After being reprimanded by Rex for my lack of specificity, I think rightfully so, since his was the only response. I will try again.... <BR>I want to book a flight round trip to Rome through Zurich from SFO and skip the leg from Zurich to Rome, making my own way there...can this be done? and two, if it can, recommendations for an itinerary from Zurich to Florence, consuming about 8 days...I'll keep trying until I get this right... <BR>Mike

I don't know if it can be done or not--off-hand I can't think of any reason not, except for one. When you check in at your home airport, you will be checked in all the way to Rome. So will your bags. When you don't show up at your Zurich-Rome leg, they are going to hold up the aircraft until your bags can be taken off, for security reasons. But you won't worry about that, because you'll already be on your way to Rome--sans baggage, of course. There is going to be one plane-load of really angry people, and you'll have live for your vacation without your clothes. Why don't you just book an open jaws ticket? Fly from home to Zurich. Train or whatever to Rome. Fly home from Rome? Might be a tad more expensive, but at least you wouldn't be fighting the system. <BR>

Okay, this is a new question - - the first one was "is it a problem?" - - the answer, yes. <BR> <BR>The new question is "why?" - - the answer, because that's their rules. <BR> <BR>And your header here does not state the issue correctly, as I understand it. It's your outbound (leg two, right?) you want to skip, right? (although it would be the same issue for leg three). <BR> <BR>If you want, SFO-ZRH with a return of FCO-ZRH-SFO, well, Swissair will sell you such a ticket (it's called an open jaw) - - and it will have some different price - - might be more might be less. Will they swap a current (roundtrip) ticket you have already purchased for the open jaw itinerary? I doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to ask - - and it's the ONLY way you can do this. <BR> <BR>Skipping a leg of a flight "in the middle" leads the airline to conclude that you have abandoned the flight itinerary as you purchased it - - and the odds are very high (though not 100%) that they will canncel ALL subsequent (including ALL return segments). <BR> <BR>Still sorry that this isn't what you wanted to hear. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR> <BR>(and thanks for the improved header!) <BR>

I guess I'm really slow, but, if I pay for the whole flight and tell them to offload my baggage...or don't take any checkable baggage...in Zurich, and that I'll keep the the flight from Rome to SFO, what's the problem? They can sell the leg from Zurich to Rome and everybody, especially me, is happy....I tried the open jaw bit with Swissair, and the difference between doing that and buying the round trip through bestfares is about $500 for the two tickets...a lot of gelato to me... <BR>Anyway, thanks for your info, <BR>Mike

I'd think twice about skipping the Zurich to Rome leg. Airlines often say that they will cancel the remainder of your itinerary if you skip one of the legs. Don't know if they actually do that, but the risk of their doing that would keep me from skipping a middle leg. I'd hate for you to show up for your return flight, only to discover that your ticket was cancelled. My advice - don't do it!

Mike, <BR>You can just check your luggage to Zurich only (people are you for real), why check it all the way to Rome, as some people suggested. I have done this before and there will be no problem. You can tell the airline what you are doing (or you do not have to tell them)and just show the airline your ticket to Zurich only at the counter. Then it will be your loss, but that <BR>beats the price you will pay for an open jaw flight. <BR> <BR>I do not know, I think people just make a big deal out of simple things in this forum. Mike you had a simple question, and some people just responded by sending more confusing posts. <BR>I have done this before, I never tell the airline what I am doing, and I have never had a problem, and no REX kipping a leg of a flight DOES NOT LEAD THE AIRLINE TO CONCLUDE THAT YOU HAVE ABANDONED THE FLIGHT ITINERARY AS YOU PURCHASE IT. THEY WILL NOT CANCEL ALL SUBSEQUENT RETURN SEGMENTS, AFTER ALL YOU ALREADY HAVE PURCHASED THE TICKETS, <BR>AND THEY HAVE TO HONOR THEM. <BR> <BR>I have done this several times and never had a problem. I just call the airline after I arrive at my destination and confirm that I will be using the remainder segments of the itinerary. <BR> YOU PEOPLE ARE EXTREMELY NAIVE AND WORRY ABOUT THINGS THAT DO NOT PRESENT A REAL PROBLEM. IT JUST PROVES THAT YOU ARE NOT EXPERIENCED TRAVELERS.

