Originally Posted by
dchristiva
As I said earlier, the best option is to call the carrier and plead your case. If you explain that you really need to get to your destination and don't want to risk having your first flight canceled, they may permit you to drive to your intermediate destination and let you pick up your trip from there. It never hurts to ask, and, if it saves them from having to re-book your trip after your initial flight gets canceled, they may be more than happy to accommodate you.
In that case what do they do to make sure your ticket isn't canceled when you don't show up for the first one. I fly just enough to know that what you get told on the phone doesn't always equate to what happens when you get to the airport. Come to think of it, I've even had tickets I booked online not work properly (showing up at the check-in desk with an e-ticket they can't find anywhere in the system...that's fun).