Only using first leg of flight to save money?

[AryMay]

I am trying to book a flight home following an Alaska cruise that ends in Vancouver next summer.

 

Even though flights from Seattle are cheaper, I would rather fly from Vancouver and not deal with the transportation issues to get to Seattle.

 

I have been watching a non-stop flight on Delta to Minneapolis that leaves in the afternoon, but the price is more than I want to pay. We are traveling with friends who will be flying to St. Louis and I when I checked their flight options I saw that the afternoon Delta flight to STL had a layover in MSP and was in fact the same plane that we would be on. BUT...the cost of the flight to St. Louis was CHEAPER than just going to Minneapolis. (Does this make sense? :confused:)

 

Anyway...is there any reason we couldn't just book the flight to St. Louis at the cheaper rate and get off in Minneapolis and not board the connecting flight?

 

I wonder what the chances are that the St. Louis flight might get re-routed and not end up going through Minneapolis?

[Bo1953]

This depends on several factors, which comprises some and NOT all of the following:

 

1) how often you fly DL;

2) checking luggage; and/or

3) frequent flyer mileage use.

 

Any and/or all of these will be effected based on your decision, especially if you are checking luggage as on most flights you will not be able to short check.

 

bon voyage

[Jeremiah1212]

Google hidden city tickets. It's a somewhat heated topic. Then decide if you're willing to take the risks involved. You can't check luggage or use frequent flyer number to earn points among other issues.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[fbgd]

You can't <snip> use frequent flyer number to earn points among other issues

 

Why? You would only earn miles for the first flight unless the system had a hiccup and only needed to recognise the first flight as being flown and then credited the rest.

 

I've had it happen to me when I had a missed connection. I earned miles/elite status points for leg #2 that I didn't fly and the rebooked segment on the same route the next day.

 

I would agree that if you plan on doing this routinely it's best to avoid tagging a FF number to the itinerary though. Although there's no set of rules on this a handful of occasions may go overlooked but a routine may pique the interest of some internal department. I have had my FF accounts audited before.

Edited December 20, 2016 by fbgd

[AryMay]

This depends on several factors, which comprises some and NOT all of the following:

 

1) how often you fly DL;

2) checking luggage; and/or

3) frequent flyer mileage use.

 

Any and/or all of these will be effected based on your decision, especially if you are checking luggage as on most flights you will not be able to short check.

 

bon voyage

 

Thanks so much for your response. I feel kind of stupid for not thinking about the issue of checked luggage. That alone is reason enough to give up on this idea.

 

I am curious about your #1 however. Why would how often we fly Delta come into play? I wouldn't be concerned about the frequent flyer miles but is there something else to consider?

[CruiserBruce]

 

I am curious about your #1 however. Why would how often we fly Delta come into play? I wouldn't be concerned about the frequent flyer miles but is there something else to consider?

 

If you were do this regularly, Delta may have something to say about your status as a regular customer.

[waterbug123]

 

I wonder what the chances are that the St. Louis flight might get re-routed and not end up going through Minneapolis?

 

Slim, but it could happen. If there's bad weather at MSP you could possibly be rerouted through DTW, for example. If anything happens, Delta's only responsibility is to get you to St. Louis, not Minneapolis. The checked bag issue is the primary one though.

[4774Papa]

We live in Georgia and fly Delta about two or three times a year. I have found that flights on some routes have strange fares because of the lack of competition with other airlines. My Son had to get to a job site in N. Mississippi, so flying into Memphis was the way to go, but the fare was more than if we flew to LA. So the next time he just drove from Atlanta.

 

We did Alaska in September and had flown into Vancouver from Atlanta in August for some time in Canada. I researched flying into Seattle and going by land to Vancouver. As it turned out the fare to Vancouver was not much more than Seattle.

 

I did learn from my research that there are busses that take you from the Seattle airport to Vancouver. Amtrak is an option, but that choice is not very reliable.

 

Also, have you considered using Sky Miles for the flight?

[AryMay]

 

I did learn from my research that there are buses that take you from the Seattle airport to Vancouver. Amtrak is an option, but that choice is not very reliable.

 

Also, have you considered using Sky Miles for the flight?

 

We have taken Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver and I LOVED the experience. But...the timing of the trains after a cruise just doesn't work as well to go from Vancouver to Seattle.

 

For now we have a one-way rental from the port in Vancouver to Seattle. Since we are traveling with friends we had to get a van to accommodate all of our luggage. The rental isn't cheap, but it is comparable in price to the cost of the shuttle for 4 people and will give us a little bit of flexibility.

Edited December 20, 2016 by AryMay

[Bo1953]

Thanks so much for your response. I feel kind of stupid for not thinking about the issue of checked luggage. That alone is reason enough to give up on this idea.

 

I am curious about your #1 however. Why would how often we fly Delta come into play? I wouldn't be concerned about the frequent flyer miles but is there something else to consider?

 

Yes, if they detect a pattern you can be banned...

[Bowie MeMe]

We got around this problem with flight to Germany for a cruise that came back to Boston. Waited for point sale then bought the air miles and turned them into an award ticket which is always one way. I have also done this by opening a Chase Sapphire account and using the free bonus miles for one way tickets. Pricing on one way tickets at popular times to Europe can run 2X to 3X the cost of the same flights roundtrip so you get creative.

 

I generally do not do 3rd party air (buy ticket from someone other than airline) but sometimes it is worth the risk for one way ticket. Price out Expedia or Kayak BUT NOT CHEAPO AIR. Sometimes they are less "hurting" when it comes to one way.

[zoncom]

Do not over complicate. Consider the bus (Quick Coach?), from Vancouver to Seattle airport, then SouthWest or other lower cost airline. Bus is very easy and pleasant.SW has lots of daily flights. SW shows late Spring one way way $179. non stop. Summer not out yet. Hard to beat that.

Edited December 20, 2016 by zoncom

[AryMay]

Do not over complicate. Consider the bus (Quick Coach?), from Vancouver to Seattle airport, then SouthWest or other lower cost airline. Bus is very easy and pleasant.SW has lots of daily flights. SW shows late Spring one way way $179. non stop. Summer not out yet. Hard to beat that.

 

Finding a flight from SEA isn't a problem. Although we prefer to fly SWA in this case none of their flights to MSP are direct and they are more expensive. I have found a non-stop flight at perfect times and much less $$$$ on Sun Country. I was just hoping to eliminate the travel between Vancouver and Seattle when we get off the ship.

[em-sk]

Finding a flight from SEA isn't a problem. Although we prefer to fly SWA in this case none of their flights to MSP are direct and they are more expensive. I have found a non-stop flight at perfect times and much less $$$$ on Sun Country. I was just hoping to eliminate the travel between Vancouver and Seattle when we get off the ship.

 

I just randomly search for a ticket from YVR to MSP. The date I put in the average was around C$250 when you convert the Canadian dollar into US, C$250 is around $180 US.

[buggins0402]

I did the same thing. It appears that OP wants the non stop, hell or high water, but at the price of a one stop.

 

It comes with the territory of living in a hub...you have more non stops, but they are generally at a premium price. DL isn't stupid. Your friends have just a choice of one stops through various airlines so they are priced competitively....just as OP's one stops are priced competitively. But, DL and Westjet offer the only non stops....so they are priced at a premium.

[KirkWN737]

They're called hidden city fares. They are against the policy on every airline. You cannot check bags and as someone else mentioned, if you book the St. Louis ticket, Delta's only requirement is to get you to St. Louis. But those re-routings rarely happen. Check out Skiplagged.com. They Specialize in finding hidden city flights.