Is This Allowed?
 

I am pricing some flights from WAS to YVR. The pricing there is around $400 or so.

However, I found that if I fly to SEA, I can get a fare for around $220 or so and then I can fly from SEA to YVR for around $120 or so. Thus, I'd save around $60 for doing this.

The added bonus is that I'd get extra mileage because they'd count the SEA to YVR trip as 500 miles each way.

My question is whether or not this is allowed.

Does anyone know?

Thanks.

Well, I think this is just fine, although this sounds like it's nested trips and some fare might not allow that (but doubt it'd be an issue here).


[This message has been edited by UA_Eagle (edited 01-08-2002).]

I've not done this with UA but a few times with other airlines. Never had a problem. Only concern would be if you had a tight connection and the itineraries are not tied.

Then again, the policies on holding flights for connections is very cloudy to me...

If I understand correctly, you are buying two separate tickets, you are planning to fly all segments, and you are not creating a back-to-back. This is perfectly legal. Good for you for finding this!

A nested ticket would be if you bought a one way from point A to point C at a cheap fare, connecting in point B, but ended your journey at point B.

This is perfectly legal. The only problem you might have is if there are schedule changes to one or both of the itins (how likely is that on UA!) and you have a misconnect. As they were purchased as stand alone tickets you may end up paying service charges to change them to make it work.

If you want a REALLY good example of how this can work, I can show you how you can save $2,500 on an F fare from LAX to SIN on Singapore Air.

Flights 29 and 30 fly between LAX and SIN with a stop en-route at Taipei. If you book LAX-SIN-LAX on those flights, it's approximately $8,500 (I forget the exact fare). However, if you book it on the same flights, but as LAX-TPE-LAX; TPE-SIN-TPE, it's $2,500 cheaper.

And when you check in at lAX, they'll check you all the way through to SIN.

It's all how you book it...

That was my next question. Will they check my skis all the way through or will I have to check in again at SEA.

Thanks for providing the answer to that!

They will check your skis through to anywhere you tell them, as long as they have a baggage agreeent with the receiving airline. The most notable example of an airline who does NOT participate is Southwest. Certainly all of the other majors have agreement with each other though.

Nested itins. are perfectly cool with UA.

Back-to-backs are NOT.

I've heard this called end to end ticketing, but whatever it's called I've done it many times and always received mileage credit. I've even checked in for the second ticket's outbound flights at the airport of the first ticket's outbound, if the hours work OK.

As long as you don't come back to the point of origin on one roundtrip using another roundtrip, it's end-on-end, not back-to-back.

"Point of origin" is usually where you live, but not necessarily. You could fly to somewhere (e.g., work) with a one way, and then fly home with a Saturday night stay at home, returning to work. Point of origin is work, not home, in that case.

Make sure that your SEA-YVR-SEA segments are on United Express and not Air Canada Express (or whatever it's called). On UA you'll get 500 miles plus the Premier bonus. On AC it's only 250 and no bonus.

You might also consider just ending your trip in SEA and renting a car for the driver up to Vancouver (Whistler?).