glueguy

I have a flight booked in a couple of weeks tpa-clt-pit. Based on tentative travel, my car may be stranded at cak. If that turns out to be the case, can I book a clt-cak a day or two before (assuming that it is cheaper than booking a new tpa-clt-cak). At this point I will have a clt-pit segment and a clt-cak segment departing at about the same time. Will this throw any bad flags?

BoeingBoy

[QUOTE=glueguy;20006854 If that turns out to be the case, can I book a clt-cak a day or two before (assuming that it is cheaper than booking a new tpa-clt-cak). At this point I will have a clt-pit segment and a clt-cak segment departing at about the same time. Will this throw any bad flags?[/QUOTE]

From what you said, the CLT-CAK flight (does US fly that non-stop?) would be "a day or two before" the CLT-PIT-CAK flight and shouldn't cause problems. It's recommended that you book one or the other as refundable and cancel it early enough to get a refund. If you cancel a non-refunadable itinerary early enough you only get a voucher.

Booking two itineries when both can't be flown - flying at the same time/day - will likely get flagged by the computer.

Jim

glueguy

Jim,

Let me clarify

Let's say I've already got my normal non-refundable ticket for Feb 1 to fly TPA-CLT-PIT

On Jan 29 I realize that my car is sitting at CAK so I want to fly there

I book a Feb 1 for CLT-CAK.

I fly TPA-CLT on my original booking. I then don't take the second leg (CLT-PIT) but instead take the CLT-CAK (which is a direct flight)

If I do this is "proper" way there are three problems:
1. I lose the non-refundable ticket I already have
2. I have to buy the potentially more expensive routing on 2 days notice
3. I'll lose upgrades (because I'll have to cancel my theoretical U/G from TPA-CLT and then rebook the same flight, but with 2 days notice)

Biggie Fries

I don't see any red flags here. Buying a non-refundable ticket is not a blood oath, CAK is not PIT, and so on. Plans change. You are feeling a little "culpable" now because you know in advance where your car is going to be, but what if you only knew that you would not know where someone or something were going to be (CAK or PIT) until the last minute? I write all of this because last month I had a similarly convoluted and/or cockamamie situation and fellow FTers talked me down off of the ledge. One good piece of advice I got for back-up insurance against an IT-induced snafu was to not put my DM number on both alternative flights.

chris4096

What happens if your TPA-CLT flight cancels and you get rerouted through DCA or PHL? This is a risky strategy. Possibly a worthwhile risk, but something to consider.

RIC Hokie

Without knowing your flight times, aren't you better off just booking the TPA-CLT-CAK connecting flight as a backup versus the CLT-CAK direct flight. A quick check shows flights starting at $134 for TPA-CLT-CAK and $408 for CLT-CAK.

milophile

I had a friend do something similar and his original itinerary was cancelled, though he did get a refund. I would leave out your DM# if you are going to do that.

travellerK

I've been in this situation a number of times without any problems