Originally Posted by
orbitmic
The norm is for airlines to cancel all remaining segments if not flown in order. There was however a court decision in Germany banning that practice so for ticket from that country, airlines would be able to reprice the ticket and take an additional charge. I suspect the ticket you are looking at may be from Germany. As it happens, with last minute repricing based on the itinerary actually desired plus a penalty, it may not be any cheaper than just buying something from scratch with another airline so may well be a Pyrrhic victory for the passenger.
The option to pay a fee is actually in KL's standard CoC (
https://www.klm.nl/en/information/le...tions-carriage section 3.4):
(b) Except in case of Force Majeure, any non-compliant use by the Passenger (for example, if the Passenger does not use the first Coupon or if the Coupons are not used in the order in which they were issued) will result in the payment of an extra fixed fee at the check-in moment for the following Coupon (from 30 hours before the departure) at the call center, at a City Ticket Office or at the airport amounting to: €125 for flights in Economy Class within Europe and between Europe and Israel, €300 for flights in Business Class within Europe and between Europe and Israel, €500 for intercontinental flights in Economy Class and €1,500 for intercontinental flights in Business Class (or the equivalent in the local currency).
(c) The extra fee will not be applicable when the Passenger, after missing his/her flight, can demonstrate that he/she has used a new ticket on the same route, issued within 24 hours following the departure of the flight corresponding to the unused Coupon.