Hey all you saavy international travelers…Have you ever done this?
My D20 is traveling abroad over spring break. She bought a round trip ticket from Boston to Madrid. The return flight is scheduled to connect through JFK. Her plans have now changed slightly and she is considering not boarding the connection back to Boston so she could have a long weekend at home in NJ. She would then find another way back to Boston (train or bus). She is planning on only bringing a carry on bag to avoid an issue with checked luggage.
I understand that at the last minute, the flight could connect through a different city or airport, in which case she’d just continue on to Boston.
What am I not thinking of? Is it best to notify the airline in advance, at the gate or not at all? Will there be any issue going through customs? All advice is welcomed - thanks in advance.
My daughter was with us on a flight where the gate agent apparently uncorrectly scanned her ticket and didn’t record her as boarding the first leg of the flight. Even though she was with us, a minor, and on the physical plane and flight, they automatically canceled her next leg because their system insisted she wasn’t on the first leg.
I don’t know if this varies by airline or circumstance, but that would give me pause about skipping a portion of a flight without notifying the airline. It was a huge hassle to fix even when they screwed it up.
(Also, not very reassuring in terms of security that she was physically on a flight and they had no record of it — who else could board without them tracking it and double checking it with a seat count?)
My daughter did this with a domestic flight over summer and there were no issues at all (her connecting flight at JFK was delayed and delayed and delayed, so she ended up skipping it altogether and getting a ride for the final leg of her trip).
She will go through customs as soon as she lands and before she skips the next flight, so no issue at all.
Speaking of which, even if she checked a bag, she would have to collect it in JFK prior to going through customs - so she could conceivably check a bag without issue as she would have it with her before skipping the final flight.
Yes, as @citivas mentioned, if you miss a segment, it is likely that the rest of your itinerary gets cancelled. Not really an issue on the last segment of the return flight, though.
But many airlines do not like it when passengers get off at the “hidden city”, particularly if they tend to sell A->B->C for lower prices than A->B (B is the “hidden city” in this case).
US immigration and customs is generally done at the first US airport for a trip originating outside of the US (with some exceptions for preclearance airports mostly in Canada).
Regarding carry-on versus checked bags, sometimes passengers have to gate-check their bags if they are among the later boarders and the bins are full. However, checked bags must be collected before going through US immigration and customs (and rechecked for any onward segments).
I did it once long ago, but only on a domestic flight. No issues.
We did have one flight home from CDG (about 5 years ago), where they insisted we check our carry-on backpacks (that easily met carry-on requirements). We had no issues on the flight to CDG - only on the return. We asked why, but were given no reasons. This was at the initial check-in counter - not at the gate due to space. Same airline both ways (Delta). So just be aware that she may plan on carrying on a bag, but might be required to check it anyway.
Several decades ago, a girl we knew did this—she got off the flight from Hong Kong to HNL in Taipei and didn’t continue to HNL. The airline took out all our checked luggage as they couldn’t know that the passenger who got off didn’t check a bag and plant something in it (like a bomb). The airline delivered everyone’s bags the next day in HNL. People were quite irked with the passenger who deplaned and thereby inconvenienced them by not allowing them to have their checked luggage when they landed.
That seems like it would be quite easy to check, no? Although I guess if this was long enough ago, they may not have had a fully computerized system that would have made it difficult. I wouldn’t think that would be an issue now - they should be able to easily check if the missing passenger checked a bag or not.
I have heard it is a problem to do this. I would suggest she sat least let someone from the airline know as she’s doing it. Someone I know did do it once, and told a stewardess. All was fine.
Yes. However, in this case the international arrival will be at JFK. All luggage will be physically offloaded anyway, goes through customs, and is then loaded back on for the second, domestic leg.
Luggage that isn’t identified by the passenger after they went through immigration, will not clear customs and would stay behind anyway.
Furthermore, this person is planning not to check any luggage at all.
But I do agree, as a courtesy, after I’m through immigration and customs, I would go to the gate or a service counter with my boarding pass and let them know not to try to locate me.
I flew internationally last night. Went through immigration at first stop (Austin), then had to go recheck luggage. That was a surprise to me as the last time I did it (years ago in Chicago) went through immigration, claimed luggage, and then just put the luggage on another conveyor belt and it went right back into the system. Last night we also went through security again, so any liquids we got in Duty Free or a bottle of water we’d bought would have been thrown out.
While we were waiting for the connecting flight, kept hearing announcements for passengers on flights where ‘the doors were closing’ and I assumed they were people who weren’t getting on from a connecting flight.
I agree with this. I frankly LOATHE short connecting flights after a long flight and feel quite miserable. When I traveled a lot, I didn’t mind two long connecting flights because I could usually get a bit of rest. I almost never did a long flight and then a very short connecting flight like JFK-BOS.
I don’t think the airline would have any problem if she told them at JFK that she’s not feeling up to par (quite usual, in my book) and will not continue on the JFK-BOS leg. I don’t think that’s any surprise, and the airline would appreciate knowing.
I agree that skipping the final leg of a flight is generally okay with the following caveat:
You didn’t use your frequent flyer number of the carrier in your reservation
As @ucbalumnus mentioned, airlines don’t like passengers who skip a leg. Because of the way airfares are priced, a direct flight from Madrid to JFK is often more expensive than a flight from Madrid to Boston via JFK. Airlines have been known to have cancelled frequent flyer accounts of passengers who skipped legs (presumably multiple times). A number of years ago, United even sued a website for assisting flyers to find cheaper tickets using that technique.
Skipping the final leg of a flight once is probably okay, but the carrier is highly unlikely to award you with frequent flyer miles anyway (so don’t bother to use your frequent flyer number for the flight).
I did this once on a return to the US. I was forced to check luggage because it was slightly too big to fit the hand luggage sizer. But it was no problem to collect on arrival and take off the tag before walking past the recheck area.
I actually wouldn’t inform the airline as some get annoyed about it and might try to force you to take the flight (not physically but by suggesting they would charge you extra for a ticket change).
Incidentally when I fly with British Airways they now add a note to the reservation saying that if you don’t continue to your final destination then you might be charged extra. Not sure if they would ever enforce this though, unless you have checked luggage through to the final destination.
Pre-clearance is also offered in Dublin. I just learned that. We are flying from Paris through Dublin to Boston. I mentioned that to an Irish friend and she told me. She said with Global Entry, it’s quick and easy.
“Dublin Airport is one of only a few airports outside North America that offers a US Preclearance facility. The benefit is that having cleared USCBP, passengers arriving in the US are treated as domestic arrivals, allowing them to avoid immigration queues upon arrival and pick up their bags and go.”