This thread is challenging my math skills, but here's what I have to say. Last year we purchased RT tickets on Sabena, Dulles to Brussels to Paris. From Brussels we flew to Rome, where we spent a week From Rome we flew to Marseilles. We eventually flew home from Paris through Brussels to Dulles. The leg from Rome to Marseilles, we purchased RT tickets, because they were so much less expensive than the one-way leg. We never used the Marseilles-Rome leg. I assume that the flight attendants duly noted our absence on the Marseilles-Rome leg and filled the seat with a standby passenger or whatever. Wouldn't they do the same with your Zurich to Rome flight? I mean, if you've paid for it but not using it, I assume the airlines figure that out and try to sell the seat to someone else. <BR>By the way, I was advised to do this Rome-Marseilles round-trip by my airline consolidator; I didn't just dream it up on my own, so it must happen pretty often. <BR> <BR>

Whew! I'm one confused puppy! what with all those "absolute" answers...in any event,I really do appreciate you folks taking the time to educate me...I think <BR>Mike

Frequently passengers will buy a ticket that has multiple segments to get a cheaper ticket. For example, my ticket Boston - Belgium - Prague - Belgium - Boston is $388 in November on Sabena. However, the price of the ticket Boston - Belgium roundtrip is $576. Makes no sense, right? I happen to be going to Prague though. From an economic point of view, if I wanted to go to Belgium, I would buy the Prague ticket, right? But, I'm only stopping in Belgium (it's only a 90 minute layover). Airlines sometimes sell tickets to the further destination at a much reduced price than to the first leg of the destination. <BR> <BR>Many years, ago you could get away with not using certain legs of your ticket without getting caught, now the airlines are checking. The airlines know from past history what was being done, and they are now trying to prevent this from happening. The penalties that are being assessed are cancelling the remaining unused portions of your ticket, and when you show up to board, making you pay full fare for the balance of your travels. Based on your parameters, I know that you will definitely pay the penalty with any US based airlines, and also with British Airways (my friend is a sales manager for them, and I checked when writing this post). <BR> <BR>The only time your scenario makes sense is if you need a one way ticket, but the roundtrip is cheaper. For example, my boss' nanny was flying from Kansas City to Boston (she'll be here a year). The one way ticket was over $800, but a roundtrip 30 day ticket was only $275. The roundtrip ticket was purchased but the second leg was thrown away. <BR> <BR>It's up to you to decide what is best for you. You can call the airlines and see what their responses are to your dilemna (I believe they will tell you to buy an open jaw ticket). You can find out what the penalties are, or you can play Russian Roulette. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. However, I would not want to be in an airport trying to get on a flight I thought I had a ticket for and then not be able to board the flight without paying the airline's penalty. <BR> <BR>I really understand what you are trying to accomplish, however, by trying to be shrewd and not paying the airline for your actual plans, it may cost you more money in the end. <BR> <BR>If you do have more than carry-on luggage, you will not be able to ask the airline to kindly take your luggage off at the first stop, if it's a one stop flight (you don't change planes). And, if you have to change planes, that's another story, but most airlines check your luggage through to the final destination, especially if you don't have to change airlines. <BR> <BR>From my experience, open jaw tickets are ALWAYS more expensive than roundtrip tickets. <BR> <BR>Why is it so important to fly into Zurich? Zurich is really only a 1-2 day city for sightseeing. <BR> <BR>Also, have you thought about flying to Rome, and then buying a cheap one way ticket to Zurich (there are many independent cheap airlines in Europe)? <BR> <BR>I really think you should book this trip the safest way possible, and not make any attempts at playing Russian Roulette with the airlines. I have always found that you pay for doing something against the grain. <BR> <BR>Whatever you do, have a good time.

Mike, <BR> I think the important point is to call the airline and re-confirm the portions of the itinerary you want to keep after you have missed a flight. In my experience, most airlines (at least every time I have done this--4 or 5 times and not always voluntarily) will in fact cancel out the remainder of the itinerary if you miss any leg. IF YOU CALL them, they will gladly reinstate whatever unused portion you desire. Just do it before you show up for your return as there is some chance they will have sold your seat. As for the luggage, I'm a carry-on only traveller under these circumstances and cannot advise on this. (The airlines are reasonably forthcoming about this procedure..."what if I miss my flight...")

Mike, if you have a nonrefundable, restricted ticket it is based on you flying the air segments that you have purchased. If you skip a segment the airline will cancel the rest of your flights. They will not reinstate them if you later call them and request it. Lower fares carry more restrictions; the airlines want to soak you for every penny they can and if you skip some segs, you will end up having to purchase a new ticket for the flight segments. They will not necessarily even apply the cost of your unused segments to the new ticket as by not flying on all segments you have invalidated your agreement with then. My advice would be why take a chance just to save a little money.

I frequently don't use one leg of a multiple stop ticket and have never been chastized, made to pay a premium or tied to the wing and flogged. <BR> <BR>I now do this around 3 times a year on BA (and have even told them what I intend to do when I purchase ticket), previously I've often dropped one section when flying Air Canada, once on Lufthansa and in a couple of months I'll be doing this on Alitalia. <BR> <BR>I'd call the airline and say you're meeting your long lost cousin in Zurich and won't be using the leg. If they then cause a fuss you'll know the carrier has a problem with this and you can make your choice accordingly.

