Skipping the second leg of a flight
 

Hi,

I was looking to buy a one-way ticket from LA to Philadelphia, and noticed that a specific non-stop was ~$600. I also noticed that if I change Philadelphia to Providence, I can get a one-stop route (via Philadelphia on the same non-stop as earlier) for $120! My only concern with doing this is that I will probably need to check baggage. If I get off in Philadelphia and don't continue to Providence, does anyone know what will happen to my bag? As a side note, I'd have no problem picking my bag up in Providence a few days later if that's possible. Thanks!

Your bag is headed to Providence. If you cant make it in a carry on + personal item, but you don't need the bag immediately, then UPS or USPS mail the stuff to yourself in advance to your Philly address. It'll cost a few bucks, but way less than you'll save. Don't book any other legs on the same itinerary; they'll likely be cancelled.

Thanks very much. Do you know what will happen to my bag in Providence? Will I be able to claim it there a few days later?

If you have a long enough layover you inform the counter agent you need to have your bag tagged for PHL not PVD.

I used to regularly fly SFO-LAS-CVG-HVN. Often I'd fly from HVN to SFO in the mornig for a shoot in the Bay Area. From there I'd fly SFO-LAS as my regular connection home (always an upgrade available, much harder to upgrade out of SFO on DL), at times I'd do a shoot in LAS on the way home. My usual layover was an average of 5hrs at LAS so my bag would be tagged LAS not HVN. I'd pick it up at LAS no problems (my checked bag has lights, light stands, etc etc). Before heading home I'd recheck it at LAS for HVN, no problems.

-Fish

One way to do this is to take a daytime flight to PHL which cannot connect for the last flight of the day to PVD (involuntary layover).

Welcome to FT basebalman!

Have you checked Southwest's prices? It's going to cost you money and time to get to/from PVD to claim your baggage.

To answer your question: Your bag will eventually be pulled from the belt and kept in the airline's baggage office.

If you're planning on letting your luggage continue on to PVD, you may as well take both flights, claim your baggage that day and return to PHL on Southwest for $49+ taxes. If you install Southwest's Ding!, you may be able to rebook the flight into a cheaper fare bucket.

Very helpful; I will definitely try that. Thanks.

There are plenty of cheap tickets from LAX-PHL. It's just that none of them are non-stop. However, a 1-stop flight to PHL would be better than having your bags go to PVD. Right? :)

AirTran, Frontier, UsAir, all have 1-stops ranging from $117 to $148 plus taxes.

thanks all--remarkable how friendly and helpful this board is compared to other internet sites i use more often. in fact, i'd be happy to have my bags go to providence--i live in boston and will be driving from philly to boston a few days after the flight (visiting family in philly), so stopping in providence is a total non-issue.

It all depends on how much you love your stuff. It's going to spin, all by itself, in the carosel, then get taken away, maybe lost. It it's stuff you don't need in philly, and then you're going home to Boston, why not put it in a box and ship it to your house? Why take the chance? If you already have the suitcase in LA and have to get the case home, then I partially understand.

If the connection you book in PHL is long enough that you could realistically claim your bag, re-check it, and re-enter security, just ask the check-in agent to "short check" it to there. If s/he asks why, you can say you have to get something from it - to swap papers to work with on the two flights, to give to a friend you're meeting at the airport, whatever. I doubt you'll get the third degree; while this isn't something two out of three passengers ask for, it's common enough not to raise eyebrows.