FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - can my father or my son use my NR tickets? (all 3 of us have the same identical name)
Old Jul 22, 2004 | 8:13 pm
  #5  
WayMaker
10 Countries Visited20 Countries Visited30 Countries Visited25 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: UA 1K 3MM, UA 1P/1K since mid '80s; CO Bronze/Silver since mid 80's, Austin, Texas
Posts: 1,279
I agree with bdschobel that they'll go nuts if they catch on. They are sure to spout out something about the FAA and Federal laws and the TSA and all kinds of sky-falling-on-us-all breech of national security. So it really could escalate into quite some caper if anybody one of you name-triplets says something or if an agent remembers you.

I remember when ID was not required at all to fly domestic routes. If I recall correctly, with the advent of deregulation in the 70's, special fares were introduced that required a round trip ticket. Suddenly airlines were motivated to have an identity check. And shortly after this, if I'm not mistaken, one had to supply a photo ID at check in. Am I remembering the sequence correctly? Even if I have the story wrong, the motive for airlines to check IDs is only partly about security.

I'm a bit jaded and cynical about the whole thing, I suppose. In my thinking, if you didn't set out to rip off the airline, and you paid for round trip travel in good faith, consider it a windfall. If you planned it, it's clearly outside the margin of what's right in most ethical systems.
WayMaker is offline