Getting miles without actually going on the flight
 

Is it possible to get miles by just checking in for a flight but not actually going on it? I would have the boarding pass as proof of use of the ticket but I just actually won't be on the flight due to time constraints. Is this possible?

No.

And please don't try it. Because the only way you'll get the miles is if you are checked into the flight and when the FA count doesn't match the BP count then you will delay everyone while they sort it out. My observation is that post 9/11 even on short flights where the pressure is on to dispatch it and which might have gone out with a discrepancy pre-9/11 don't and won't now usually.

It's a bad and even rude idea, imo; I assume you don't want to be the cause of potential delay and misconnects for your fellow pax.

And while we're on the general subject, did you ever make good on your trade with CaliforniaCentralCoast as referenced in
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/005057.html ?

[This message has been edited by cblaisd (edited 03-19-2002).]

cblaisd,

thanks for the post and the reference link to the "scandal". Interesting reading.

I think that until you make appropriate amends for your failure to meet your part of your bargain -- see the above link -- you really shouldn't be seeking help or information from people on Flyertalk. Generally, they don't take to kindly to being used and discarded. Your idea of getting a boarding pass but not flying the flight seems to fall into a recurring pattern of trying to get something from someone else without meeting your part of the bargain. Maybe it's time for you to leave Flyertalk and find a new site.

New to this forum; thinking about trading some certificates with someone on here but I'm very weary about it considering what's been revealed here. Is this kind of practice common with folks on here?

Btw, sort of wondered about the same question about checking in and not going. Thought of doing that as I try to make 1K this year.

What's been "revealed" here is that us FTers really look out for each other. That's a good thing.

And, that you should be very, very careful who you deal with when trading coupons/certs, etc.-- here on FT-- or anywhere else for that matter. As a brand new member yourself, I would think the party you are trading with would have as much concern-- more really-- about the trade. Just be careful.

As far as the second matter-- don't wonder about it. Don't do it.

While sclee seems like a bit of weasel from the other thread, lets not get too carried away about objecting to the question he asked.

First it is possible to get miles without flying on a flight: I've heard of someone who was booked on an AA flight, got a boarding pass from the check in counter without checking any bags, headed to the gate and they the gate agents (or whoever) had already closed the doors more than 10 minutes before departure. He went back to the checkin counter, they put him on another airline for a flight an hour later. Now, he paid for the flight and expected to get in return (1) a seat on a plane and (2) miles. AA gave him instead, a seat on a plane and hour later and his miles for that flight didn't show up. He went to the web site, filled out the "where-are-my-miles-for-my-flight-form" and they eventually posted.

???

No, sclee has not replied, nor has he made good on his committments to me.

Don't try to beat the system. It only makes problems for people who earn miles the old fashioned way.

I have had only one situation where I earned miles but didn't get on the plane - it was a mechanical failure on AA from MIA to EWR. They put us on CO, AA posted the miles, so did CO.

I thought this was a mistake by the AA folks, and the CO folks. But no reason to contact them about it.

Agreed, that's a very different situation, IMHO. That's your good fortune and very different than what was being proposed at the top of this thread.

May I add that checking in for a flight and not showing will cause major security problems for the flight. They will quickly identify that you did not check a bag in the hold, but if the headcount is out they will want to know why. This will cause delay to the flight, missed slots, and all the attendant horrors, which you would not like to endure.

By definition you will have given your FF No to get your miles, and they will know who you are. Oddly enough, if it were us, we'd be wondering if an emergency had befallen you between check in and boarding.

There can be perfectly valid reason why someone might check in and not fly (the cancellation of a business meeting at the last moment for example), but then you should tell someone. Another passenger might have used your seat and have been refused if the flight was very full, one day that passenger could be you. It's ever so selfish, please don't do it.