Is there a penalty if you voluntarily miss your flight?
NWA canceled one of my flights, and since I'm using Expedia there are certain rules that the reschedule has to follow: it has to be memphis to las vegas and has to be on northwest. My final destination is LAX. I've found a new flight that is memphis to las vegas, connecting in LAX. It obviously would be silly to then catch the rest of the flight to las vegas only to fly back to LAX. Is it a problem to book this mem-las (via lax) flight and then just miss the last 2 legs? If it's okay, what is the 'responsible' way to do this? Do I just not check-in for the rest of the flights I'm not taking? I was told by Expedia that since the last leg of the flight is through UA, it was all booked as a UA ticket, so I can't take any different route to LAX except via that UA flight(las vegas). As far as they're concerned, they have to get me to Las Vegas only, since the rest of the trip was unchanged(LAS to LAX). Thanks all! It's moot anyway. I called Expedia again and they say I must have a MEM-LAS-LAX route, and the first leg must be NW and the last must be UA. So I am really left with just one option...a flight 11hrs earlier than I originally planned.
Air Travel - 3 Answers
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1 :
I think you've misunderstood something. If LAX is your ticketed destination, you would NOT have to go through Las Vegas on your rebooked flight.
2 :
If you choose to miss a flight, any remaining flights on the itinerary are automatically cancelled, so what you are proposing to do would only work if you were trying not to get back to Memphis. The conditions of carriage on many airlines also specifically prohibit this kind of ticketing (called "throwaway ticketing"), and list a number of penalties that, while seldom issued, can be levied against the passenger, such as charging the difference between what was paid and what was actually flown. However, if NW cancelled one of your flights, either they or Expedia should work with you to get a routing that works for you. The reasoning behind your post and the restrictions that you claim to exist regarding the rebooking, however, make little sense -- perhaps you could clarify why you believe you must rebook a MEM-LAS flight on NW, if your final destination is actually LAX.
3 :
Are you sure about your original routing? ie. was it MEM-LAS-LAX? it would not make sense to have a route MEM-LAX-LAS-LAX, unless there was a break between the last leg from LAS-LAX? As for stopping doing MEM-LAX, you hae two potential problems, your luggage is checked through to LAX, but on the later LAS-LAX flight, so you'll need to wait for it to arrive! And if you just take carry-on but have a return ticket, all legs after MEM-LAX are likely to be cancelled as you'll be listed as a no show!
