I don't think they would let you check-in at Orlando if your flight originated in Ft. Lauderdale and you missed the first part of your flight.

Just wondering if anyone ever did this to save a buck.

Speed

 

[alacazander]

You couldn't check luggage unless you went to your final destination to pick it up.

Also, on your return..... you're airplane will have started out in another airport and they will probably cancel your reservation since you didn't show up for the first leg of it. I don't know if it would work.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You can do it IF you don't want to fly home on Southwest and if you're willing to run the risk not being able to use that airline in the future.

If you don't your outbound flight, your return flight will be cancelled. Period. The flight attendants do a headcount before the plane can take off - if you're on a continuing flight and just get off the plane in Orlando, you'll hold up everything while SWA tries to determine why the count's off. And if you have a connecting flight and don't board that, as I said, your return WILL be cancelled. Airlines also have the right not to sell you tickets in the future, including any type of return ticket.

 

[gigi1313]

for a one way trip w/no luggage, it's totally do-able... i considered it when i wanted to fly ISP to Nashville but the fare was cheaper to go to MCO, yet the plane stopped in Nashville... i called swa, asked an agent and was told that i could do it, it is not unethical and it's likely that people do it regularly... however, it could not be done for a round trip/return flight because you must check in in the originating airport... another problem at mco could be DME although i'm not sure how that would work...

 

[NotUrsula]

This is hidden-city ticketing, and SWA does NOT penalize you for it. They specifically allow it, in fact (see p.5): http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/customer_service_commitment/customer_service_commitment.pdf. What Katieeldr posted is accurate for just about any other US airline, but not for SWA.

However, you must understand that they won't leave your seat empty when you do it. If you are not in the seat at your origination point, you will be counted as a no-show and your seat will go to the standby pool for your entire ticketed outbound route. They won't pay to ship your luggage back to you from your original destination, either.

If you do a hidden-city itinerary on SWA with carryon luggage only, book all your tickets one-way, and be sure that the leg you intend to actually be on is the first leg you are ticketed for, you are home free. They will NOT cancel your return flight as long as it is on a separate itinerary, and they will not do anything nasty like void your RR account, ban you as a passenger or bill you for the fare difference after the fact. (Legacy carriers have been known to use all of those punishments for passengers who try hidden-city ticketing.)

 

[speedyf]

Thanks for the responses.

I completely forgot about the luggage situation. Since we usually go for no less than 7 days, I doubt we would be able to fit (or want to fit) everything in carry-on's. I was just curious since I had seen DINGs for Ft. Lauderdale.

I always book my Southwest flights as 2 seperate reservations....one going and one leaving.

Again...thanks for the responses. I doubt I will be doing this anytime soon, but I was just curious about the answer.

Speed

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, some people have found that the price difference on several tickets may make it worthwhile to ship luggage rather than checking it so as to make this sort of itinerary possible. You may want to do the math.

 

[speedyf]

Thanks for the FYI, NotUrsula....

I'm all about doing the math....even if it only saves me enough for that one extra Mickey Ice Cream Bar at the park....lol

Speed

 

[NotUrsula]

You're welcome. Considering that I was born just a few miles up the road from you, it seemed the neighborly thing to point out. (I lived on Grd. Caillou Rd. for years.)

 

[speedyf]

I was just in that area on Saturday....

Houma has really grown in the past few years. I was picking up things at Home Depot and Lowe's for the house we are building. I run all purchases (light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc...etc..) through my Disney Visa. Even some contractors such as septic, flooring, etc. accept Visa as well. Our next trip will be almost "free"....lol

Speed