Practical Travel Safety Issues - Will this work? To be able to greet my arriving fiancée at the gate.

Sacramento/SMF.

Fiancée: Hawaiian airlines inbound flight, Terminal B.

Southwest is also in terminal B.

Please, I know this might sound ridiculous to some of you, but just let me be ridiculous this once. :)

Plan: Buy myself a refundable ticket on Southwest which will allow me to enter the terminal and meet her right at the gate. Go to my flight's gate and cancel (or, would another method of cancellation be better?), I'll just tell them "something came up". I don't care if the refund is super-quick, it won't be a very expensive flight. I'd even be willing to eat a low-price fare (like $74 to SNA) if I couldn't get it refunded.

Any problem with this plan?

and then just cancel it online?

You can surely do the same. Just pick up a flight which is like 4-6 hours later and checkin online the day before and use your boarding pass to get in. Once you are out of the terminal with your fiancée, just call and cancel your WN ticket. I don't see any issues at all.

Sacramento/SMF.

Fiancée: Hawaiian airlines inbound flight, Terminal B.

Southwest is also in terminal B.

Please, I know this might sound ridiculous to some of you, but just let me be ridiculous this once. :)

Plan: Buy myself a refundable ticket on Southwest which will allow me to enter the terminal and meet her right at the gate. Go to my flight's gate and cancel (or, would another method of cancellation be better?), I'll just tell them "something came up". I don't care if the refund is super-quick, it won't be a very expensive flight. I'd even be willing to eat a low-price fare (like $74 to SNA) if I couldn't get it refunded.

Any problem with this plan?

If it were me, I'd get a round-trip ticket. A one way might arouse suspicion and result in SSSS.

Just ask HA for a gate pass at the counter. Explain why. No need for all the shenanigans.

Just ask HA for a gate pass at the counter. Explain why. No need for all the shenanigans.

The risk, of course, is that they don't issue a gate pass and the OP is stuck waiting outside security or having to purchase a last minute refundable ticket anyway.

The risk, of course, is that they don't issue a gate pass and the OP is stuck waiting outside security or having to purchase a last minute refundable ticket anyway.

Maybe Phone HA to see if a gate pass is possible?

Just ask HA for a gate pass at the counter. Explain why. No need for all the shenanigans.

Wanting to meet someone at the gate just for the heck of it is generally not a valid reason for a gate pass and it's very likely they'd say no. If it were a child or elderly person who needs assistance then yes..but that's apparently not the case here. The refundable ticket option is probably the only option.

Have done this several times and it works. Just don't forget to cancel the ticket before the flight leaves to get your money back.

As another poster said, buy a ticket for a flight that is much later in the day (or night). There should be no issue with the time, but if a TSA agent should ask you why you are at the airport so early, tell them that you are trying to go standby for an earlier flight. (There have been reports that some aggressive agents have questioned pax about it.)

First, no one will bat an eye on a one way ticket. Those of us that are experienced Southwest flyers do it all of the time. Just do not do it at the last minute and pay cash.

Buy an Anytime fare, fully refundable. Once inside the secure area, call Southwest and cancel and be sure to request the refund. You can even buy the ticket, at 24 hours before the flight print your boarding pass, then immediately cancel the flight. Use the BP to get through security. OK, this is a bit sleazy, I would keep the flight open until I am inside the secure area.

If HA will give you a gate pass, take it.

As for the TSA, they will generally take anything that is same day and not past. The standby excuse is OK, but just buy a ticket for a flight that leaves close to the arrival time.

If you really loved her you would fly out to meet her and fly back with her :p

But yes it will work, unless there's some type of gate change on her end.

An appropriate boarding pass from a past flight, saved as a .pdf file, with a little Photoshop work...

This is one of the widely known weaknesses of our current airport security. If you're not checking baggage, you only need your boarding pass to match your ID at TSA - really trivial to skirt this and not just get past security, but even fly with someone else's ticket.

An appropriate boarding pass from a past flight, saved as a .pdf file, with a little Photoshop work...

This is one of the widely known weaknesses of our current airport security. If you're not checking baggage, you only need your boarding pass to match your ID at TSA - really trivial to skirt this and not just get past security, but even fly with someone else's ticket.

And then when you get caught you can see how much she loves you. If she bails you out you have it made if not it saved you some money but you still have to do the time.

Just do not do it at the last minute and pay cash.

Is this saying "do not pay cash" or "do pay cash"? Not a grammatical error, but a flaw of English language, I think. :) Or I'm just reading it incorrectly.

Maybe Phone HA to see if a gate pass is possible?

What is HA?

What is HA?

HA is the IATA designation for Hawaiian Airlines. You should check the FT glossary and/or do a google search first for terms you don't recognize.

Your question isn't ridiculous. I often consider the same thing while visiting my girlfriend, or when she is visiting me.

You may certainly buy a refundable ticket, enter the secure area, and cancel it later. Also, DOT regulations require all US carriers to provide either a 24 hour refund period (so you can cancel any fare ticketed within 24 hours with no penalty), or a 24 hour hold policy. I believe most carriers offer the 24 hour refund (AA comes to mind as a carrier that offers the 24 hour hold). I'm telling you this so that you don't feel that WN is the only option for you to do this.

Also, if you fly a lot, consider investing in an airline club membership. AA Admiral's Club members are allowed to visit the club for "business" purposes, even if they are not flying that day, as well as invite a guest. "Business" obviously, can be inferred to mean many things, including meeting with someone there to have a discussion.

Edit: I now realize that AA does not have an AC in SMF. I'm not as familiar with the lounges for other airlines, but they may have a similar policy.

Is this saying "do not pay cash" or "do pay cash"?

It is saying "do not pay with cash". Paying with cash can arouse suspicion.

Is this saying "do not pay cash" or "do pay cash"? Not a grammatical error, but a flaw of English language, I think. :) Or I'm just reading it incorrectly.

It was a flaw in my writing. "Do not buy the same day and do not pay with cash" would have been much better. There is no proof that even these will get you the dreaded SSSS, but it has been suggested. The triplet of danger: One way, cash, walk up fare may be a myth more than anything, but why take a chance?

If you really loved her you would fly out to meet her and fly back with her :p

If only my budget allowed, I would do this in a heartbeat. :)

Thanks for all the replies, everybody.

Is this saying "do not pay cash" or "do pay cash"? Not a grammatical error, but a flaw of English language, I think. :) Or I'm just reading it incorrectly.

Do not pay cash.

Sacramento/SMF.

Fiancée: Hawaiian airlines inbound flight, Terminal B.

Southwest is also in terminal B.

Please, I know this might sound ridiculous to some of you, but just let me be ridiculous this once. :)

Plan: Buy myself a refundable ticket on Southwest which will allow me to enter the terminal and meet her right at the gate. Go to my flight's gate and cancel (or, would another method of cancellation be better?), I'll just tell them "something came up". I don't care if the refund is super-quick, it won't be a very expensive flight. I'd even be willing to eat a low-price fare (like $74 to SNA) if I couldn't get it refunded.

Any problem with this plan?

yes there are problems with this plan...mainly you are making the whole thing more complicated than it needs be. But I will not tell the process for how simple it is with never having to speak to the airline; though the process was covered in a news article months ago.