checking luggage on Continental
 

I know this sounds like a basic question that I think I know the answer to.... but here goes. We plan to fly to PVD. Before we arrive in PVD there is a stop in EWR. We plan to exit the plane in EWR and not fly the last leg of the fligt to PVD.....
So here is the question. Can we check our bags to EWR or are we limited to what we can carryon the plane? I thought we were limited to what we can carryon (given the airline probably wouldn't be happy that we weren't continuing to PVD). Thanks for your knowledge!

I think you are correct that you cannot check them to EWR. Also you run the risk of CO cancelling your return legs.

You definitely cannot check bags to EWR. You should not even say anything to any CO employee, because they could put a note in your record that if you no show the EWR-PVD segment, they could deny you FF miles. And you're just about guaranteed that if you have a return on that itinerary that you are planning to take, it will be cancelled.

Heavens no!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

So then is what I am hearing is that as long as we plan on returning on the same return ticket... we should fly the entire itinerary and not get off in Newark.... otherwise we might not be able to return on our return flight from PVD? Please confirm this with me.

That's exactly what we're saying. You are wanting to violate fare rules and in return for that the reservation system will immediately cancel the remainder of your itinerary as soon as you no show a segment that you are ticketed for.

Sorry if you thought you found a way to lower your airfare. The airlines caught on to this years ago. It's called hidden city ticketing.

Really glad I asked the question!!!! Guess I need to change my car rental :-)

It is possible (though somewhat difficult) to short-check luggage.

Once, I had a hidden-city ticket with a lengthy layover at EWR. I convinced the ticket agent checking me in that my wife was meeting me at EWR (at the time I lived in NYC) with a suitcase full of clean clothes to swap for the suitcase full of dirty clothes that I wanted to check.

It worked.

Or you could take Amtrak from Providence to NYC or Newark. Where are you really headed?

You guys can always board the EWR-PVD segment and deplane quietly before the door is closed, and as long as you are on the manifest, your tickets will remain in tact. I personally haven't done this but others on here have and it seemed to work.

We got a really good deal for roundtrip tickets to PVD from SEA, however we have family in NYC and wanted to go to EWR/NYC first without backtracking from PVD to EWR. Had we booked an open jaws ticket at the time we purchased our tickets the airfare was almost double (our tickets cost about $200 RT)... the bottom line is we wanted to start our trip out in EWR and return to SEA via PVD..... but I don't want to risk our return flight....or substantially increase our airfare costs.

Are there any other options out that that I am not aware of that will not substantially increase our airfare?

Actually, my experience is that you can just check in for the flight and most of the time (but not always) that will do the trick. It has never failed me on the X, only on the big jets.

Monitor,

Most if not all of the EWR-PVD flights are now Mainline Jets.

Sammy,

Southwest has flights from PVD-ISP, I "think" they are still running the $49 fare. Would it be possible to fly from PVD-ISP and then drive back to PVD to finish your trip?

CameraGuy:
I guess given that the drive from PVD to NYC is only about 3 hours .... I don't think it would be worth flying from EWR to PVD and then back to ISP... then only to drive to New Jersey. I might as well just bite the bullet and fly from EWR to PVD and then drive back down to New Jersey.

By the way, I have reserved a car from both PVD and EWR....

Back in the days before college kids had cell phones, I had my ticket pulled and was on the plane, but I wanted to jump off for a few minutes to make a call. The gate agent insisted that another agent walk with me to the phone, watch me make the call, and return to the plane-- there's no way for them to know if I left any _things_ behind on the plane....

So, I wouldn't count on this.

Do you have a paper ticket?? That may help since you'll have a marked up boarding pass, and when you reconfirm the return from PVD, if they don't see the ticket was pulled, they may just think it was lost.

Make if this is the case, make sure you pull the ticket yourself-- I once heard of someone claiming they went on to the ticketed destination, while waiving a boarding pass with the ticket stapled on. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

Re. gate checking luggage, I've found some agents who insist on checking it through to the final destination. You may do far better shipping things UPS for $20-30 vs. risking having to go to PVD to fetch them.

[This message has been edited by Viajero Joven (edited 12-01-2000).]