Boutet Olly

Welcome to FT nicepants!

They will know if you're not on the flight. When you board they scan your boarding pass therefore they will know if you're on the flight or not. Last time I checked missing a leg of your flight will result in the cancellation of the remainer of your itinerary.

mersk862

Don't try it...when the boarding pass for your connection in ATL is not scanned, it will cancel the entire itinerary, stranding you in PNS on the way back. If you really want to drive with your friends ATL-PNS, book the trip so it's XXX-ATL on the way down, and then return PNS-ATL-XXX. If you have that ATL-PNS segment on your itin though and you don't fly it - you're pretty much out of luck.

tkey75

Welcome to Flyertalk, nicepants.

I'm just reiterating what the previous two posts have said, but it can't be stressed enough that there's a 100% chance they will know you did not get on the plane in Atlanta and they will cancel the rest of your itinerary. Don't do it.

nicepants

In some cases, the second leg of the outbound flight is on the same aircraft as the first leg. In situations like this, the people deplaning at the layover city leave the plane, and the rest of us stay on to connect to the final destination. In this case, our boarding passes were never re-scanned, so if we left the plane, would they know we missed the flight?

For connections which require a plane change....

Is the scanning of a boarding pass the method that the airline will use to determine whether we missed the flight? So if our boarding passes for the connecting flight were scanned in ATL, but we never actually took the flight, would they know?

rcherskov

If they do a head count on the plane and it doesn't match, they will eventually figure it out, cancel your itinerary, and delay the connecting flight. They will not like this.

How do you propose to scan the boarding pass without boarding the plane?

EDIT: And welcome to FT!

nicepants

Right, I just didn't know if they would go to the trouble of doing that or not.

Thanks And I'm just thinking/wondering hypothetically....if the scan of the boarding pass is the one way they determine whether someone took a flight.


In my case, I'm planning to just go ahead and book the itinerary. If the flight from ATL-PONS is overbooked or if our original flight to ATL is delayed, I'd have a pretty good chance of being able to skip the second leg with permission (it's a 47 minute layover). If the planets don't align...I don't mind skipping out on the 4 hour drive.

jackplum

Give SMS a call. I have skipped a leg or two in the past and a "pleasant" call did wonders.

hobo13

What's to stop you from scanning the boarding pass, boarding the plane, and then immediately 'forgetting' something in the terminal? Or possibly 'getting sick' and making a mad dash for the restroom in the terminal? If they ask your name on the way out, mumble something, and make like you're sick!

Honestly, I've thought about this for a long time. A lot of people on FT seem to argue strongly against doing it, based on theory. But I'd like to hear from someone, anyone, who has tried the technique I've outlined above. Did it work? What was the flaw? Of course, we also need someone who was on the plane to tell us whether a headcount was performed.

I can imagine that if it's a full flight, your absence might be noticed as they try to put someone else in your seat. And on an empty flight your absence might be noticed, because it's not hard to remember the faces of 10 people. But for 95% of flights which are between these extremes, I don't see the flaw. At some point, I might just have to try it just to prove some people wrong!

zsmith2

Don't try it! Just give a call to DL and change your itn. There is no way around it, the GAs will know and will cancel the remainder of your trip (it does it automatically).
As far as head counts, they do it on all flights. The people on board must reflect what it has in the computer. It would cause a delay trying to sort of on who is on and who is not.

atlantacane75

Definitely do not try it without calling Delta and getting the OK. A friend of mine did exactly what you propose and they figured it out, canceled her return flight and stranded her. They will figure it out; they are pretty astute.

gilpin

Certainly they perform such a function for all flights, but I don't know that it is always 100% accurate in all cases or that they actually physically count heads on every single departure regardless of lateness, level of booking, which station, etc.

I'm not suggesting to the OP that nobody would notice, they probably will. But if you ask me if there has ever been a pax who deplaned at an intermediate stop of a continuing flight whose action wasn't noticed, I'd bet the answer is yes.

mikey1003

You will void return tkt

mikey1003

Rarely.. Dont try it.

Lots of time, even if same flight number, different gate...so you need to show tkt to reboard.

Also, if there is a crew change on same aircraft, you have to deplane and reboard with tkt...

The chances of success for you are very slim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lehava

Yeah someone boarding then dashing off the plane and never returning wouldnt look suspiscious at all *rolling eyes*. Somehow I think you would get a LOT of attention this way!!! Not to mention the delay to all the other passengers while they make sure you havent left a vial of something on board before you dashed off.

Helena Handbaskets

I've seen several discussions about whether it's safe to buy a round trip ticket, fly the outbound leg, and not fly the return. Generally the responses amount to, "Don't make a habit of it, and call the airline to let them know you won't be on the return because you had a near-nervous-breakdown after one day in jail, or whatever your reason is."

I'd like to buy a RT on Alitalia now, and possibly only fly the outbound leg. By the time I fly, I will know for certain whether I'll be using the return flight or not.

But The thought of calling Alitalia a few days after the first flight and trying to tell them the dog ate my homework is a daunting prospect, primarily because of my lacking Italian language skills. I know some Italian, but not enough to be confident I could work my way through a "press 1 for duomo, 2 for d'uomo, 3 for D. Uomo," etc. or to explain my situation with any clarity.

So I'm wondering whether my chances for a graceful outcome might be jeopardized by flying the outbound leg and immediately upon arrival strolling straight over to an Alitalia gate agent or check-in desk and telling them (in English) that I won't be making the return journey. Since the advice I've seen so far seems to rely somewhat on the presentation of some story of uncertain credibility relating to insurmountable hindrance, I'm wondering if that part of the deal might be compromised if I come to them in person immediately upon arrival and without any obvious hindrance.

The advantage, as I see it, would be that I'd know I could complete the discussion in English, whereas if I try to call later on, I can't be assured I'd get the message through, and I'm uncertain that just not showing up for the return with no notice would leave my Skymiles for the first leg intact and prevent an assault on my credit card for the upcharge to a one-way fare.

Any thoughts / experiences?