Originally Posted by
TheMadBrewer
It's a violation of Delta's rules but it is in no way fraud. There are things DL can do to you but having you arrested and thrown in jain is not one of them.
Also, mostly "back-to-back" doesn't involve throwing away a coupon but flying all flights but in such a way that it get's around having a particular night's stay (usually Saturday but doesn't have to be).
Some people seem to be worried -- having overlapping tickets itself is not a problem. It depends on the dates and fares purchased.
I disagree - it is fraud. Let's look at the elements of a civil fraud claim one-by-one:
1.a representation of an existing fact;
When purchasing two tickets, you represent that you are taking those two trips. If your true O&D is AAA-BBB and you buy AAA-BBB and BBB-AAA on different dates, you have misrepresented that fact. Even if you use all coupons (two AAA-BBB flights, booked back-to-back such that each trip uses one coupon from each ticket), you are misrepresenting your itineraries.
2.its materiality;
DL specifically prohibits this in the CoC. Thus it is material.
3.its falsity;
See (1) above.
4.the speaker's knowledge of its falsity;
See (1) above.
5.the speaker's intent that it shall be acted upon by the plaintiff;
If you're back-to-back ticketing with the intent of changing the fare rules applied to you, and getting a lower fare, that's intent.
6.plaintiff's ignorance of its falsity;
DL has no way of knowing your ticketing is fraudulent until it starts to see anomalies in the system.
7.plaintiff's reliance on the truth of the representation;
When you book the itineraries, DL is assuming you intend to fly as ticketed.
8.plaintiff's right to rely upon it; and
See (7) above.
9.consequent damages suffered by plaintiff.
DL is being denied revenue that it sought from a passenger traveling on your true itinerary.
I also believe ticketing fraud is theft of services/larceny - just like jumping a turnstyle, stiffing a cabbie on a fare, or tampering with your utility meters. That DL doesn't press charges does not make it any less a crime.
As for throwing away coupons, it depends on how you work your back-to-back ticketing. Non-sequential use of flight coupons is ticketing fraud on its own, but can be used for back-to-back. However, if you're taking two trips on the same O&D, you can use all the coupons in the example set forth above and still be engaged in fraudulent ticketing practices.
Long story short - people need to stop believing they have a right to steal money from airlines through ticketing fraud. It's wrong - no ifs, ands or buts about it.