Possible to walk away at the diversion point (with checked bags)?
Jul 18, 2018, 3:24 pm
#1
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Possible to walk away at the diversion point (with checked bags)?
Yesterday my LAX-EWR flight was diverted to PIT and we were allowed to deplane and relax in the concourse. Since PIT is not my final destination, I did not push for this question. However, if the plane happens to divert to my final destination, and I have a checked luggage, can I still ask to be removed from the flight and terminate there? Or can I simply walk away and file a lost luggage claim later?
The reason I ask is that yesterday when my LAX-EWR finally arrived at EWR, my connection flight was cancelled, and I was rebooked on a later flight. The whole process caused me to arrive home six hours late. If the diversion point was my home, I would really hate to continue my flight only to come back much later.
The reason I ask is that yesterday when my LAX-EWR finally arrived at EWR, my connection flight was cancelled, and I was rebooked on a later flight. The whole process caused me to arrive home six hours late. If the diversion point was my home, I would really hate to continue my flight only to come back much later.
Jul 18, 2018, 3:31 pm
#2
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Yesterday my LAX-EWR flight was diverted to PIT and we were allowed to deplane and relax in the concourse. Since PIT is not my final destination, I did not push for this question. However, if the plane happens to divert to my final destination, and I have a checked luggage, can I still ask to be removed from the flight and terminate there? Or can I simply walk away and file a lost luggage claim later?
With no checked bags, I have seen UA allow people to leave at a diversion airport.
You really should tell UA you will abandon the flight, as they may waste time trying to track you down before continuing. Abandoning your checked bags might get messy and I would not do it. They actually know the bags were not lost and were delivered to the carousel.
Jul 18, 2018, 3:43 pm
#3
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With checked bags, they will not get your bags.
With no checked bags, I have seen UA allow people to leave at a diversion airport.
With no checked bags, I have seen UA allow people to leave at a diversion airport.
You really should tell UA you will abandon the flight, as they may waste time trying to track you down before continuing. Abandoning your checked bags might get messy and I would not do it. They actually know the bags were not lost and were delivered to the carousel.
Jul 18, 2018, 3:45 pm
#4
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I did this a few years ago-- i walked away in Washington DC after they kept pushing/cancelling and took a train back up to NY. I called UA and they had me file a "lost bag" and then later delivered it to me. not sure if its a rule or an exception they made for me
Jul 18, 2018, 3:49 pm
#5
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Jul 18, 2018, 3:58 pm
#8
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With checked bags, they will not get your bags.
With no checked bags, I have seen UA allow people to leave at a diversion airport.
With no checked bags, I have seen UA allow people to leave at a diversion airport.
You really should tell UA you will abandon the flight, as they may waste time trying to track you down before continuing. Abandoning your checked bags might get messy and I would not do it. They actually know the bags were not lost and were delivered to the carousel.
Moreover, if someone fell asleep in the concourse and missed the continuing flight, what will happen?
Haha, I can definitely imagine that this is happening. Then it seems that there is indeed an SOP to let people abandon the flight?
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jul 19, 2018 at 1:12 am Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
Jul 18, 2018, 4:09 pm
#9
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There's no positive bag matching on domestic US flights. If you skip a connecting flight, your bags are going to be on it anyway. This is no different.
UA is hardly going to handcuff you and drag you onto the plane.
UA is hardly going to handcuff you and drag you onto the plane.
Jul 18, 2018, 4:17 pm
#10
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Jul 18, 2018, 4:20 pm
#11
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yup the third time they pushed the flight back-- i just got up and left the airport. Took a cab to union station and caught the Amtrak. From the train i called and explained the situation.
Jul 18, 2018, 4:27 pm
#12
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I've enjoyed a diversion where, if people were ticketed to the diversion point and had no checked bags, they were allowed to deplane. Anybody else not ticketed to that point was denied the chance to end travel.
Jul 18, 2018, 4:46 pm
#13
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Deplaning at diversion is allowed as long as cabin door is open (jetway or stairs are required if refueling even on apron). Unsure if the other posters told GAs to remove them from the manifest, but I did that once even to get onto an AA flight at diversion airport. As far as bags are concerned UA will most likely not open the cargo hold but will deliver them at final destination.
Jul 18, 2018, 4:58 pm
#14
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To expand on this topic, I can tell you that you are generally not allowed to abandon a diverted flight internationally. I was on a LH flight JNB-FRA with my final destination being ATH. The JNB-FRA flight actually diverted to ATH -- I couldn't believe my luck, until I learned they wouldn't let me enter Greece from that flight due to international regulations. So instead of being half a day early, I naturally missed my connection in FRA and ended up a day late.
Jul 18, 2018, 5:05 pm
#15
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Many years ago, during a blizzard, we were diverted to another airport and, after deboarding us, they told us that it would be 6-8 hours before they could get us on a flight to our destination. Knowing that the distance could be driven in 3-4 hours (the roads were still open), I told the Gate Agent that I was leaving to rent a car and drive home.
They were upset with me and threatened to not deliver my bags to me and I said I was leaving anyway. Then, I raised my voice so that everyone in the gate area could hear me and said that I was going to rent a car and drive to our destination and, "does anybody want to go with me?" I got 6 takers and we all strolled off purposefully to rent a minivan. When I finally got home, my wife told me that they had cancelled all flights to/from the connecting airport and that I was lucky to have decided to drive home. It turned-out that flights were cancelled for 48 hours straight and my decision paid off handsomely.
Oddly enough, UA delivered my luggage 2 days later with apologies.
They were upset with me and threatened to not deliver my bags to me and I said I was leaving anyway. Then, I raised my voice so that everyone in the gate area could hear me and said that I was going to rent a car and drive to our destination and, "does anybody want to go with me?" I got 6 takers and we all strolled off purposefully to rent a minivan. When I finally got home, my wife told me that they had cancelled all flights to/from the connecting airport and that I was lucky to have decided to drive home. It turned-out that flights were cancelled for 48 hours straight and my decision paid off handsomely.
Oddly enough, UA delivered my luggage 2 days later with apologies.
Last edited by zombietooth; Jul 18, 2018 at 5:46 pm