Ok, so I've been reading about missing a return flight (the whole last leg of my flight that is), and it sounds like it is probably all right. Although technical against the rules . . .

But I wonder if anyone knows more specifically what American Airline's policy is on this. Will they come after me? Will they charge me for a one-way ticket on top of what I've already paid for the round trip?

And, will I be flagged for security reasons? Will my next few flights find me in secondary screening because of this?

Thanks!

The concensus is no one knows for sure. If you are really worried about it do not put in your frequent flyer number.

It's all outlined in the Conditions of Carriage.

I've searched the topic thoroughly on FT and you won't get a better answer than they most likely wont go after you as long as you dont make a habit of it. There is no clear definition of habit, but I would imagine if you did it on a weekly basis they might frown on it.

Since AA doesn't handle airport security, it doesn't seem very likely they would tell the TSA to give you extra scrutiny.

The airline i used to work for didnt pursue anyone who didnt take their return flight. It wasnt worth it. But that doesnt mean if you do it all the time that they will continue to turn a blind eye.

I am going to have to extend my vacation in Ireland for a week to include a week of work. I bought my original tickets weeks ago (~$880) and now that I heard I will need to stay an extra week, I need to change my return flight.

I called Delta and asked about changing my return date and it will cost approx. $950 + $250 change fee; whereas, a one way from DUB to LAX is approx $600.

Should I be more worried that Delta may see a second flight booked from the same location a week later and be more likely to either charge me a fee or change/affect my second booked flight home?

I can get a similar flight using American for similar price, however, I would prefer to fly DL and get the miles from a return flight. Is flying American a better option or most likely make no difference?

I am not so sure airlines flag passengers for screening. It is rather certain criteria you have met/not met the computer picks up that flag you. In addition, I cannot imagine the government going along with screening passengers because they violate some carriers rule which has nothing to do with security.

...they only go after chronic offenders...ones who book R/T's cuz they are cheaper than O/W's and do this over and over, so I dont think u have much to worry about.

I have done it a few times in my life - never a problem. I've even had a couple occasions where I called UA to change my flight and had the agent inform me that a sub-$150 one-way segment was available and that I should just book that instead. (Happens on DEN-MCI and ORD-MCI quite often.)

I've never had the conversation with an airline employee about the rules, but I have with our corporate travel agent in the past. Her take was similar to what HomerJ heard: the go after people who chronically circumvent tariff rules with throwaway, back-to-back, or hidden-city ticketing.

Or, to be more specific, they go after travel agents who enable many people to do these things. That's why our corp agent always played it clean - especially the back-to-backs. The flier might not catch hell for doing it once, but the agent who lets 50 people do it once each will.

The Ireland situation from the post above seems like fair game. If you're concerned, call and cancel the existing ticket first. You'll have some credit in that PNR with a $250 fee to be paid if you choose to redeem it. Then buy the fresh new one-way ticket using a credit card. There isn't even a rules question here - you aren't required to use that PNR before buying other unrelated DL tickets. In fact, you aren't required to use it ever.

I suspect the OP is okay too but we don't have enough info to be sure.