This original first half of this post that deals with a generic discussion of cabotage in relation to LifeMiles tricks now appears here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/avian...l#post22825215
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Now, to the heart of the matter, and the reason that I decided to post as a newb in a megathread:
I recently received a communication from someone who filed a complaint with DOT when they were denied boarding on a Lifemiles ticket due to Cabotage. I asked him to retract the complaint, and this was his response:
I am out quite a bit of money in cancellation fees since my connecting flights from <omitted> can now no longer be used. Lifemiles should not have been selling these cabotage breaking tickets in the first place, and if they had, according to DOT regulations they should be fined. There are several others who have booked a similar ticket as me and it is only fair that they don't run into these issues as well, as they also have valid DOT claims.
He is absolutely correct when he says, "Lifemiles should not have been selling these cabotage breaking tickets in the first place." Won't it be great if he gets this terrible injustice 'fixed' for everyone? What a crusader for the rights of travel hackers everywhere.
Where he is incorrect is that the DOT violation does not occur for
selling the ticket, it occurs for actually
providing the transport. Please realize that the likely result of this complaint will be DOT congratulating the airline on catching this situation before it became a violation, with a firm follow-up reminder that any future violations will be enforced and subject to a $25k fine per occurrence. Worst case, the DOT could also decide to investigate how many infractions have occurred in the past and fine the airline for past violations of cabotage. For the reasons listed above, I doubt the DOT will consider any IDB compensation as a remedy.
The airline or the ticketing carrier will likely do a check on any tickets that have currently been issued for future travel and cancel the tickets that break US law. Hopefully, if they are well-organized, they will
inform the passengers that their tickets are canceled and that they are receiving full refunds per the CoC.
I can also easily envision the airline(s) involved to take stringent measures to ensure that no tickets like this are issued again, by fixing whatever oversight caused the problem by talking to the agent / airline that issued the ticket. I am deeply afraid that this complaint will permanently "solve" the problem in the near future.
Personally, I intend to book any LM tickets I wanted for the next year ASAP, being sure to avoid cabotage by either a) using US domestic carriers or b) continuing my practice of never booking origin and destination in the US with a connection flight through a foreign country.