Originally Posted by
OskiBear
It's been a few years since I've booked a hidden city ticket so would appreciate some feedback on the viability of my scenario.
I ended up booking a one-way award ticket to Argentina this summer and needed to get back to LAX. However, one-ways were pricey to purchase so I ended up buying EZE-LAX / LAX-JFK-EZE. The "return" leg is several months later and I actually need the LAX-JFK leg of the ticket. I intentionally booked the LAX-JFK-EZE flights with a 6.5hour connection in New York.
I guess the worst case scenario is some sort of IRROPS where I get re-routed from LAX to a different connection point. In the eventuality, I've purchased a fully refundable ticket LAX-JFK on JetBlue and will just abandon the AA ticket.
However, a couple of points that I'd appreciate some feedback on:
1. Is it an issue to do this on an international itinerary, abandoning the international segment? I'll have my passport (actually leaving for LHR a few days later from JFK not on AA) and am fully able to enter Argentina (no visa issues, etc). I won't have checked bags.
2. Do I have a strong argument to not be re-routed given that I booked a long New York connection and would make the argument that I have business to conduct there?
1) No issues, doesn't matter if its int'l or domestic, and you have your bases covered re: passport, no bags, etc.
2) Absolutely. People make a stink on here all the time when this question comes up, saying "AA's only obligation is to get you to your final destination" etc. etc. While this is certainly technically true it's not how things work in reality IME. If you were to have irrops it's not as if AA will hold a gun to your head and force you onto another routing. Just call or speak to someone at the airport and you will have zero issues keeping the routing through NYC.