throwaway ticketing

Tag Archives for throwaway ticketing.

How Throwaway Ticketing Can Reduce Your SkyMiles Award Ticket Costs By Two-Thirds

by Gary Leff on May 10, 2023

May 10 2023

I’ve written several times that the biggest and worst devaluation of the Delta SkyMiles program only seems to apply to flights that either start or end in the United States. SkyMiles now charges for partner awards, which are all saver awards and limited in availability, as though they were awards on Delta. That’s how you can get over 500,000 miles one way for a coach award between the U.S. and Thailand.

But if you start a trip in Mexico, you’re effectively rolling back to the last devaluation where partner awards are merely super expensive. And this creates an opportunity.

American Airlines Has Just Issued A Warning To Travel Agents About ‘Hidden City’ Tickets

by Gary Leff on January 26, 2021

Jan 26 2021

a memo has gone out from American Airlines to travel agents, available on its SalesLink platform warning them that the carrier is cracking down on a variety of ticketing techniques, including hidden city ticketing and ‘churning’.

Over the summer I wrote about American directly investigating customers for ticketing practices that violate the airline’s rules, and more recently confronting customers at the airport and demanding passengers pay up for their past sins against the airline. Now they’re warning tagents.

American Airlines Confronts Passenger At The Airport, Sends Them $1000 Bill For Ticketing Abuses

by Gary Leff on January 9, 2021

Jan 09 2021

American Airlines confronted a reader over throwaway ticketing when he arrived at the airport. He was told that he had better fly all of the segments in his itinerary that day, and that American would be watching.

Instead, the reader got off of his flight to Philadelphia and went home, never taking the last flight on his reservation. As promised, American flagged him, suspended his account – and demanded restitution for past instances of throwaway ticketing.

American Airlines Meeting Passengers At The Airport To Warn Them Against ‘Throwaway Ticketing’

by Gary Leff on December 20, 2020

Dec 20 2020

Airlines have tried to crack down on the money-saving practice of ‘throwaway ticketing’ for years. You buy a flight to somewhere that connects beyond your final destination because it’s cheaper, and just don’t take the flight.

A reader was recently approached by American Airlines customer service staff at the airport and warned against throwaway ticketing. He did it anyway. Here’s what happened.

American Airlines Goes After ‘Hidden City Ticketing’: New Revenue-Raising Initiative?

by Gary Leff on August 22, 2020

Aug 22 2020

Right now airlines will take any money they can, and employees may be looking for metrics and wins to justify their jobs, so it doesn’t surprise me – whether corporate policy or individual initiative – to see the airline going after violations that can extract incremental revenue, and to do it in a way that maximizes likelihood of payment.

One Rental Car Company Wanted To Give Away Airline Miles To Encourage Throwaway Ticketing

by Gary Leff on May 4, 2020

May 04 2020

Ben Baldanza, who used to be CEO of Spirit Airlines, now has a podcast. He told a story about when he ran marketing for US Airways and a rental car company in Greensboro, North Carolina wanted to buy frequent flyer miles to reward their customers for throwaway ticketing on his airline.

United Airlines Issues Guidelines to Help Agents Catch Customers Saving Money on Airfare

by Gary Leff on August 2, 2019

Aug 02 2019

A flight from DC to Milwaukee via Chicago might be cheaper than flying non-stop to Chicago. So you add the connection from Chicago to Milwaukee, even though you don’t plan to take it. That’s throwaway ticketing.

That saves you money, but it violates airline rules. You may think you’re buying a seat on both the DC to Chicago and Chicago to Milwaukee flights, and you should be able to do whatever you wish with your seat (take the flight or not take the flight). The airline, though, thinks they’re selling you a ticket from DC to Milwaukee and argues that’s a different product than a flight from DC to Chicago.