yevlesh2

Let's say I am returning from a trip and flying NW through AMS and my plane arives at around 1:30 pm. I have a connecting flight at 3 pm.

What happens if I get too carried away with the airport or duty free stores and show up at the boarding gate at 4:10 pm. The last NW or KLM flight to my destination is at 4pm .

Would NW rebook on the next day's flight (assuming seats are avaliable) or would they force me to buy a one way ticket?

Anyone experience something like that. So far, this is purely a hypothetical situation.

fromYXU

Then you should have no problem making your connection.

Not much of an excuse. NW may have the right to cancel your ticket, but will likely put you on standby for the next flight. If last flight of the day, I would not count on hotel arrangements via NW.

If your flight is on time for a connection, you should make every effort to do so. Do not take a chance otherwise.

Standby4321

My two cents worth is that I do not see how you could expect the carrier to bear any responsibility at all for such an oversight, since it would be a matter of pure negligence on the part of the traveler. A fair response would be for that traveler to pay the full cost to remedy the situation. (As a practical matter, I don't know how they actually handle such things and I'm sure such situations come up from time to time.)

erik123

They would put you on the KL flight at 7:30 pm - this is a legal connection but you could have been delayed due to reasons out of your control (you would have to go through passport control because of your connection). The flight should close 20 minutes before dept. and if it is overbooked they may give your seat away before this time. If you show up at the gate 15 minutes before depature you will have another 4 hours in amsterdam.

diana

I fell asleep in the KLM lounge awaiting my connection from LAX to Nice. I woke up about 15 minutes before departure and ran to the gate and saw the aircraft still parked there. They said that they had been paging me but refused to let me board. I was reaccomodated on the later flight.

yevlesh2

Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, AMS was just an example of a connecting city, first one which came to mind. The described situation might happen in NRT and I am certain that there are no NW/KLM flights after 4 pm . I do not expect NW to cover the hotel accomidation, but will they provide a seat on the next days flight?

The goal is to gain a 1 day stopover in NRT.


The ticket is booked in K class.

[This message has been edited by yevlesh2 (edited 07-20-2003).]

fromYXU

I see what you are after. In my books that is called fraud. I suggest that you change your travel plans to stay a night in NRT. In other words, pay for it. Why would NW bend the fare rules to accomodate you that way. You got a cheap fare with certain rules. Next time, pay full fare and you can reschedule as you wish.

upwardadjust

This is why the airlines are loosing money left and right.

goingnow

You know, It's post like these that cause headaches for people who really do miss their flights and get stuck when told tough luck because of people who abuse the system. Why don't we all just behave and make life easy for everyone?

Radiocycle

I wouldn't miss my flight and see whether nwa accomodates/reschedules your return flight from NRT.

I would volunteer my seat and request to be put on a flight the next day.

Let us know what happens.

RC

Mr.Airport

A little harsh reaction to this "what if" situation? Fraud? - that's pretty strong!

Is everyone "loosing" their heads?

leiterk

Dear FromXYU,

Get a grip on reality and simmer down. You sound like you're the sole owner of the airline.

Vegas Agent

Actually, boarding an international flight less than 30 minutes before departure is asking for trouble. As positive bag match still applies to international flights, at 30 minutes before departure, passengers who have not boarded are researched (for possible late connections) and the baggage removal process begins...if they locate and remove your bag before you board the aircraft, you may be denied boarding.

d56auction

I'd try honesty. And make sure you have no checked luggage. If they have to dig your bag out because you missed your connection, they will not be happy campers.

If, however, you're standing there with your rollaboard, all polite and smiling, and simply say that you know it's not exactly within the rules, but you know tomorrow's flights have lots of empty seats, etc, etc.

Some (most?) fares are just stupid marketing gimmicks and have little to do with cost. I bought a ticket to Brussels (via AMS) last year that was cheaper than simply flying to AMS. Everyone both here and at NW said I could not get off at AMS and skip the final leg without losing my return reservation. I got off at AMS, went to the KLM Ticket desk and they both let me off and changed by return reservation with no problem and no change fee on a deeply discounted WBC fare. The point is, you don't know until you ask, but you must be prepared to live by the rules if the answer is "no." You ought not plan your trip around breaking the rules - consider the night in Japan a bonus if it happens but don't count on it.

Ginger K

Good advice. Honesty with a friendly smile and humble attitude works for me when asking for a special favor. I've found that most NWA agents will do their best to accomodate. Good luck.