Intentionally missing a connecting flight

[bec102896]

Another thing to keep in mind this plan could get messed up should IROPS occur (say the first flight gets canceled and they rebook you on a non stop to your original destination) maybe you have less chance of that getting messed up going to Hawaii but stateside they could connect you elsewhere 

[DancingDavidE]

---

@bec102896 wrote:

Another thing to keep in mind this plan could get messed up should IROPS occur (say the first flight gets canceled and they rebook you on a non stop to your original destination) maybe you have less chance of that getting messed up going to Hawaii but stateside they could connect you elsewhere 

---

I would also let them know when you get off the plane in Honolulu so they aren't looking for you when the count is off.

Otherwise they will do a count of the through passengers and realize someone got off that they weren't expecting to do so. 

[FlyWithLUV]

Question on top of a question, I suppose. Do you ever find it to be the case that a flight that connects through a city is cheaper than a one-way nonstop to the city itself? If I wanted to go to Denver, would it be cheaper to fly to LAS through Denver than to fly directly to LAS? I've always wondered about this.

[TheMiddleSeat]

@FlyWithLUV It's called hidden city ticketing and most carriers forbid it in their contract of carriage, but Southwest does not.  It's not all that common, especially on Southwest, but yes, it does happen.  I hear about it more on international carriers where perhaps flying small departure city with connection in London and continuing on to NYC might be cheaper than just buying London to NYC.  I believe it's more common to see in a fare war situation on a particular route or from/to a particular city.

--TheMiddleSeat

[DancingDavidE]

---

@TheMiddleSeat wrote:

@FlyWithLUV It's called hidden city ticketing and most carriers forbid it in their contract of carriage, but Southwest does not.  It's not all that common, especially on Southwest, but yes, it does happen.  I hear about it more on international carriers where perhaps flying small departure city with connection in London and continuing on to NYC might be cheaper than just buying London to NYC.  I believe it's more common to see in a fare war situation on a particular route or from/to a particular city.

--TheMiddleSeat

---

Also you have to be carrying on luggage only or else your stuff will keep going which may be a limit, and business travel that’s reimbursed needs to match the city pairs in the scope even if you’d be saving the client a few bucks by doing this. 

I don’t usually bother to check for it on Southwest due to my perception that it would be rare and I want to keep my points and status, and be reimbursed when traveling for work. And I like to check two free bags, sometimes more with baby gear!

[dfwskier]

---

@FlyWithLUV wrote:

Question on top of a question, I suppose. Do you ever find it to be the case that a flight that connects through a city is cheaper than a one-way nonstop to the city itself? If I wanted to go to Denver, would it be cheaper to fly to LAS through Denver than to fly directly to LAS? I've always wondered about this.

---

I see it less frequently than I did before COVID. As said up thread it does happen in the case of fare wars.

One carrier offers nonstops between two points   at a low price point, and a second carrier only flies connections between the same two points. The second carrier matches the first carrier's price thus allowing a hidden city ticketing possibility.

Last time I used one was 3-4 years ago. American was offering O'Hare/Tulsa nonstops at a low price. Southwest was flying Midway / Tulsa but only with a connection (in my case at Love Field). Southwest's MDW / TUL fare was about $150 cheaper than the MDW / DAL fare was. (via the exact same plane from MDW).

[TheMiddleSeat]

Just stumbled onto one.  I was pricing out a trip to SEA from COS with layover in DEN, $103.  Just doing COS to DEN is $120.  Now, it is my belief that you would be crazy to pay anywhere near $120 or even $103 just to fly from COS to DEN, the shortest flight in all of Southwest's network, but if you wanted to do it and save a few bucks you'd be better off booking COS-SEA than COS-DEN.

--TheMiddleSeat