End-on-End Ticketing
 

My limited understanding of end-on-end ticketing is that you would, for example, fly from New York to London on one ticket then continue on to Delhi on another ticket. Not breaking any of the Sat night stay etc rules.

However, my plan: if you fly from USA to HKG on one ticket, spend a day or two in HKG then continue on a separate ticket to SYD. Would that be end-to-end since I'm breaking the trip? Don't want to do anything illegal here. Or how about USA to HKG (overland to BKK) then BKK to SYD. Would that avoid the whole rules issue since there's different departure cities on both tickets.

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by leroy11 (edited 08-06-2001).]

End-on-end is (with rare exceptions, usually related to websaver-type fares) a permitted combination. Even if you didn't stop over in Hong Kong, you can use it.

This sounds more like a nested itinerary. When they involve an extra city (unlike back-to-back) they tend to not break any airline rules.

Enjoy the trip! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Straight from the horse's mouth so to speak:
Spoke to an airline rep and they said that end-to-end ticketing is only when two itineraries (for example USA - HKG and HKG - Australia) are combined into one ticket. It is NOT end-to-end if there are two separate tickets.

Bottom line -- what you're proposing is perfectly legal.

However, depending on what kind of arrangements you have with consolidators and such, it might be cheaper to buy a single ticket that allows a stopover in HKG.

When I fly to the U.S. I regularly buy some intra-US tix on the same carrier (DL) that I use on my transatlantic flights as well (nested tixs). Delta's RPU did NOT contact me as of now, so I guess it's perfectly legal http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

My RDU->FRA paid flights this spring on US had end to ends on Lufthansa via use of UA ff miles FRA->ATH. USAIR was nice enough to even tag our baggage for the complete itinerary RDU->ATH at check in when I showed my other itinerary. I believe it is common for flyers to book end-to-ends during the winter and shoulder season sales from the northern European destinations offered to warmer places that aren't available in the transatlantic winter sales.

The only problem, I think, occurs when you book two separate tickets as a connecting itinerary (eg. purchase HKG-LAX and separately purchase LAX-JFK, as a connecting flight). If your first flight is delayed, the airline may not take responsibility to get you to your final destination. Whenever I do this (for instance splitting DTW-FRA-DFW-DEN-DTW into a DTW-FRA-DTW ticket and a DTW-DFW-DEN-DTW ticket) I leave extra time for the connectin between tickets and If I get in on time, just get them to put me on an earlier flight.

Right to the point, dudster. If the interline connection is on the same ticket, then you would not have a problem in the case of a delay.

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you book a itiniery for which you KNOW there's no way you'd make a connecting flight?

Say, something which gives you 10 minutes to transfer between a domestic and international flight located in different terminals. Would the airline actually be responsible or would a reservation/gate agent use a little common sense and ask why you were insane enough to think it'd be possible to make that kind of connection?

Plato90s, you're very likely to be on your own in the case you describe. The airlines would have no liability to accommodate you in that case.

Well, of course I would not try it. Logically, I always try to allow a minimum of 1 hour for a domestic transfer and at least 2 hours if immigration/custom has to be cleared.

But at times, airline sites and travel sites have spit out itinieries which might make sense to a computer but obviously could not possibly work becaude there'd be no time for transfer. I'm actually surprised nobody programs these reservation system for minimum-transfer time window.

Anyways, it was just a point of curiosity.

Plato --

EssexJay isn't 100% right. It all depends on how the booking was made.

If the airline messed up, and one of their agents (or their web site) booked you on an illegal connection, they'd be responsible for taking care of you.

If a TA did it, then normally the airline will take care of you, and then go after the TA's hide for issuing a ticket to an illegal booking.

As part of the ticketing process, most TA's go thru a step where they have the computer check for illegal connections.