Airline booking ploys
Airline booking ploys are tactics used by travelers in commercial aviation to lower the costs of flying to a desired destination. These tactics work around the airline's fare system. Several such tactics exist.
Hidden city ticketing
Hidden city ticketing occurs when an indirect flight is disembarked at the connection node. Flight fares are subject to market forces, and therefore do not necessarily correlate to the distance flown. As a result, a flight between point A to point C, with a connection node at point B, might be cheaper than a flight between point A and point B. It is then possible to purchase a flight ticket from point A to point C, disembark at the connection node and discard the remaining coupons.
Using the hidden city tactic is only possible for one-way trips, as the airlines often cancel the subsequent parts of the trip once a traveller has disembarked. Also, it requires that the traveler have carry on luggage only, as any checked baggage items will only be unloaded at the flight's final destination. An exception to this requirement is when re-entering a country where luggage must be processed by customs agents. This allows for a traveler to reclaim their luggage but before rechecking for their final destination, the traveler can simply leave the airport.
Throwaway ticketing
Throwaway ticketing is the practice of purchasing a ticket with the intent to use only a portion of the included travel. This situation may arise when a passenger only wants to travel one way, but where the discounted round-trip excursion fare is cheaper than a one-way ticket. This can happen on mainline carriers where all one-way tickets are full price. For instance a passenger only intending to fly from Los Angeles to New York may find the one-way ticket costs $800, but that the round trip fare is $500. The passenger therefore purchases the roundtrip from Los Angeles to New York and back to Los Angeles, boards the flight to New York, but stays in New York and "throws away" the second half of the ticket by not showing up for the return flight. It is advised that passengers throw away the second half, because throwing away the first half by not showing up for the outbound trip may lead to the airline cancelling the entire ticket. [1]
Legal status
Airlines are strongly opposed to booking ploys for financial reasons. Many airlines have established means of apprehending travelers who take advantage of such tactics, most notably through their Frequent flyer programs. [2]
When a traveler is shown to have practiced such methods, airlines may respond by confiscating tickets, cancelling frequent flier status and billing travel agents for the fare difference. [3]
Airlines contend that booking ploys are an illegal practice. However, even though booking ploys might be a breach of contract and against airline rules, the illegality of such endeavours has been disputed by legal experts. [4]
In 2004 it was reported that U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia returning from a hunting trip in Louisiana had purchased a round-trip ticket between New Orleans and Washington D.C., and thrown away the second part of the ticket. [1]
Resources
References
- Air fare loopholes - The Ultimate Airline Bluff? The Travel Insider, August 9, 2002, updated May 8, 2006.
- Frequent Liars
- Travel Secrets
- ^ Practical Traveler; Is Justice Served by Ticket Rules? The New York Times, published April 4, 2004, retrieved September 7, 2006.