Originally Posted by
ratechaser
But isn't the cancelling of subsequent sectors (after an initial no-show) just a blunt instrument used by the airlines to stop people gaming the system with cheaper multi leg fares that they don't really need?
Yes exactly, and that's why normally they're pretty reasonable with customers if you actually just miss your flight. Often if you call them on your way to the airport if you're delayed, they'll even move you to another flight for free.
The issue here is that the passenger didn't even realise they'd missed the flight, so it was well past that time before asking for help. If they'd turned up at the airport a couple of hours later it could well have been fixable cheaply or for free quite quickly.