arjunkc

Hi,

I fly from Brazil to Toronto with a stopover at Atlanta. But my plans have changed, and I'd like to not take the second leg of my journey since I'd like to go to Chicago instead. Cancelling this ticket and changing it would be a lot more expensive, and so I just decided to buy a new ticket from Atlanta to Chicago.

Is it illegal to skip a multi-leg journey, or do you see any problems that could crop up?

nux

It is not illegal. If it is a return ticket or includes any more sectors, any remaining sectors will be cancelled when you no-show.

arjunkc

Ok, thanks nux, this works perfectly for me since its the last leg of my journey.

dchristiva

Not illegal, but can be frowned upon by your carrier.

suvayanr

Just make sure you're not traveling with bags. ATL now doesn't necessarily have your re-check your bags....

djk7

Not illegal, but against most airline T&Cs. Search on "hidden city ticketing" for more info. On occasion airlines have been known to take action against people who do this regularly, but as long as you don't make a habit of it, you shouldn't have any problems. Note that you probably won't be able to short check luggage, and in the event of cancellations or whatever, the airline could conceivably change your routing to not include Atlanta.

Beemslee

You can get around this by notifying the airline with a quick call as soon as you have completed the first sector of your journey. They can then officially cancel your booking on the second flight and open it up for anyone else who may want or need it.

I agree about ensuring that your bags are not tagged for the entire journey. If they are checked right through, they won't hit the carousel at your first stop so you need to specifically request that they tag then appropriately to let you collect them when you land after your first flight. Also, since the bags are not supposed to go without you on a flight, if they have to offload yours due to a no-show without being advised that you aren't taking the last portion of the journey, it could cause delays for other passengers.

It's doable; just inform the airline as a matter of courtesy so that they can plan accordingly.

dchristiva

While that's polite, it doesn't "get around" the frown one might get from the carrier. Hidden city ticketing isn't real popular with airlines. Search the FT archives and you can find anecdotes about airlines' response to frequent violators. They may have a similar reaction to those who buy RT tickets but only use the first half (though I'm pretty sure that's less of a problem).

rjque

In theory they could sue the OP for breach of contract, since it's something the OP agreed not to do when he or she booked the ticket. I've never heard of a carrier doing that - it's more common for them to cancel frequent flyer accounts. In any event, I wouldn't call.

dchristiva

Agreed.

84fiero

Don't call. Sorry to hear you came down with an upset stomach while waiting in ATL and missed your flight to YYZ.

This question, or some variant, gets posted at least weekly. Among the many one-off threads, there is this long-running thread debating the ethics, morality, legality, and such:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-vs-497-a.html

From a practical perspective, the other thing (besides the remaining legs being cancelled and checked bag issues) to be mindful of is if there are operational or weather delays/cancellations. In that case, it's possible an airline may reroute you on the way to your destination. So if you were booked A-B-C (hoping to get off at B), and perhaps your flight from A was canceled, you might be rebooked on A-D-C instead (as the airline is only concerned with getting you to your ticketed final destination). Absent some creative reasoning why you really need to wait for another flight A-B-C, you won't have any recourse.

lin821

Maybe not suing the passengers, but UA is currently suing an OTA for hidden-city ticketing.

rjque

That makes a lot more sense than suing individual passengers.

Tchiowa

The only time the OP would be at risk is if the shortened trip would have been more expensive than the ticket he actually purchased. Then it would be considered "Hidden City" ticketing.

callum9999

Surely the OP has to collect their bag at ATL as it's their point of entry to the US?

I was under the impression that everyone has to collect their bags on the first US stop, regardless of whether they're connecting internationally or not - is that not right?