Flight travel question (is this legal?)

[nile455]

Suppose I am trying to get from Sydney (Australia) to Los Angeles, and the cheapest 1-way ticket I can find from Sydney is $800. But then I discover there's a $400 fare from Christchurch (New Zealand) to Los Angeles that changes planes in Sydney. Is it allowable for me to book that flight from Christchurch and just skip the first leg of it? (only using the segment from Sydney).

 

[cluvsdisney]

I doubt it, as far as I know, if a passenger skips the first leg of a flight like that, it will cancel the entire ticket.

 

[BadPinkTink]

no, airlines dont let you do this. They would see the first leg Christchurch to Sydney as a no show and you would not be allowed to check in at Sydney for the journey to LAX. When you book a non direct with layover / change of planes you must check in and board at the first portion of the trip.

The only option to you would be to go to Christchurch and checkin and board in Christchurch, even though it means going backwards to go forwards.

 

[SirDuff]

Suppose I am trying to get from Sydney (Australia) to Los Angeles, and the cheapest 1-way ticket I can find from Sydney is $800. But then I discover there's a $400 fare from Christchurch (New Zealand) to Los Angeles that changes planes in Sydney. Is it allowable for me to book that flight from Christchurch and just skip the first leg of it? (only using the segment from Sydney).

Nope - when you don't board in Christchurch, your ticket will be cancelled.

You can, usually, get away with skipping the last leg of a trip (as long as you have no luggage), but you'll not get away with skipping any other leg (as they will cancel all subsequent legs)*

*I am NOT saying that skipping the last leg is legal/allowed, but it can be possibly gotten away with.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Speaking as a flyer from the US, the airline would cancel the second part of your flight if you just don't show up for the first part. So, you would be denied boarding in Sydney. Again, though, I am not familiar with Australian airline practices. Perhaps you should try your question on the Transportation board to get more info. Good luck!

 

[nile455]

I doubt it, as far as I know, if a passenger skips the first leg of a flight like that, it will cancel the entire ticket.

no, airlines dont let you do this. They would see the first leg Christchurch to Sydney as a no show and you would not be allowed to check in at Sydney for the journey to LAX. When you book a non direct with layover / change of planes you must check in and board at the first portion of the trip.


The only option to you would be to go to Christchurch and checkin and board in Christchurch, even though it means going backwards to go forwards.

Nope - when you don't board in Christchurch, your ticket will be cancelled.


You can, usually, get away with skipping the last leg of a trip (as long as you have no luggage), but you'll not get away with skipping any other leg (as they will cancel all subsequent legs)*


*I am NOT saying that skipping the last leg is legal/allowed, but it can be possibly gotten away with.

Speaking as a flyer from the US, the airline would cancel the second part of your flight if you just don't show up for the first part. So, you would be denied boarding in Sydney. Again, though, I am not familiar with Australian airline practices. Perhaps you should try your question on the Transportation board to get more info. Good luck!

I forgot to mention it's two different airlines.

 

[SirDuff]

I forgot to mention it's two different airlines.

On one ticket? Still not going to work. And if on two tickets, I don't understand (since the second ticket would still just be the SYD-LAX, more expensive, ticket).

 

[BadPinkTink]

I forgot to mention it's two different airlines.

still would not be allowed. Even though its 2 different airlines, its whats called a codeshare agreement and is still technically the same ticket.

I have done this before

Dublin to London, London to LAX all on 1 ticket but with 2 different airlines.

The Dublin to London part was with Aer Lingus and the London to LAX was with British Airways. The two airlines are codeshare partners. This is a way for airlines to offer a service to their customers without actually having to have a plane on a particular route. In my case, Aer Lingus were offering flights to LAX by partnering with British Airways.

I checked in at Dublin and was given 2 boarding cards, 1 for each part of the journey. When I got to London my bags went direct to the next plane, and I stayed airside. I followed the transfer signs and did not have to go through security. Even though I changed planes I did not have to check in for the London to LAX part of the journey

 

[nile455]

On one ticket? Still not going to work. And if on two tickets, I don't understand (since the second ticket would still just be the SYD-LAX, more expensive, ticket).

