I want to know

I know this has been previously discussed but with recent policy changes I want to reopen this conversation.

I know throw away ticketing is disallowed. Anyone have experience with being caught, billed after the fact, or otherwise punished for this? (other than canceling of the continuing reservations)

Example is getting off in Atlanta after buting a ticket for Tampa to save money.

zrs70

Here's how to circumvent the issue alltogether: Don't throw away the return, just inform DL that your plans have cnaged, and that you need to change the return date, but you don't know the date yet. Most tickets are good for a year.

I want to know

No return, this is one way. I've had agents at the airport cancel the next segment telling them I'll call to rebook but a smart agent may send the record in for audit afterwards.

diesel33

a friend of mine works in DL's Revenue Pricing department. The main "disciplinary" action is done to travel aegnts in the form of debit memos. Howeevr, he has told me stories of FF accounts being deleted, as well as charging the original form of payment for the difference in fare, He said this usually only happens when people have been constantly warned.

Beckles

Actually, your example is generally not considered "throw-away ticketing" as commonly used by the airlines, but "hidden-city ticketing" (although it may "look" like throw-away ticketing). Throw-away ticketing is buying a R/T ticket from city A to B and back to A and only flying A to B (and therefore to avoid it, you can just call the airline and tell them your return changed, as suggested).

Hidden-city ticketing, which would be buying a ticket from RDU to TPA via ATL, and getting off in ATL, is not even flying the entire one-way portion of a ticket, i.e., having a ticket from A to B via C, but only flying A to C and throwing away the B to C portion of the ticket. You can not call the airline and just cancel the B to C portion.

BDABOY

One strategy SO THAT YOU CAN LEGITAMATLY CHECK YOUR BAGS TO THE "HIDDEN" CITY is to route as an overnight eg. BOS-ATL (overnight) ATL-TPA next day (don't use the last portion). DL doesn't like to hold on to bags overnight! (Some fares will allow you as much as 24hrs to connect to your next flight or the first flight out the next day).

[of course this only would work on a return leg or if you were throwing away the return too!]


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"Things work out the best for those who make the best of the way things work out"

NoStressHere

As mentioned before, this usually only becomes an issue if you repeatedly abuse it.

How can they prove you did NOT take the flight if you tell them you took it, and they owe you a segment and the miles?

beofotch

Is it allowed/possible to fly IND - ATL - ROC R/T (connection being in ATL) and rather than boarding in IND getting on the plane in ATL? Will they give away my seat if I don't show up for the IND flight. Is this a question I should pose with the Delta 1800 number? The reason I ask is that for work I have to fly from home in ATL to ROC for a couple of days and then from ROC to IND. ROC to IND is ripoff city unless an ATL connection is had. Could I get on in ATL to ROC and then ROC - ATL - IND it without losing my seat?

andymo99

Can't do this. When you don't board your first segment, the remainder of the itinerary will be cxld.

Theoretically, you can get away with throwing out your last segment, as you won't suffer the cancellation of segments you actually need to fly. However, even in this case, DL could theoretically charge you a fare difference for the pricing of what you actually flew. Reportedly, the RPU does not enforce this penalty until you are a chronic transgressor.

channa

In addition, ATL is not a legal connection on DL for the IND-ROC city pairs. Technically what you're doing is pricing two RT tickets: IND-ATL + ATL-ROC.

I'm not sure when you're going, but pricing out the multi-city trip you want to fly (ATL-ROC, ROC-IND) doesn't seem too bad to me.

dfwdal

Airlines Fail To Block Hidden City Ticketing Suit
Monday June 2, 10:34 am ET
By Mark H. Anderson, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)-- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday allowed a class-action lawsuit over "hidden city ticketing" to proceed against Northwest Airlines Corp. (NasdaqNM:NWAC - News; NWAC) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE AL - News) .
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The two airlines had asked the high court to intervene in the case, but the justices declined the appeal without comment.

Delta of Atlanta, Northwest of Eagan, Minn., and US Airways Group of Arlington, Va., were sued by a class of individuals claiming the industry's bar on hidden city ticketing violates federal antitrust laws.

Hidden city ticketing occurs when a passenger attempts to save money by booking a flight between two cities with the intention of only flying to a third city that is usually the hub airport used to connect the flight.

For example, a trip between Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh on US Airways can be cheaper if you book a flight that connects through Pittsburgh but has a final destination of Charleston, W.Va.

Airlines have long barred this maneuver by customers, saying the practice distorts flight demand statistics and pricing decisions for flight routes. The class-action lawsuit claims the airlines have colluded to block the practice.

"By reaching an industrywide agreement, each airline was free to prevent hidden city ticketing without fear of losing traffic to competitors," Bruce Gerstein, an attorney with Garwin, Bronzaft & Fisher LLP in New York, said in court documents.

The airlines maintain they have "unilaterally adopted" rules barring the practice "to prevent arbitrage" of airline services, the Supreme Court appeal said.

The class-action lawsuit is a consolidation of three separate cases alleging the airlines have monopolized flight markets by barring the practice. The suit seeks as much as $4 billion in damages from the three airlines.

The suit is being tried in a Michigan U.S. District Court, which certified the case as a class-action proceeding. The high court's rejection of the airlines' appeal will allow a trial to go forward.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati rejected the airlines appeal of the class-action certification last year.

The case is Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines v. Chase, 02-1447.

-By Mark H. Anderson, Dow Jones Newswires, 202 862-9254; [email protected]

JS

Gee, too bad Southwest missed out on the "collusion", seeing as how they don't ban hidden cities. Says so right there on the Southwest website.

Yet another class-action lawsuit from a group of whiny babies gumming up our legal system.

vasantn

I disagree, JS. Irrational pricing generally exists only when there is collusion, otherwise market forces would rationalize it. And if there is collusion, it needs to be challenged.

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Vasant

Northern Willy

It is collusion. Just hard to prove.

RunawayNFly

It is not a ridiculous law suit. Why does it cost hundreds of dollars more to fly from Point A VIA Point B and ending up in point C (if you stop over more than four hours)? It is the same air miles, the plane is stopping at Point B anyway, and you are not even dropping the last city(ie Point C). If you fly from NYC to FLL via ATL and jsut are passing through, it is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than doing the same routing but stopping in ATL for a day. It truly is a rip off.

WIth a Hidden City, it does not cost the airline any more money because you have already paid for the last segment. If the flight is overbooked, they can use your seat and you actually have helped out the airlines.