MikeNYC1

That's an idea, but a long shot. The onboard headcount won't match the scans, which could raise a flag. One could plead with the gate agent to scan the missing person's BP then list it on the manifest as EXTRASEAT for one of the other pax, so they expect it to be empty, but it's a long shot.

davetravels

I feel pretty certain that there'll be a passport check while boarding in SEA, as they're going to SJO which is in Costa Rica.

Wimsta

Seems like the kind of thing that could jeopardize everyone's trip to me. Thing is, if anyone has pulled anything this crazy off I just imagine someone would have heard about it.

Maybe, for headcount, someone says "he's in bathroom" or something... but still. It seems like a HUGE risk.

MrAndy1369

Would definitely not recommend that. Reasons and examples being, if the flight had an emergency on board, they would list you as dead/in pain, and DL probably wouldn't want to be liable for the "fake" passenger. It'd quickly complicate things and probably can be considered fraud and can result in a lawsuit by DL, plus maybe being added to the "no-fly" list.

Also, if the homeless passenger misbehaves on the flight or causes problems, he may be asked for ID upon landing by the police, and seeing the ticket and name mismatch can easily cause you problems, too.

If he mines information about you from a DL agent (asking to "double check" the address on file), he might have your information, including birthday and address. Identify theft!

Unintended effects are the worst. I know my examples are probably extreme, but technically, you'd be responsible for the person's behavior and any fallout, as it'd be your name on the ticket. Just wouldn't recommend for a complete stranger. :\ However, I'm very risk adverse, and my listed examples probably aren't anything most people thought about.

flyerCO

Or split him off the current PNR onto his own. He then checks in online. When get to gate goto board like normal. When it beeps cause he didn't fly the first flight, point out how could he be in LAX if he hadn't boarded the first flight. These mistakes happen. As family will be there that flew in on the flight it'll seem like it was a system mistake. If does need checked bag in SJO, have family check it as their own when they fly out

Often1

There are a lot of bad solutions which are somewhere between a simple violation of the rules to a felony (causing a false manifest). Be assured that if the headcount does not match the gate reader, the two numbers will need to be rectified. That may take 45+ minutes, but at some point, it will be found out.

This is a safety and security issue and there is zero tolerance for safety violations.

It is close to a certainty that these frauds are found out and that the resolution is at best hauling out a CC to purchase the new ticket and at worst being told that one is perhaps better suited for some other carrier until the mess is all sorted. All great in front of one's kids.

TerryK

This may work if OP is a good actor. If not, OP needs a back up plan which will likely be very expensive. Good luck.

eternalX

Hey everyone,
Apologies for the delay in responding. Thanks for all the suggestions - some were good. Some were funny. Some were....

For background, when I bought the ticket I didn't think there was any chance I'd need to change. I can almost always control my work schedule but after I bought the ticket, I got re-org'd onto a new team and this new team had a team offsite planned for the day I was leaving for costa rica. I can miss it (and will) but would have preferred to go as it's a new team that I don't normally see as they are based in SF and I'm in SEA.

A day after I posted, they ended up changing the offsite to SF and in the end I just decided to skip it.

I was surprised that they didn't try to help me and this is one thing I miss about AS. I felt like when I was a loyal AS customer, they would always TRY to work with me. I had come from UA before that I often felt like the agents would treat me like a "disrupting school child who needs to be slapped". I often found DL to be somewhere in the middle. Maybe that's changed now.

For those who say that DL is very clear about this and those are the rules. You're right. I wasn't threatening to sue or outraged. Just very disappointed. I work with customers all the time who for some reason or other require exceptions and again, I try to work with them. I don't think it's necessary or good business in the long run to treat all tickets as set in stone without exception. If that becomes the case, I'll either move airlines or at least change how I compare DL basic fares to perhaps saver fares on another airline. I used to live in the UK and I certainly did this with the cheapo carriers there. The DL agent even told me "we've already given a lot of exceptions for this" to which I replied "Perhaps but not for me!"

xliioper

AS has just introduced BE fares, so not really a valid comparison. Try booking a BE fare on AS and see if they will "work" with you on one of those. There's a thread right now over in the AS forum from someone complaining that AS won't waive a change fee for him on an award ticket while he has had DL do it several times.

NoStressHere

Maybe I missing something, but anyone that has bought more than a few tickets should know - a non refundable ticket is just that. Non-refundable - even without the Basic Economy issues.

You can not just buy a cheap ticket, then want to make changes. Airline tickets across 95% of the universe work that way.

Sorry.

eternalX

This is inaccurate. Most non-refundable tickets are changeable with a fee. Also, It's not particularly helpful to chime in "rules are rules". The title of the thread was "...any options?" A simple "I've not heard of any with these fares" would be more collaborative/friendly.

eternalX

Fair enough.