Justinus

Sorry, if this has been answered somewhere... I didnīt find it.

I have a Business Saver (P) ticket LHR-VIE-IST on Austrian. Now I would like to use only the LHR-VIE leg of the ticket and get out in Vienna. Will the LHR check-in be willing to check my luggage only to Vienna? Can I somehow cancel the last leg - or is it even necessary? Some airlines are very strict about the "obligation" to use the whole ticket. Is this the rule also with Lufthansa/Swiss/Austrian?

ISTFlyer

Since when does Austrian fly to Istanbul ?

chris63

You are not on OS ex VIE to IST ?

If that is the outbound they will cancel your return if you skip VIE-IST, you need to abide by the fare rules.

the810

I assume the VIE-IST leg is operated by TK. Austrian rules will apply nevertheless if they issued the ticket.

SK AAR

If this a o/w ticket you can skip the last leg; no issue. No need to cancel; it would be nice if you ask staff at VIE to unload you from the flight to IST, i.e. you will no longer be checked-in for that flight and gate staff will not be paging you before closing the gate.

Check-in staff at LHR is unlikely to allow you to short-check bags to VIE only. So you need to travel HBO. In any event you can always ask upon arrival VIE for your bags to be delivered to you on the luggage carousels in VIE; your explanation: you don't feel well and are unable to travel. You bags can't be loaded on the flight to IST when you are not boarding that flight. It may take a while for the bag(s) to be delivered to you at the carousels.

Justinus

Sorry, I got confused with my tickets. This is the “return” flight of an open-jaw ticket. The ticket is LHR-VIE-SOF (not Istanbul!). So:

1.Will the LHR check-in let me to check my luggage to VIE only?

2. Is there some penalty for getting out in Vienna and not using the second/last flight to Sofia?

Justinus

Many thanks! Would they check-in for VIE only for a good reason? E.g. things I absolutely need for a meeting between the flights?

SK AAR

Most likely you be told to bring such essential items in your handluggage. You can try, but expect a "No". You may have better chance if your connection time at VIE is long; if short, there is no way staff will accept that your bags are delivered to you at VIE.

Justinus

Thanks again! There was a case with Finnair, which threatened to sue a pax, who did not use the last leg of his or her ticket (many AY tickets ex-TLL are less expensive than ex-HEL). The pax claimed that he or she was feeling unwell.

Actually the whole issue is absurd. If I pay for an ice cream, am I obliged to consume it?

Airlines lose a lot of money, because they do not allow pax to cancel their tickets (even without any refund). If they did, they could sell the same seat again.

the810

They sell the same seat again anyway, it's called overbooking

Anyone can threaten to sue anyone for anything. Whether they'd win such a lawsuit is another matter. In general, if you skip a leg once or twice, they won't bother. They only chase people who do it on a regular basis and even then it's questionable whether they can actually charge them (the more common outcome is closing their FFP account and/or banning them on the airline).

As for the baggage, I was under the impression that LH group will generally let you short check bags but I've never tried it myself so I'd trust the guys above Either way, the bag won't fly without you so at the very worst you'll spend an hour or so waiting for it at VIE baggage services. Still more convenient and cheaper than flying to Sofia and back.

etiene

Ice cream is not a service.

Justinus

No. But in the case of flight tickets, the service is performed by the airline, not by the customer.

I am a lawyer too. I am convinced that in a court of law an airline would lose against a pax who did not use all the legs that he or she paid for.

Justinus

Has anyone here succeeded in this?

NewbieRunner

What a court of law decides is one thing. What airport check-in staff let you do (i.e short check your bags to allow this) is quite another.

It depends on the length of layover.

PLeblond

Airlines are designed to maximize the revenue of every seat. It's a beautiful system. The market for city A --> B is more expensive than the market for A --> C, but the airline sells that as A --> B --> C.

When you purchase a ticket, you are agreeing to be transported from point A to point B for a given amount of money/points. If you get off at another point than your final destination, you are in breach of contract. If the airline stranded you halfway to your destination you would be pissed.

When flying hidden city itineraries (willfully buying a ticket to a different destination than the one greed upon) you are engaging in deceitful practice. Calling the system absurd is no justification for dishonesty. Like F-Boys saying 'don't hate the player, hate the game' when they screw over someone.