Aug 13, 2018, 2:39 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
from Wikipedia's Airline booking ploys
Consolidated "Hidden City Ticketing Questions"
Throwaway ticketing is purchasing a ticket with the intent to use only a portion of the included travel. This situation may arise when a passenger wants to travel only one way, but where the discounted round-trip excursion fare is cheaper than a one-way ticket
Hidden city ticketing (HCT) is a variant of throwaway ticketing. The passenger books a ticket to a fictitious destination (the "hidden" city) with a connection at the intended destination, walks away at the connection node, and discards the remaining segment.
Throwaway Tickets , such as book RT but only use OW - any issues with UA?
Feb 16, 2011, 5:55 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: BOS
Programs: UA 2P
Posts: 46
Throwaway Tickets , such as book RT but only use OW - any issues with UA?
Will be ending my stay in Europe soon and will be flying one-way back to the US.
One-way price is 4 times the price of RT. I would like to book on UA, for the flight and CC miles. Does anyone have any experience with a TATL throwaway? A search reveals plenty of hidden city experiences, but not much throwaway data, especially international. Looking for practical, not philosophical advice.
Likelihood of this drawing attention? Better to fly UA metal or a codeshare on LH? Or a mix - UA metal Eur-US, LH metal on the throwaway (or vice versa)? Better to schedule throwaway for summertime or put it off until, say, January?
One-way price is 4 times the price of RT. I would like to book on UA, for the flight and CC miles. Does anyone have any experience with a TATL throwaway? A search reveals plenty of hidden city experiences, but not much throwaway data, especially international. Looking for practical, not philosophical advice.
Likelihood of this drawing attention? Better to fly UA metal or a codeshare on LH? Or a mix - UA metal Eur-US, LH metal on the throwaway (or vice versa)? Better to schedule throwaway for summertime or put it off until, say, January?
Feb 16, 2011, 7:17 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,920
I wouldn't sweat it, but check student travel websites (like STAtravel.com) if you happen to be eligible for a student ticket (you probably have to call in for flights originiating outside the USA). For some reason, they are able to price o/w tickets and sometimes not much more than 1/2 the r/t price.
Also check NZ. They offer competitive o/w fares form LHR-LAX.
Also check NZ. They offer competitive o/w fares form LHR-LAX.
Feb 16, 2011, 7:18 am
#3
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,834
no direct experience, but higher doubt a single occurrence of any 'irregular' travel would draw any attention -- too many legitimate reasons to have a change in travel plans for UA or any airline to chase down such a situation unless a repetitive pattern is noticed.
Feb 16, 2011, 9:49 am
#4
Used to be 'g_leyser'
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Brandon Johnson International Airport (expect delays)
Programs: AA PlatPro, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold, IHG Plat, Reno Air MEGA Platinum
Posts: 10,036
Doesn't matter - don't worry about it. Unless you're doing this very regularly, nobody will hassle you. Just buy the cheapest fare.
Feb 16, 2011, 12:42 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: BOS
Programs: UA 2P
Posts: 46
Feb 16, 2011, 1:37 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Scottsdale, Berlin, Wherever
Programs: Marriott titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, AS, UA, AA, TWA, PAN AM, PSA
Posts: 558
Considered another airline?
You may want to check Air Berlin. They have inexpensive one way fares from Germany to the US.
Feb 16, 2011, 1:48 pm
#9
Join Date: Jun 2007
Programs: UA, AA, LH, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Hertz
Posts: 1,759
I have done this several times although every time the plan was for me to use the entire RT ticket. No one ever bothered to check and I have never had any issues with my future flights with the same airline.
Jan 8, 2012, 5:42 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 167
Another topic of Throwaway Ticket.
I've seen several pages about throwaways tickets but most of them are about not using the return flight.
So here is my situation:
My final destination is Houston for two days.
I'm flying from Mexico City and the non-stop flights cost 441 USD with Aeromexico and 600 USD with Continental.
But I found this:
MEX-IAH-LAX
IAH-MEX
So obvious question, I'm not planning in taking the IAH-LAX flight and I know because I'm coming from an international flight I get to pick my baggage at Houston. But will there be any problem for my returning flight to Mexico City?
I've heard they even might take your miles away, should I give my UA or CO FF number?
So here is my situation:
My final destination is Houston for two days.
I'm flying from Mexico City and the non-stop flights cost 441 USD with Aeromexico and 600 USD with Continental.
But I found this:
MEX-IAH-LAX
IAH-MEX
So obvious question, I'm not planning in taking the IAH-LAX flight and I know because I'm coming from an international flight I get to pick my baggage at Houston. But will there be any problem for my returning flight to Mexico City?
I've heard they even might take your miles away, should I give my UA or CO FF number?
Jan 8, 2012, 5:46 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Posts: 10,909
I've seen several pages about throwaways tickets but most of them are about not using the return flight.
So here is my situation:
My final destination is Houston for two days.
I'm flying from Mexico City and the non-stop flights cost 441 USD with Aeromexico and 600 USD with Continental.
But I found this:
MEX-IAH-LAX
IAH-MEX
So obvious question, I'm not planning in taking the IAH-LAX flight and I know because I'm coming from an international flight I get to pick my baggage at Houston. But will there be any problem for my returning flight to Mexico City?
I've heard they even might take your miles away, should I give my UA or CO FF number?
So here is my situation:
My final destination is Houston for two days.
I'm flying from Mexico City and the non-stop flights cost 441 USD with Aeromexico and 600 USD with Continental.
But I found this:
MEX-IAH-LAX
IAH-MEX
So obvious question, I'm not planning in taking the IAH-LAX flight and I know because I'm coming from an international flight I get to pick my baggage at Houston. But will there be any problem for my returning flight to Mexico City?
I've heard they even might take your miles away, should I give my UA or CO FF number?
Jan 8, 2012, 5:56 pm
#15
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
If you do not show up for a segment on a ticket, there is a very good chance they will cancel the rest of the segments on that ticket, even if they are different airlines. So yes, they will probably cancel your return flight.