Not showing up for a connecting flight - to tell or not to tell?
 

I am returning to the USA from int'l city "A" to US port-of-entry "B" and then connecting to US final destination "C." I would now like to spend a few days in city B and then make other arrangements to get to C. A separate ticket from B to C is cheaper than paying the change fee. So I'm not going to call the airline's reservations desk ahead of time. Should I tell airline staff at B that I'm not taking the connecting flight from B to C? Or is it better to just be a no-show and quietly leave the airport? I will have my checked bag with me for Customs inspection, so there's no problem with my checked bag flying onto C without me. B to C is my last flight, so that's the only flight that the airline would cancel for no-show.

Do I need to be concerned about:
1. The airline and TSA discovering that my bag and I are unexpectedly not on the B to C flight?
2. The airline giving me a hard time the next time I book a flight with them?
3. The airline canceling my frequent flier account?

Thanks!

None of those things are likely to happen unless you make a habit of it.

I agree. But Definitely do not tell the airline ahead of time - if you do they could cancel your whole ticket.

Generally, don't tell the airline. But do note that your plan will not work at Atlanta (if that happens to be "B," as one example) because after customs you are required to re-check your checked bag. Not optional there as it is in, say, LAX Brady terminal.

And if the checked bag is to "C" you will be out of luck; you'll have to convince the airline to change the destination to ATL, in which case they will know you are skipping out on the last leg and

I think the re-check of the bag after customs seems important. Wouldn't that bag going missing be a red-flag to the airline?

If there's going to be a flag, it will be when your boarding pass doesn't get scanned upon boarding your connecting flight. That's when they'll know you skipped out on the final leg.

Back to ATL, how do they require you to recheck your bag? At any other U.S. airport, you have to retrieve your checked bags and take them through customs. When you exit customs, you drop off your checked bag at a connection desk. But it would be easy enough to walk right on by and leave the airport or carry that bag on your next flight. You have to go through security's with it. That's all.

What's different about ATL? (I don't fly Delta.)

At ATL, one has to recheck bags and reclear security to get from customs to the other terminals AND airport exit.

Just tell the airline at check in to only check to ATL, BECAUSE you have a gift to bring to someone in Atlanta AND you'll recheck your bag afterwards. Or that the whole suitcase is for that somebody in Atlanta.

The only time you have to worry about doing something like this is, if it's a R/T ticket. If you skip outbound segment, your return ticket will be cancelled.

<i> At ATL, one has to recheck bags and reclear security to get from customs to the other terminals AND airport exit. </i>

that's true for any US airport when coming in from international flight.

You have to collect your bags, go through customs, and re-check if that's what you want to, but if not, just walk out.

There is no need to tell the airline anything about "something" special going on.

>At ATL, one has to recheck bags and reclear security to get from customs to the other terminals AND airport exit.

>that's true for any US airport when coming in from international flight.

Your correction is wrong. Most airports do NOT require passing through security if you are leaving the airport at the end of an international flight.

Atlanta is different because the airport layout is such that CBP is layered inside the overall sterile area and a direct exit is not possible. Thus, one needs to recheck bags, go through security and then proceed to baggage claim to get the bags and leave.

<i> Atlanta is different because the airport layout is such that CBP is layered inside the overall sterile area and a direct exit is not possible. Thus, one needs to recheck bags, go through security and then proceed to baggage claim to get the bags and leave. </i>

Please explain because AFAIK, you have to have all your luggage when going through customs and then you have to re-check it if connecting. You're saying that you have to go through security exiting the airport? I don't understand.

Correct. At ATL, and when there was international arrival at CLE, one has to reclear security and briefly check bags JUST to get from customs to the outside world - i.e. Atlanta, or Cleveland. There is no direct way to exit.

Ok. After going through customs all checked luggage must be rechecked if connecting (as you acknowledge) but ALSO rechecked if you are terminating the airport.

This is because of the layout of the airport, designed in pre-security days and not really fixable as many other have been. Thus, in most (possible all) you must go through the sterile area to exit the airport after customs. Unusual.

Check out the map of the airport at http://www.allairports.net/airports/...minal-map.shtm

Note there are two terminals and 7 concourses. All concourses are in the sterile area. International flights arrive at concourses E and F. There is CBP at both E and F. E is the significant one here because the only exit out of customs is into the sterile area of E, thus you must go through security even if planning to leave the airport. Thus if your destination is ATL, after customs you recheck your bags and they will be transferred to baggage claim while you walk there through the sterile area.

Since arrival at E is a strong probability (E has 37 gates whereas F has only 12) everyone must assume an E arrival, security, and later pickup of bags at a terminal.

Hopefully I explained that correctly!

Seattle is similar - immigration and customs are both in a satellite; after customs you put your bags on a conveyer belt that takes them to (a) the landside carousels or (b) the sorting room where they're sent to the connecting flight. You can't take checked luggage on the train from the satellite to the main terminal.

The solution is just as mentioned above. You have a present you need to give someone outside security at ATL/SEA or wherever your port of entry is, and you'll re-check bags there; please "short tag" them to XXX. The check-in people will NOT hassle you; this happens all the time.

While it's true that "throw-away" and "hidden city" ticketing are strictly against the airlines' rules, they know there's leakage, hence their "deliberate overbooking" practices. Your bags won't be the telltale, it will be when you no-show.

"B" is Washington-Dulles.

We did this once flying as a family from Castries to London to Manchester. Having booked many months in advance, by the time of our return flight my daughter needed to leave us at London. On check in she asked for her bag to go to London only and collected it there. She never checked in from London to Manchester but the rest of us did. It held up the flight and when we were boarded the stewardess came and questionned where she was.They were content with the response and particularly that her bag was not on the plane. The concern was a security one only whereas yours is vis-a vis the airline terms and conditions.
If all your party leave the flight before the end, this shouldn't happen.