cymer

I know I should probably just ask Delta this question directly but 1) I'm out of the US right now and 2) I'm afraid if I do they might hit me with fees directly, so I just want to ask here first

I have a Delta flight that will make a stop at San Francisco and then continue to Detroit.

However, due to some issues, I need to stay in San Francisco for a few days, but when I asked about changing my flight, I found the fees to be really expensive.

So what I'm hoping to do is basically "miss" my connecting flight to Detroit and simply taking another air line (1-way) back to Detroit after I'm done.

Now I'm just wondering do I need to tell Delta that I'm going to just "miss" my flight when I get to SF? Or should I just leave?

Also, has anyone ever been hit with a fee for not taking a flight?

(Please note that I'm not trying to get Delta to rebook me or anything. And I'm also not expecting a refund for missing the flight. I just want to make sure I don't get hit with additional fees for purposely not making the flight.

Also, I guess I won't get the SkyMiles if I miss the flight, right? Even though I already paid for it?)

Thanks for any advice!

davisew

What you're describing is called "point-beyond ticketing" and is technically prohibited by the Contract of Carriage you agreed to by purchasing a ticket on Delta.

See this thread.

Best case scenario: Everything happens just as you describe, you bail in SFO and aside from your name over the loudspeaker at final boarding call, DL is none the wiser. Not an option if you have checked baggage, unless you're arriving in SFO from outside the US and will exit the airport after customs without rechecking.

Worst case scenario: You skip the SFO - DTW leg only to find a hefty charge on your credit card from DL several days/weeks/months later, including those change fees you describe as well as any difference in fare. Also expect to lose any Skymiles for the entire itinerary. Reported instances of this are rare, if you this happens to you please let the rest of FT know about your experience.

jbcarioca

This only becomes marginally acceptable if you do not receive a BP for the next segment. Otherwise the airline must assume you're there, make all the loudspeaker calls, etc and it becomes avery rude thing to do, with all the unlikely consequences added. Nobody will probably pay any attention if you've not taken a BP.

vasantn

Not gonna happen, especially for a one-off.

fromYXU

If you have a return flight from DTW, you will loose the rest of your itinerary. No extra fees, no change fees. Your trip will not continue.

If this is your last leg, nothing will happen.

Just do not check any luggage, unless you want it in DTW.

DL Platinum

As previously stated, if you miss the SFO - DTW leg, any additional legs including the return, will be cancelled. Now, If the SFO - DTW is your last leg, then "accidently" missing it won't cause a problem, even though DL does have a right to charge you based on the COC. The leg will remain open on your record for up to a year. And no, you will not get any mileage credit for flights not actually flown. And you better not want to check luggage.

While I have not done this recently, I had in the past left my car at airport A, rented a car with a one way drop off, driven to airport B, dropped the rental at B and flown. On the return, I would schedule my flights to connect through airport A on the way to B. I would then get off at A, go to my car, and drive home.

Why? It saved over $1,000 a trip. The only time it ever came up was during a separate ticket exchange which required an agent to go through my records. She said, hmmmm.... lots of open legs from A to B. I winked, she winked, and thats the last it was ever spoken of.

If you research RPU (Revenue Protection Unit), you will find lots of stories about flight strategies and a few horror stories of those who really abused it.

fmsm

I had a buddy who lives in Atlanta do a similar thing a few years back with my help for a stupid explanation. He was in Boston with me booked BOS-LAS roundtrip with the return thru ATL, when we arrived in ATL he had me tell the GA that he had met a woman on the flight and would not be going back to BOS. He knew that they could figure it out, especially when he didn't use his return from BOS a few days later, he just didn't care. He never heard another word and the gate agent did have a good chuckle.....

rylan

Odds are it'll never get noticed unless you keep doing it a lot to blatently abuse the system.

wgarnerr

I've done this a couple of times in the past few years. I think the most important thing is not to get a BP, and if you do get one, do everyone the courtesy of giving some story to a GA or DL rep somewhere so they aren't looking for you when the plane loads.

One thing I do all the time is not board the remaining leg(s) of an itinerary, and book a new one, rather than change the original. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was holding MSY-LGA-JFK-GRU-JFK-LGA-MSY, but after coming back to JFK from GRU, needed to immediately turn around to GRU again, without returning to MSY. Rather than change the existing itinerary ($250 to not take a flight!), I just didn't check in for the LGA-MSY flight, and instead went to JFK and back down to GRU. Since I never get a BP for the missed flights, I've never worried about this, but I'm sensing from this thread that I should be concerned?

In my case, I'm not trying to game the fare system by using point-beyond ticketing - it's just a case of plans changing.

cymer

I want to thank everyone for the all the advice! And I learned a bunch of new terms as well

Yeah, the SFO to DTW is the last leg of my flight and I only have carry-on bags.

I'll probably tell the Delta agent when I get to SFO that way they don't waste time looking for me.

And if anything bad happens I'll be sure to report back.

bwhite

Check the connecting flight status before informing them. If the last segments cancels or delays last minute for any reason, you may be able to get a refund, credit or make some fee-free changes.

Mareid

The Situation

Since the original post was from almost a decade ago, I doubt you will get much of a response from OP I recently had a similar situation. As long as the segment is the last segment of your ticket (I.e. if you book a round trip and there are two segments out and back, it needs to be the 4th segment you skip) and you do not do this frequently, it is unlikely to be an issue for you. I skipped the last segment of a multicity. The value of the flight was less than the change fee so I watched the flight to see if the flight was delayed (if there was a delay, I would have been entitled to a refund), but there was no delay so I no-showed and I did not notify them. I was not charged a fee and was not contacted by Delta. I did not receive mileage credit for that segment (nor was I expecting it).

HWGeeks

He's currently in prison awaiting his parole hearing apparently missing the flight cost him his freedom.

Just kidding, nothing probably happened and he probably wasn't charged. They only go after you if you do it a lot.

ijgordon