If no show for the first leg of a return ticket, is my return leg affected?
 

I am wanting to book a one way ticket from Madrid to Paris on Air France. The one way fare is showing as 539 Euros.

The return fare from Paris to Madrid is showing as 144 Euros -- 81 for the outward leg and 63 for the return leg.

If I book a return ticket and simply do not show up for the outward flight, is the return portion of that ticket affected? Obviously, it would be a lot cheaper if I absorb the cost of the outward leg in order to get a one way flight from Madrid for 144 Euros.

This, of course, will be a ploy that many people will have used before, so there may be a few snags that I am not aware of.

The return portion will be canceled.

If you want to play the "throw-away ticket" game try doing a RT MAD-PAR and throw away the <i>return</i> leg.

Thanks for the tip, Gardyloo. That works even better, with an outward leg from Madrid at 56 Euros and a throw-away return leg of 77 Euros.

Are there any other fish hooks that I should be aware of?

I probably wouldn't put your FF number in the booking (if you have one.) What you're proposing is against airline T&Cs and they technically have the ability to come after you for the difference between the "throw-away" price and the full one-way fare; in addition they have the ability to cancel your FF account. Highly unusual and unlikely, but statistically possible.

I know at least of Lufthansa that they will recalculate the fare if you don't fly all legs as booked as if you booked a one-way fare. You should check AF's T&Cs if similar regulations exist.

Yes, it's against every airline's contract of carriage, so the airline could (though probably wouldn't) charge you a penalty and be perfectly within the law to do so. (Travel agents are often given charge-backs when their clients do thsi.) You will definitely NOT get miles.