flyboiboeing

i was worried about something simliar. i flew 3 legs with short connections the other day. my 3rd leg was delayed quite a bit. but there was a same flight schedule to depart 3 hours earlier that was delayed. so as soon as i landed from my 2nd leg, i went standby on the flight scheduled to depart 3 hours earlier (when i was on the air) but it was delayed.

then, that flight didn't post to my ff account - i'm not sure why. i called and because my ticket was exchanged several times, they couldn't figure it out so they just asked me what i flew and i told them.

then they said keep the BP's in case i get an audit cuz of the manual additions of flights. and i noted, it could look funny, cuz if you look at the scheduled departure of my 3rd flight, it was while i was in the air for my other flights - of course, it was delayed by several hours, but it did make me nervous that it would look fishy. of course, it was all legit and i have my bp's if necessary, but it did make me nervous that it would raise a red flag.

thebug622

Years ago (late 80s?) before an ID was required people would sell tickets in the newspaper I once flew on a ticket that was issued to a gentleman with a Chinese name I also responded to an ad in the SD Union from a guy who paid people who were flying to the East coast $50 to fly in his name so he would get the miles . Ah the good old days

RooseveltL

If you have Adobe Acrobat or tool to modify a PDF - one can modify the name of an electronic boarding pass and reprint it out. TSA won't notice the slight difference in font.

How does this help you?

IF you are OJ Simpson and want to have Al Cowlings fly your segment. You can print out your e-tkt for OJ to PDF file. Print a valid copy for check in. Modify the text slightly to show Al Cowlings and print.
Both gentlemen use their valid IDs via TSA checkpoint for security stamp and walk to gate. Cowlings checks in with on OJs BPs and OJ leaves the airport. This assumes the gate agent isn't performing a 2nd security check.

It is illegal but possible in this digital age.

DCAorBust

What you've suggested is more clearly illegal because it involves forgery. The OP's question is actually very nuanced. I'm not sure that it is illegal, but it is wrought with risk and potential for major hassle if caught. I recall the kid who created the fake boarding pass generator a few years back...I think they charged him with creation of false documents and also with entering an airport in violation of security rules.

In the cancel ticket scenario you're not forging any documents, and it is unclear whether the "entering in violation of security rules" charge would come into play. You're entering the airport in conformity with security rules. Canceling the ticket probably does not put you in violation of such rules because you've already entered. The question may turn on whether boarding an aircraft without a ticket in your name is a violation of the same law. The statute says aircraft OR airport, so entering the aircraft is a separate area for sure. But is there a tsa rule against boarding an aircraft without a ticket in your name? I'm not sure that there is (yet).

TSA recently (in 2008) made it official that you need an ID to get beyond the check point (http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/...uirements.shtm), however I don't think they've taken the next step, which is to require that the person on the plane is the same person in whose name the ticket was booked. They have however resumed random gate checks of IDs when people are boarding, but as long as you have a legit boarding pass in your hand--even if it's not the one you tendered to the gate agent, you might not be violating anything.

Imagine a slightly different scenario: you fly the flight and cancel your ticket afterward. As far as security rules go, I don't think there's anything you've done wrong. Sure, you handed the gate agent someone else's boarding pass, but I don't think there's a law against that. You've flown an entire flight with a valid boarding pass. The only thing you've done "wrong" is that you failed to tender it when boarding.

The airline could probably make a theft of services claim against you, however this is a bit of an uphill battle because YOU haven't really stolen anything. Sure you took a flight and cxld your own ticket, but you traveled in a seat that was purchased by someone else and given to you--e.g., not stolen. The claim is more properly brought against the ticketed person who stole the miles because the rule is that it has to be the named ticket holder in the seat to get the miles. Seems to me that the easiest thing for them to do is cxl the miles, unless they've been redeemed, in which case they might try theft of service, but I think that's a tough claim to bring with very little pay out for the airline.

DELANRDFW

Well I recently noticed at DFW (Terminal A & D) the TSA staff has a barcode reader which scans the bar code on BP and displays PAx Name Flt# Airline Code. I am not sure if its real time or just reading the barcode. So if you cancelled a Refundable ticket after boarding but prior to security, this could raise a flag too
But then locks only keep honest people away not the thief, so to each its own, I decline to be part of the Morality Police

pokecheckted

Can you find someone with your name?

sbm12

Those scanners are just reading the data in the 2D barcodes; they are not real-time.

joediver

I kind of like the earlier post about joe smith jr and sr. My son has the same name. I may give it a shot some time when I'm not travelling

njfan07

If you go to the effort and expense of hiring someone to do your flying, spend a little more and have them legally change their name. Drawback could be that they'll like masquerading like you so much that they might decide to steal your identity. Such are the risks when trying to circumvent the traditional butt in seat method.

schley

Jeez I can't believe how resourceful you guys can be when trying to brainstorm ways for trying to circumvent rules and laws for miles. It is like the book mentioning airliners crashing into skyscrapers and then soon enough it happened.

If anyone is caught dong the above I wouldn't have any sympathy upon you regardless of the consequence, short of water boarding.

CDKing

There's no point in trying now that secure flight is being rolled out and your DOB will also need to match to get through TSA

SFflyer123

It's crazy how this thread has become more and more deviant. All these schemes of illegally scamming the system. I suppose it is kinda fun to think of. Just hope nobody ever does it.

bidhere23

Let's be realistic. TSA security is a facade. A poster above said to edit the printable boarding pass using Adobe Acrobat. While this would work the easier method would be to edit the HTML to represent a new name. You could also edit any additional information including flight time or destination if you desired. It would take about 5 seconds for anyone over 3 years old that had a basic understanding of HTML. If you were so inclined to earn miles for someone else then you could print out two versions. One with the incorrect name to pass security and one with the correct name to board with--just in case they keep the ticket (rare but it does happen).

The question is it worth the trouble? I don't think so. Even if you aren't breaking any specific rules (which you might be), if you do get caught it isn't going to be a very convenient afternoon. You will probably end up in a holding cell, interviewed for a few minutes, held for a couple of hours more before you lawyer arrives and later released. The airline might instruct you not to use their services anymore and the airport may request that you don't use their facilities again. All that trouble for a few extra miles on the frequent flier account? Just do a mileage run with a couple of good friends.

uthornsgo

No- the moral of the story is don't get caught.

SFflyer123

You guys are awful!