kettle1

Why not just book the last flt on another carrier? Problem solved. And do not check bags.

Exec_Plat

If something compels one to be stupid about money, then sure. I mean why not send a check to the State every time one exceeds the speed limit? Its the rules, right?

Practically speaking, in the example I made- just book the alternative flights. IF THEY CATCH IT, you are no worse off than had you made the changes. They will not ban you for life; zero your FF balance; Sue you in court; etc; etc all for one booking.

Heck, you could even call them and explain the issue. Depending on your status the airline MIGHT "give you permission". Ive never asked. Anyone done this?


BUT, I believe there is an alternative. Use a travel agent. Once you are airborne on the last desired leg, THEN have them change the remaining flights. You will pay only the change fee and the cost of the single leg. All other components have been used and cannot be re-fared. Pefectly within the rules, minimizes the change fee. Only downside is (a) seat availability and (b) advance purchase fare requirements. But less than a $4500 I fare turning into a $9000 D or R fare on the component you arent changing!

mvoight

Exactly. And then you should follow the rules of the tickets purchased, even if it is more costly to do so. Reputable businesses don't ignore their agreements with other businesses.

Tchiowa

Changing tickets because your plans change is one thing. Planning a throwaway ticket so you get get a fare that you don't qualify for is another.

From UA's Contract of Carriage:

"J) Prohibited Practices:
1) Fares apply for travel only between the points for which they are published. Tickets may not be purchased and used at fare(s) from an initial departure point on the Ticket which is before the Passenger’s actual point of origin of travel, or to a more distant point(s) than the Passenger’s actual destination being traveled even when the purchase and use of such Tickets would produce a lower fare. This practice is known as “Hidden Cities Ticketing” or “Point Beyond Ticketing” and is prohibited by UA.
2) The purchase and use of round-trip Tickets for the purpose of one-way travel only, known as “Throwaway Ticketing” is prohibited by UA.3) The use of Flight Coupons from two or more different Tickets issued at round trip fares for the purpose of circumventing applicable tariff rules (such as advance purchase/minimum stay requirements) commonly referred to as “Back-to-Back Ticketing” is prohibited by UA.
K) UA’s Remedies for Violation(s) of Rules - Where a Ticket is purchased and used in violation of these rules or any fare rule (including Hidden Cities Ticketing, Point Beyond Ticketing, Throwaway Ticketing, or Back-to-Back Ticketing), UA has the right in its sole discretion to take all actions permitted by law, including but not limited to, the following:
1) Invalidate the Ticket(s);
2) Cancel any remaining portion of the Passenger’s itinerary;
3) Confiscate any unused Flight Coupons;
4) Refuse to board the Passenger and to carry the Passenger’s baggage, unless the difference between the fare paid and the fare for transportation used is collected prior to boarding;
5) Assess the Passenger for the actual value of the Ticket which shall be the difference between the lowest fare applicable to the Passenger’s actual itinerary and the fare actually paid;6) Delete miles in the Passenger’s frequent flyer account (UA’s MileagePlus Program), revoke the Passenger’s Elite status, if any, in the MileagePlus Program, terminate the Passenger’s participation in the MileagePlus Program, or take any other action permitted by the MileagePlus Program Rules in UA’s “MileagePlus Rules;” and
7) Take legal action with respect to the Passenger."

Good advice.

brewdog11

Got a personal phone call from AA today asking about duplicate reservations on an upcoming flight. The last leg of one of my itineraries is departing after the first leg of a new itinerary that I booked out of the same airport returning home due to uncertainty in my plans. AAgent over the phone left a message saying "please call and let us know which flight you're planning to take." Never had any problems before, as I've had to do this with a sudden change in plans before. What will happen? Will I be assessed a change fee regarding whatever decision I make? My plans are still not 100% certain, but I feel like I need to make a decision soon unless I want both trips cancelled.

_kurt

If you don't call back, they may just cancel the one that was booked earlier and keep the more recent one. Are both itineraries ticketed?

Consider yourself lucky that you got a phone call. Due to carelessness on my part I recently found myself in the same situation. The flights were only on hold though. They cancelled my work itinerary and kept the spur-of-the-moment personal trip that I was considering in place of my flight home for the weekend.

aktchi

Best option: Buy B-D on a different airline. Then you can just drop B-C on AA.

Second best: If above is not possible, then you should call AA. Not to change the destination from C to D, but to simply cancel the B-C leg. Depending on the ticket, you can probably do this online yourself. After B-C is canceled, go buy B-D separately.

dmsdfw

I nearly fell foul of the auto-canceler the other day. I'd booked a DFW-SAV award round-trip for next weekend and then found I needed to go to the UK the week before so put on hold DFW->LHR and LHR->MIA->CLT->SAV. When I came to book the held trip, both TATL legs had been cancelled but not the two US-operated ones. Luckily an agent was able to sort it all out, book the whole trip and cancel the outbound half of the award trip.

It's interesting that it didn't cancel the whole held reservation. Maybe the system can't cancel US-operated segments.

Bonehead

While I typically do not book duplicate/impossible flights, the ability to do so can be a lifesaver when IRROPS rear their ugly head.

Example: Two of us on UA SYR-DEN late on a Sunday afternoon last November via EWR, and I overheard our Captain (who was loitering near the gate agent, as was I) mention that Operations just told him that EWR was going to flow control and that the wheels-up delay would be around 1.5 hours. A missed connection would mean a night in Newark

I immediately reserved two seats connecting via IAD (flight was Y2 or Y3 at that time, thankfully) while leaving the original reservation intact just in case we got an earlier wheels-up time. This is not an issue on UA.

By the time they made the delay known at the gate (once UA's system caught up with what the pilot already knew, apparently) about 30 minutes later and started rebooking folks, SYR-IAD was Y0 and we would have been out of luck.

I see AA's policy as a major detriment in these situations, because I don't trust that AA's computers would leave both reservations intact, assuming that I could even confirm the impossible second reservation.

Exec_Plat

Booked directly with AA or aa.com, right?

Reservations or ticketed?

I would come up with a story about 'uncertainty'.. "I first booked this. then plans looked like they were changing, then...then..." see if they will let it stay. If not, let them cancel the cheapest.

I would be surprised if they charge a cancel fee as this is not a 'voluntary change'

Im a broken record: really good travel agent.

brewdog11

Had a change of plans and am now being pulled in two different directions (IAH vs ORD). I have a 5pm flight out of DFW to IAH, but there's another 5pm flight out of DFW to ORD that I need to be on. I can book the DFW-ORD flight on US Airways instead of AA. Would this keep my ticket from being flagged as a duplicate?

LaserSailor

Here is a mind boggling idea on all these changed plans threads

Why not call the airline and explain the situation to them and have them re ticket travel without the stress of worrying about HCT or PBT?

I don't think anyone can answer if US is integrated into AA fare monitor yet.