Here are the links via Google Flights:

$795 Sydney to LAX on American Airlines ----->
https://www.google.com/flights?hl=e...X0AA72;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f;tt:o;sp:2.USD.79491

$360 Christchurch to Sydney on JetStar and then changing over to the same LAX American Airlines flight as above ----->
https://www.google.com/flights?hl=e...X0AA72;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f;tt:o;sp:2.USD.35955

 

[SirDuff]

Here are the links via Google Flights:

$795 Sydney to LAX on American Airlines ----->
https://www.google.com/flights?hl=e...X0AA72;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f;tt:o;sp:2.USD.79491

$360 Christchurch to Sydney on JetStar and then changing over to the same LAX American Airlines flight as above ----->
https://www.google.com/flights?hl=e...X0AA72;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f;tt:o;sp:2.USD.35955

Single ticket - not going to work.

 

[BadPinkTink]

did you see this

6:30 AM

Christchurch International Airport CHC
Travel time: 3h 30m
8:00 AM

Sydney Airport SYD
Jetstar
Economy

Airbus A320
JQ 140
Ticket also sold by American

This means its a Codeshare / partnership, the same as my example above.

This means that Jetstar have partnered with American. And like in my example above, you would check in at Christchurch and be given 2 boarding cards. Your bags would go direct to the next plane and you would just follow the transfer signs and you would not check in for the second part, you would just go direct to the boarding gate

 

[nile455]

did you see this



This means its a Codeshare / partnership, the same as my example above.

This means that Jetstar have partnered with American. And like in my example above, you would check in at Christchurch and be given 2 boarding cards. Your bags would go direct to the next plane and you would just follow the transfer signs and you would not check in for the second part, you would just go direct to the boarding gate

Thanks for the info.

 

[mnrose]

Definitely cannot do this. You can do it where the flight you don't take is the SECOND leg. Then, assuming you don't have any checked bags, get off the plane and not take the next flight. But, even in this case, if your ticket is a round trip ticket, they will cancel the return flight if you've not shown for the entire set of flights on the outbound. Those airlines are very particular about people NOT doing what you suggest.

 

[SirDuff]

BTW - what you are trying to do is called 'hidden city routing'

 

[kaytieeldr]

How much would it cost you to fly from Sydney to Christchurch?

 

[bcla]

I forgot to mention it's two different airlines.

If you book it together and they see it as a no-show on the first segment they'll likely cancel the entire ticket. If you try calling it in that you can't make the first segment (like giving an excuse that you had to leave early and found your own way), they'll probably still cancel it because that's highly suspicious. If they realize you're booking from Australia, that will also set off so many red flags for the airline.

Some people are discussing the "hidden city" trick where sometimes A to B to C costs less than A to B. The idea is to book it, then throw away the B to C segment. Airlines hate that and consider it gaming the system. They can do things as drastic as cancelling someone's frequent flier membership or even completely banning a passenger from flying on that airline. What you're proposing probably doesn't work because linked tickets are generally cancelled if a segment is missed.

 

[bcla]

How much would it cost you to fly from Sydney to Christchurch?

That would definitely make it OK with the airline if that manages to use all legs. The only problem would be if there's a delay or flight cancellation. It would also waste quite a bit of time, which I'm guessing the OP isn't looking to do just to save maybe $200 if a cheap flight can be booked.

I took a look on Google Flights, and it's showing as low as $116 USD one way.

 

[bcla]

BTW - what you are trying to do is called 'hidden city routing'

I thought that hidden city meant a 1st segment is used while the 2nd segment is discarded. The OP is proposing the 1st segment being discarded. Airlines really, really hate it. It's not just the idea that it's being gamed, but that often it's on the same plane. They always do a headcount and (since passengers don't want to alert anyone to what they're doing) then someone is unaccounted for. I think the big worry is that someone might leave an explosive device on a plane, and hightail it out of there.

There are some serious drawbacks too, such as when there's a flight change or cancellation. When someone is trying to go A>B and throw away a B>C segment, it's not going to work if rerouted to an A>C flight.

 

[kimblebee]

Definitely cannot do this. You can do it where the flight you don't take is the SECOND leg. Then, assuming you don't have any checked bags, get off the plane and not take the next flight. But, even in this case, if your ticket is a round trip ticket, they will cancel the return flight if you've not shown for the entire set of flights on the outbound. Those airlines are very particular about people NOT doing what you suggest.

I’d assume you’d have to tell someone you weren’t taking the second leg. Otherwise, the airline is going to expect you to be on that flight and will hold up the departure trying to find you.

 

[MillauFr]

I’d assume you’d have to tell someone you weren’t taking the second leg. Otherwise, the airline is going to expect you to be on that flight and will hold up the departure trying to find you.

Why would they hold the departure? On Alaska they close the doors up to 15 minutes early. They won't bother look for you or holding the flight. Only exception if they knew you were on a connecting flight with a short connection period.