gnomey

hi, so i m thinking of redeeming the AS companion pass for my friend and I for a RT ticket from SEA->OGG. this would be my first time using the benefit.

my questions are the following
* when checking in online and getting the e-boarding pass, both persons' boarding pass combined in a single boarding pass? or are they two separate boarding passes? is there a word 'companion' printed on the boarding passes?
* at what point, do they check to ensure you both are traveling together? is it at the gate right before boarding the plane? i presume the TSA agent have better things to worry about and do not care whether your boarding pass is associated to a companion pass or not?

obviously we plan to take the same SEA->OGG flight, but the reason i ask this question is because we plan to arrive at the airport differently. person A (primary holder) would connect from his hometown to SEA on another separate flight, and thus arrive airside and has no need to exit security again. person B (companion) lives in seattle and thus would go through security for the first time in SEA and will meet up with person A at the gate. could such an arrival plan present a problem?

i should also note that neither of us plan to check in baggage.

please advise, thanks!

macfadsj

On a companion ticket, there are two boarding passes. You can check in separately either online or at the airport, and neither of the boarding passes will indicate you are on a companion ticket. Although the rules indicate you must travel together, in practice, once at the airport, no Alaska or TSA employee verifies that you are in fact traveling together.

The only issue that might arise would be in the case where the person coming to SEA from another place misconnects and cannot make your flight to OGG. Although AS would not be obligated to change your flight to OGG without cost, I would expect them to be extremely accommodating.

However, to protect yourselves, it might be best to make the SEA originator the primary and the connecting passenger the companion. If both of you were not there to take the flight to OGG, they would allow the primary to travel without the companion, but might not allow the companion to fly without the primary.

Aloha!

ashill

The companion ticket is a discount code. Once ticketed, you each have your own tickets on the same reservation, just like any other purchased (with cash or miles) ticket. You can check in together or separately. The companion is on a regular ticket in a regular booking class (with full frequent flyer elite privileges and earning on AS or partners based on the booking class, etc). The only difference between buying a reservation for two travelers with the companion fare and without the companion fare is the amount charged to the credit card.

The companion code cannot be returned, which (by my understanding) is the main mechanism for preventing you from misusing it by not traveling together. (If you want to cancel or change one ticket, fine; the companion fare is used and can't be used again, and you'll have to pay the fare difference up to the full going rate at the time of the change, plus change fee.) I have never been asked about my traveling companion when boarding or checking in, and we don't always board together.

Scottrick

Spot on. I like to use the example of a buy-one-get-one-for-99-cents coupon at a grocery store. You walk out the store with two boxes of Cheerios. There's no difference between them except that one cost 99 cents.

I'm not clear on what you mean by saying the companion fare can't be used again. It is possible to change both tickets. The issue is that the companion discount has already been redeemed, and that's apparently too complicated for the website to figure out. To preserve the discount on the companion fare, you will need to call and change the reservation for both travelers on the phone and pay the fare difference for the primary traveler (or get credit for a cheaper flight). There's no fare difference for the companion fare (because it's still $99) but taxes might change.

No one cares when checking in or clearing security. I've only flown once without my companion, and it wasn't mentioned. I have another upcoming trip where I know the companion won't be there for the return journey. I don't know what the airline would do if the primary traveler was missing. I think the most likely action would be to cancel the return journey. So, always pay attention to who gets classified as primary vs. companion.

gnomey

i see. thanks for the helpful responses, everybody!

so sounds like there is not great scrutiny in ensuring whether you both are boarding together or not. but i guess if they really want to they still can.

but primary holder still holds the upperhand in ensuring booking is still valid.
in this scenario, i m quite surprised there is not a 'market' out there for people selling companion pass benefits to those without AS Visa CC. or maybe there is and i just havent stumbled upon the posts.

gnomey

what would the benefit be for only one of the persons flying (either primary or companion)? just curious why it ends up that only you will be traveling and not your primary/companion. or is it because of a plan change on the other persons' end?

lg20

The companion cannot travel without the primary, but the primary can travel without the companion.

If the primary no shows for a flight, their ticket will be canceled, and the companion's ticket is based on the primary's ticket will be canceled too. So the companion cannot fly, and the rest of the reservation will be canceled.

In practice, I don't know how fast that would happen in the system, so on the final flight I don't know if the system would require the companion being offloaded if the primary never shows, since the cancelation of the ticket would happen when the flight was closed out. I've never tried it.

gnomey

yeah i understand the rules here. but at the same time curious whether would the computer system detect immediately such that as you say, the companion will be pulled off the plane before departure.

i am just not seeing any (hidden) benefit where [full price tix + $99] is paid but only one person, presumably, the primary, fly. i doubt the companion can earn miles by being absent from the flight. perhaps i am not seeing something here yet.

lg20

There's no benefit to use it without one of the people flying. You can't use it to fly two people from different locations, or in different classes of service. The issues come up when one of the two wants to change plans, or not take the trip.

wanna go now

Has anyone used the companion pass for two other travelers? I have the card, but it says I must either travel or purchase the companion pass. So, I purchased it for two friends. Does anyone have any experience with this?

gnomey

i think i have read somewhere that the AS Visa card holder (the one that has the companion pass benefit) doesnt necessarily need to be the one flying, and could in fact pass on this benefit to someone else, bc the companion pass benefit is actually just a discount code. so whoever that knows the code can input it into the AS booking system and book the tickets. i havent personally done it, but i would love to know the answer to this question as well for future plans.

pcoll

Used one of our CDC for our daughter and fiancé LAX - PVR. I booked the trip for them and they were the only ones traveling.
No problems.

missydarlin

This would be incorrect.

But yes, the cardholder can purchase the tickets for two other travelers.

gnomey

i see. good to know.
so basically the cardholder needs to be the one making the purchase, and not just pass on the code to someone else. in this case, the way the system verifies it is that the name on credit card used to pay for the tickets would need to match the name of the person having companion pass benefits (within their AS account)?

wanna go now

Thanks. I started wondering because of the earlier answers to the OP, but now I remember that one person I booked is the "primary" as in paid full fare, and the other has the discount ticket. So, if the primary doesn't travel, I guess the discount person doesn't either.

I got confused for awhile that the "primary" was the card holder. I think I get it now.