Originally Posted by
Calchas
(It's never been clear to me that the airline has the "right" to do this. I find it hard to imagine a judge in a small claims court in the UK enforcing such a claim against a consumer. To believe that such a right existed, I would want to see unambiguous wording in a contract of carriage and a history of case law supporting that such a right was actually enforceable. In any case, I have dropped dozens of sectors in my time and never once heard anything about it.)
See rule 16(b)3:
For partially used transportation the refund if any will be the difference between the fare paid and the fare for the transportation used less the fee specified in (1) above.
The reference to "fare for the transportation used" can only be the point-to-point fare because if you don't fly the entire itinerary, you are not eligible for a DONEx fare. See the relevant part of rule 4(c):
Travel may originate at any point for which fares are published and must terminate at the same point . . . .
Since you would not be terminating at the same point, you are not eligible for this fare. Oh, and it wouldn't be in Small Claims Court, -- the point-to-point fare would far exceed the Small Claims limit.
Think that you can beat them on this? Give it a shot and let us know how it turns out!
I stand by my previous recommendation, -- move the dates out as far as possible on flights that are not going to be flown and then just forget about it. It would be almost impossible for the airlines to find you. And there's always the possibility that you may find a use for those segments at some point in the future before the ticket expires.