Skipping the 1st leg
 

I have a confirmed reservation on GVA->FRA->ORD this Sunday. Would it be possible to skip the first leg and catch the flight out of Frankfurt so I could visit a friend in Germany on Saturday?

I called United's number in Switzerland and was told if I didn't take the first leg the entire reservation would be cancelled. I found this to be hard to believe so would like to check with the gurus on this forum.

Thanks.
@ORD

UA was correct. If you skip any leg in a reservation, all subsequent legs are generally cancelled.

In the case of "irregular operations," UA might give you permission to skip a leg, but, under normal circumstances, doing so is a definite no-no.

It has always been my understanding that if you miss a segment of a flight, especially the first, it will cancel the rest of the itenerary. I would suggest you contact United to see if you can change the outbound to include a layover. I'm sure there will be an added cost and perhaps the $100 change fee as well.

Why?
 

Thanks Alvn and Gof for the quick answers!

But what is the rational behind such a rule? Wouldn't it be a win-win situation if the airline affords passengers some flexibility and at the same time gains empty seats with the same amound of revenue? The GVA->FRA flight is very often fully packed and many people are on standby.

Thanks
@ORD

Yep....the entire reservation will be cancelled. If you miss any flight, all subsequent segments on that itinerary will be x-ed.

Making a change is possible....but at this date, probably quite expensive. First of all, the tix would be rebooked at the current available fares. At this late date, very few excursions/advanced purchase fares still eligible. (OP does not say in which class he is booked. If full fare C or F, then this latter statement may not be true.)

But also realize, the proposed re-booking would be a new city pair. Flights into and out of FRA are often very expensive, whereas tix to further cities (even when transiting FRA) are less. For the Olympics, a R/T tix in F LAX to FRA was about $11,900. However, when we booked LAX-FRA-ATH R/T in F (a 4-hour additional flight, albeit in C), the tix were only $8,900.

LOL.....go figure.

Edited: [Opps. I'm sorry. I thought I was in the LH forum. Nevertheless, the price differences are still relevant.]

Why? Because many people try to do this to avoid higher ticket prices. BB-CC may be a lot more expensive than AA-BB-CC.

Would you expect that UA would give you the miles for your GVA-FRA flight, even if you miss it? It makes sense that if you decide not to fly leg of the reservation, then the entire reservation should be cancelled.

Flights connecting in a hub are often less expensive than non-stops originating from that hub, hence the restriction.

Air Canada allowed me to skip my 2nd leg (out of 4) last month because of irregular ops. The 30 minutes flight was delayed by 2+ hours so I just rented a car and drove the 2.5 hours, to ensure I would get in that night.

I did talk to the gate agent before doing that: he put a note in my file so the rest of my trip wouldn't get cancelled.

Also, you can typically skip the last leg of a trip *if* you didn't check in luggage.

Of course not. I was not asking about miles, just the possibility of using the only FRA->ORD segment. A drive from Geneva to Frankfurt via southern Germany would be a nice this time of the year.

Thanks
@ORD

I guess airlines want to generate additional revenue by getting passengers to fly with them who would otherwise prefer a direct connection. Out of London direct flights to NYC in C usually go for 2,500 GBP, whereas you can get deals with AF or LH (connecting in France/Germany) for 1,500-1,700 GBP.

sschwenk -- you don't need to convince me of that. Tomorrow, we leave on a 3-week cruise to Asia, with a few days in Tokyo tacked on to the end.

Since we booked cruise-only, I spent numerous days trying to find the cheapest way home. We all know how expensive flights are to/from Japan. Simply stated, one-way Tokyo to either SF or LAX (on United) was about $1200 coach, $3200 business, and $5200 First Class. I was able to find a special, flying Tokyo to Seoul to LA at $2600 business.

Then, the United agent said "Too bad you are not coming home from Taipei." Fares Taipei to SF/LAX are $800 coach, $1200 business, and $1900 First Class. So, when we leave, we got cheap air Tokyo to Taipei, spending the night in the Taipei airport ($78/night for a double room, a transit hotel run by EVA Air, we never have to collect bags or even go thru customs/immigration), then flying from Taipei to LA (WHICH FLIGHT GOES THRU TOKYO AND CONNECTS TO THE SAME ONE WITH THE EXPENSIVE FARES ABOVE!!!!!), and we are saving several thousands of dollars!

Again.....go figure!

As others have said, this is not possible unless you change the ticket and pay fees, and possible more for the flight that does not include the segment.

I've seen several fares that have been cheaper MKE->ORD->X instead of ORD->X. As others have said, the airlines doesn't want you to book the cheaper flight and skip the first segment. One thing I've learned that you can do is skip a final segment. As long as you don't check in bags for a final segment, you can skip the last leg. If one did this often enough, though, the airline might notice it and not be happy. Just some information for future trips, if such a scenario arises.

Newbie question on not completing a ticketed route.
 

I fly SWA alot & am elite with NW, but I'm taking my first flight with United this week, from MCI to PSP, with a stop in Denver. My question is this - on my return flight, can I get off the plane in Denver & not finish the flight to KC, without being charged the full-fare price or having the ticket changed/canceled? (I booked a one-way ticket from Denver to KC for the following day to finish the flight.) I called the UAL phone line & it was even suggested by the rep to do it, although she was not the friendliest person. I'm just curious as NW won't allow this practice - they will charge you as if you made a change to your reservation & it will be for a full-fare ticket. Just curious if anyone has had any experiences with this issue. Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can provide to my question. (Also, I tried 2 different searches for this topic & could get nothing returned.)

What you want to do is 'throw-away ticketing,' which is OK with UA...

Before you that, however, check if you can book a DEN stopover... many many UA fares currently allow a stopover in DEN for $60 (of course, you'd probably also have to pay the $100 change fee on top).

You also shouldn't make a habit of throw-away ticketing as it is possible that UA could take a hard stand. Also, make sure if you check luggage that you only check it through to your stopping destination.