Originally Posted by
fastair
Because the ticket and thus the contract is from origin to final destination, not two separate tickets from origin to intermediate and another from intermediate to final. If UA were to board you at origin to intermediate w/out the requirements to complete the ticket/contract, and you were unable to meet the requirements to continue, the airline would be stuck on the wrong end of contractual liability.
What about if you have an overnight at the gateway before continuing to the final? And assuming that your passport information is stored in the system, i.e. you've flown international within the past N months?
I've been in that situation, and don't recall showing a passport to anyone. In fact, I'm sure I've just gone straight to the gate and boarded the domestic flight just like usual.
So wouldn't this all be different if he didn't get the dreaded 'this is not a boarding pass' thing from OLCI? in other words, the kid could have boarded, flown to ORD, and STILL not actually had the passport on him. It's just that his credentials hadn't been verified in the last few months.