UAL747fan

Hi,

I'm looking at booking a flight from SFO-FAT, but fares for SFO-FAT-SFO are cheaper than SFO-FAT. If I book the roundtrip and not show up for the return, will I be charged, or will anyhing happen to me because of it? ie. Will they find out and charge me for not taking the return flight?

I've seen other posts about people who fly SFO-ABC-LAX in one day, and end up not taking the ABC-LAX flight, but nothing about not taking the return at all.

Also, I'm arriving into SFO in J from KIX that day at 1115am, I assume connecting to a 1240 flight will be enough time?

Thanks

scherzva

I have never had an issue when I threw away the second leg of a ticket for the same reason as you:confused. From my understanding if you miss the first leg the entire trip will be canceled.

LilAbner

Fool them once, shame on them --- Fool them twice (or more) ...............!

i.e. --- Others have reported in the past that doing this too many times may get you a charge to your CC and what ever else they can think up.

Obviously some on here have been lucky and what is to say that a person becomes sick or can't make the return flight for other reasons?

But, it's a decision that each person should make for themselves, imho!

3 Lil Abners decided to stay in Denver for a few extra days, a year or so ago, and flew Southwest home a few days later. The reservation stuck to my itineraries for over 9 months and I got tired of seeing it or thinking about it.

Doc Savage

Just book the return as far in the future as possible... All sorts of things might happen in the meantime, and you might even get money back. Who knows how thick the tule fog might be early in the morning next winter?

mbarreto

Until yesterday, I was booked BOS-FRA-BLQ, returning SBZ-MUC-ORD-BOS... I wanted to change the last leg of the return to ORD-MCO. Whole itinireary was in J/F class.

Called 1k, was told that to change the last leg to MCO would be a fare difference of $1,800. Yes, $1,800!!!! I say no thanks, and proceeded to check ual.com. Found an F seat ORD-BOS for about $300 I think, and booked it. Called 1K line again to cancel the ORD-BOS leg, and was told that to CANCEL the last leg, it would be around $1,300. To CANCEL it. As in, to allow UA to sell my seat!

The agent said I could also just not show up to that flight, although if I had bags they would go to BOS... I said I could do that, but wanted to do the right thing and not "cheat" the airline, and make them look for me and page me in ORD, and possibly lose revenue bc of a no show....

Anyway, had happy ending after about 1:30h on the phone with a great agent (whom already got my compliments thru UAL.com), and was re-routed thru EWR (albeit on the 762), and only paid the change fee...

So my advice: ask! It can go a long way... if no other option, than just do what I was told to do: don't take that last flight... since it's the last one, it won't really matter that your itinerary will be canceled.

chinatraderjmr

If you do it once it's no big deal (things happen, people miss flights, get sick, etc). But if you make a habit of this, with today's computers (SHARES is another story) they will at some point catch you. I'm not sure if they can charge you or not. They may try but you will get a letter if you do this often thanking you for your business and asking you to take it elsewhere. One time, two times, no sweat. More then that I'd be careful. As someone else posted, make the return far in the future. Who knows, maybe you'll even use it

HumbleBee

Over in the US Airways board it seems US is in middle of a major crackdown.

If they can track you (by FFN etc) on a different flight out of the same airport, sick etc won't help.

halls120

Back when you could fly BWI-IAD-SFO-IAD-BWI cheaper than IAD-SFO-IAD, I decided to not fly the last segment, since I lived much closer to IAD than BWI. Nothing ever came of it, but that was a while ago, and who knows what computers might do these days.

chinatraderjmr

Way around that (call and cancel saying your sick). They can't FORCE you to fly if you say your sick or penalize you But THEN I would not try it again.

HumbleBee

If instead of flying ORD>BOS, you fly ORD>MCO at the same time, giving your FFN would be idiotic IMHO, as a slight investigation will lead to the fact that you weren't sick etc. Just don't give the FFN on the new ticket, perhaps make your name a little different too.

Often1

This thread, like many others, misses the point. UA cannot force you to fly any segment of an itinerary you don't want to fly. You don't need to falsify an excuse. The question is what the price for the itinerary ought to be.

As others point out, it appears that the carriers have upgraded their software to sniff this conduct out and are cracking down hard. This can include zeroing out and then cancelling your MP account, refaring the ticket and debiting your CC and the like. But, nobody will show up at your hotel and escort you onboard a flight you don't want to take !

That said, it appears that if you do this once, nobody looks at it. Thread on US reporting that someone did in twice in a couple of weeks and has had their DM account locked while an audit is being conducted.

UAL747fan

It isn't something I plan to do often,or more than once for that matter...I just wanted to make sure that I wouldnt be carged or have my account frozen or something like that. But I do like the idea of making the return far out, on a date that I might use it...hadn't thought about that.

Thanks for the responses and help!

kcblakely

I love how people talk about a company charging them for something they didn't buy, as if that's big and scary. I sure hope noone on this board would roll over for UA (or anyone else) just randomly charging their CC for something they didn't agree to. That would be called ... uh ... fraud.

Post-merger UA with the crap service and poor on-time record and old planes and fat, surly flight attendants and poopy food and dumpy, run-down lounges asking me to take my business elsewhere? Oh, no....


Honestly, I see a lot of "he said, she said" on this and other boards about getting slapped for hidden-city ticketing, but other than the well-known "skip leg A and leg B will be CXL'd", precious little 1st person experience. I think the talk of getting charged and blacklisted is mostly old wive's tales.....

Beerman92

One pax posting about an audit of their mileage account is not a major crackdown. Airlines audit member accounts regularly. Of course if the OP here isn't doing something to intentionally violate the rules of the ff program then the possibility of an audit is just a nuisance to deal with. If, as posted in the US thread, the OP repeatedly and knowingly violates the rules of the ff program they should expect to get audited and for the audit to result in a negative outcome for them.

HumbleBee

I know of another guy who is US CHM w 500k miles getting audited, it just seems to be something US is doing now.