I have a question I was hoping someone might be able to help out with. I'm flying NWA in June: the route is JFK-AMS-JRO. On the return flight, I'm planning on staying in Amsterdam and not using the AMS-JFK portion of the ticket. (I'll be staying in Europe for a couple of weeks and don't mind losing it.)

Two questions:
1. Can I ask the check-in staff to check my luggage just to AMS?
2. If they won't do it, I'll just courier my stuff back home and only bring a carry on. Will there be any security problems if I leave the airport and don't show up for the AMS-JFK flight?

Thank you for your help...

This is the third time we've gotten more or less this same question this week. Popular week for hidden city ticketing.

I think it's unlikely that the check-in staff at JRO will accomodate your request to only have your bags checked through to AMS. They're probably going to want to know why you'd want to do something like that, and since your prohibited by the fare rules from doing what you want to do, they probably won't want to participate. I can't think of a good explanation you'd have that wouldn't run awfoul of the fare rules, either. Of course, money can sometimes grease wheels, but I'm not sure you want to show up at the airport not knowing whether your bag is coming with you or not.

As for your second question, so long as you don't check a bag through to JFK, you shouldn't have any security problems if you're a no-show.

See also:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426561
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426171

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What possible reason could you give them to do this? You might convince an agent to do this on a domestic itinerary, but not for an international to international connection. If you want them to believe that you are going to use the entire ticket, they would question why you would want your luggage to end up in AMS (and only accessible after you pass through immigration), while you are continuing on to JFK...

Often I will check my luggage on a trip to allow me to go outside the airport whilst in transit. For example I will check a bag from Newcastle to Amsterdam, then collect it and take it on board with me for the flight to Bangkok. I tell them I need the bag for a meeting at the airport and will check it back in again at Amsterdam.

Simple. You need access to your bag at the connection point. They get this request a lot, usually because people need access to bags at connection points. It doesn't matter why - it's not their business, and they don't care. They may want to make sure you understand you'll have to go through immigration to get your bags, then through customs, check them again and back through security for your next leg, but you won't have any problem. Checking bags to an intermediate destination is standard procedure.

No, you won't - because you'll be safely separated from the passengers on your AMS-JFK flight who would actually like to lynch you because you've delayed their departure from AMS by going inexplicably walkabout.

If you are going to do this, please try and find some way of doing it with a legal break in AMS so that you are not checked in for the AMS-JFK flight.