Not showing up for a flight??

[TiggeRia]

I have been planning a trip with a friend to WDW from 9/7 through 9/13 and bought my airline tickets a few weeks ago for $59 each way--a fabulous price that I couldn't beat. Today, I hear from my friend that she can only get a ticket from 9/8 through 9/14. I have no problem spending the first day there by myself, but I didn't want to leave her there by herself so I told her to go ahead and buy the ticket and I'd change my ticket.

I called AirTran, and they wanted $95 to change my flight to the next day. I told them that it would be cheaper for me to buy a new ticket for $54 (the new price of a one way trip). She said that I would need to cancel my other flight which would still be a fee of $75 and subtracting what I paid for the ticket, I would still owe them about $25. Reading their policies on the website, there is a cancellation fee, but there is no fee if you just don't show up for a flight, just forfeiture of the price of the ticket, which I called back to verify.

All told, it would cost me almost half the price to purchase a new ticket for the next day and just not show up for the flight I originally had purchased tickets for. Does that seem ok?!

[Seasonscraps]

I suppose you could do it. What would the airline do? People miss/skip flights all the time. But wouldn't it be less expensive to pay the $25 due after the cancellation/rebooking/credit then buying another one way ticket?

[TiggeRia]

No, they would charge me another $95 on top of what I've already paid to change my flight to the next day. It's $75 to cancel the flight. It seems to be cheaper to purchase a new ticket at $54 and just not show up for the original flight.

[jrkcr]

I'd keep my original ticket. A day to myself sounds heavenly to me! :cloud9:

[brian2000boston]

I'd keep my original ticket. A day to myself sounds heavenly to me! :cloud9:

I agree with that, not a big deal for people to travel seperate. Enjoy the extra time!

[VWL Mom]

Did you originally book 2 one ways or 1 round-trip? If it is a r/t ticket some of the airlines use to automatically cancel the return if you don't show up for the outbound. Not sure if they still do.

[TiggeRia]

My plan is to continue with my regular outbound ticket on the 7th spend the day alone and then she will show up on the 8th. I want to change my return flight from the 13th to the 14th to extend my stay because she is staying until the 14th. I booked on AirTran, so each flight is considered one way.

[wildernesslady]

As long as it's your trip home there shouldn't be a problem. Enjoy a day to yourself. I've always wanted to try it for a day.

[wdwfan]

Since you told your friend you would change to the 14th, I would.

I agree, I'd go ahead and book the new return flight for the 14th, and not show up for the other.

We live in OH right between CVG & DAY and sometimes the best fares are out of DAY, but go through CVG. Sometimes just on the return I'll pick dh up in CVG and he does not board the DAY flight. We can be home before flight to DAY takes off. Only done this a couple times, but DL has never contacted us. People miss flights all the time.

[alaMode]

I booked 2 rt tix to MCO for DS and myself and then decided to arrive a few days earlier. I bought 2 one way tix and I didn't notify the airline b/c of the fees. Everything went fine!

Tess
poly 07
poly 08
pop 09

[teambricker04]

I would call the airline back and ask if they require you to travel the round trip. My DH works for an airline (Not AirTran) and claims that under some ticket purchases you agree to fly both legs that you have bought. If you do not return on your RT ticket, you may be breaking the agreement, leaving the airline open to charging you a fee that may be greater than the 95$ all while leaving you vulnerable to a law suit. You need to check all the fine print and talk to the reservations before you go ahead and buy the cheaper one way ticket. In this revenue challenged environment, they are watching like hawks!

[awaggett]

You should be fine buying a new one-way ticket and just not showing up. I have done this for work (never intentionally, but it happens). I have never had a problem.

[chick20679]

Reading their policies on the website, there is a cancellation fee, but there is no fee if you just don't show up for a flight, just forfeiture of the price of the ticket, which I called back to verify.
All told, it would cost me almost half the price to purchase a new ticket for the next day and just not show up for the flight I originally had purchased tickets for. Does that seem ok?!


No, they would charge me another $95 on top of what I've already paid to change my flight to the next day. It's $75 to cancel the flight. It seems to be cheaper to purchase a new ticket at $54 and just not show up for the original flight.


I booked on AirTran, so each flight is considered one way.

All correct. If you just don't show up for the return flight you have booked, you simply forfeit that portion of your flight. So, it would be less expensive for you to just book a one-way home on the following day.
Hope that helps! :mickey:

[diz_girl]

Why should you incur the extra expense because your friend couldn't get a flight on the same day? Just tell her that you have to pay more that you expected to change/cancel the flight and that you're going to keep your initial flight. If she is a good friend, then she'll probably be OK with flying on separate days or offer to pay at least half of your cost to change your ticket. If she expects you to fork over the extra $, then maybe she's being a little selfish. Then you can just show up a day before her and enjoy your time alone.