Well, Mike, I'm glad you asked the question, because it's one I've often wondered myself. <BR> <BR>It isn't just multiple leg flights, it seems that if one books a simple round trip ticket and then one doesn't take the return leg, one can sometimes be hit with a whopping charge. I say "it seems" and "sometimes" because the airlines aren't consistent about this. You hear of it happening to some people, and not to others. <BR> <BR>Here's my attempt at coming up with an explanation for this madness: sometimes, when placing an order for a product, one is told "no substitutions on orders." You take it as is, even if what you wanted is simpler than what the vendor has on offer. Cars come to mind. The last one we bought, it was cheaper to take a package of options, including some we didn't want, than to place a custom order for a fewer number of simpler options. <BR> <BR>I think this is somehow what is involved. The airlines don't want to 'custom tailor' your multiple leg ticket. The re-processing of your intermediate or subsequent segments doesn't seem worth the hassle to them, at least without charging a heck of lot of money as a deterrent...sometimes. <BR> <BR>Telling them you don't want the intermediate segment may or may not work, if my theory is anywhere close. It would be like telling Ford that no, thanks, I don't want the AC unit - here, they can have it back and sell it to somebody else. In reply they may just say lady, taking it back costs us as much, if not more money, than what we'd get from reselling it. <BR> <BR>I've no idea if my theory is right, Mike, but it makes me feel a little bit better about the whole crazy situation. Good luck finding out.

An afterthought: just what happens may depend on the price you paid for your original ticket, and the terms and conditions associated. If, for example, what was paid amounted to close to the full economy fare, I think you can rightly expect a lot of flexibility, including the right to have the journey 'custom tailored' at no additional charge. If you got some kind of discount ticket with a ton of restrictions, then it's going to be a lot harder. This might explain the differing experiences of people here - because the terms of the contract that they have with the airline are variable, too. <BR>

I ran into this problem just this week here in the U.S. I wasn't going to be able to use the front end leg of a ticket but still need the back end leg (long story, don't ask) - I called the airline to make sure my ticket wouldn't be cancelled if I didn't use part of the front end of the trip - they said they would cancel my back end leg if I didn't use all of the front end. So be very very careful - I would casually call the airline without identifying yourself and ask the "hypothetical" question about your situation.

Rex and everyone who warns you that you'll lose the return part of your ticket are right and Melangel is dead wrong, capital letters or no. <BR> <BR>If you don't go the last leg of your "outbound" trip, you _will_ lose the remainder of the ticket. The only time you can be sure you can do something like this is if the part you want to skip is absolutely the last leg of the trip. <BR> <BR>As to why? Because the airlines theoretically structure the fares based on balancing and spreading out traffic. When you do something involving a reduced fare ticket that would normally cost you more, it breaks their rules -- whether or not the rules make any sense. <BR> <BR>The result if you are lucky and they are feeling generous might be to let you use the remainder of your ticket but pay the difference between your fare and the higher fare, along with a "changed destination" penalty.

I wasn't going to be on "so much" today (well, maybe reading, but not posting) - - but I can't readily get to a television, and the little bits of news on the internet are good enough for now. <BR> <BR>And I had also thought that I might add a note, saying that "sue" had given additional explanation as to the thinking behind some of these things. For sure, all of my comments apply only to "discounted" fares which involve penalties (and these are the vast majority of all fares sold). "Full fare" tickets on the itinerary will not be a problem with what you want to do, and indeed you would even get a refund for the unused ZRH-FCO leg. Even in this situation, it would be wise to call and reconfirm (or you could ask the agent at check-in to handle the changes you seek). <BR> <BR>But I suspect that this World Trade Tower incident will have an impact (sorry about that word choice) on your plans. I don't believe that you or anybody are going to want to try NOT being on a plane "behind an airline's back". <BR>

Last year friends of mine flew via SwissAir from Miami, via Zurich to Rome. They returned just from Zurich to Miami, as we traveled together from Rome to Zurich. When they priced this with SwissAir it would cost them more than returning from Rome. When they priced the same flight with American (the Miami - Zurich segments were joint operations with AA) they found it to be much cheaper returning from Zurich than from Rome. Go figure!

Mike, <BR>I'm an agent so I can answer this for you and explain.....If you book a roundtrip ticket on ANY airline and do not show up for any leg of it (example: Zurich to Rome), the airline will cancel all and any of your downline flights. This means you will not be able to get home from Rome without buying a new expensive one way ticket. This has always been the rule for as long as I can remember and I've been a agent for quite a number of years. Hope this helps you ?

Deb, <BR> <BR>You need to clarify your message. There is no problem getting a refund for unused legs of full fare tickets. However, your information is valuable for tickets purchased with restrictions, no matter whether the purchase was made directly through an airline or consolidator.