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I just booked my round trip to India from USA with one of the travel agents. Here is my trip

Outbound - Newark - > Delhi - > Hyderabad

Inbound - Hyderabad - > Delhi -> Newark

But I see in the itinerary there is another flight from Newark to Huston (after reaching Newark). I said I don't want that flight since my destination is Newark. But what they said is it is complimentary. I am confused, but after booking with them one of my friends told me there is a possibility your check-in luggage may go to Huston. My port of entry is Newark and I think I can collect baggage there and come out from the airport.

But wanted to check with you guys, is there any problem with the complimentary flight (not sure why this flight)? Can I get my check-in baggage and come out of the airport in Newark?

Relaxed
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bujji2
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2 Answers2

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It sounds like your travel agent is using hidden city ticketing.

It is true that you will claim your checked luggage at Newark to go through customs, and there won't be anything to stop you from just leaving the airport after that.

However, the airline's contract of carriage says you are not supposed to do this. See Is leaving airport at a stop before the final destination illegal? and Do you have to take the second leg of a domestic flight? The contract gives them the right to take various actions if they catch you using hidden-city ticketing, including cancelling the rest of your itinerary (not really applicable here since this is the end of your journey), denying frequent flier miles, or charging you for the difference between what you paid and what the itinerary you actually flew would normally cost. It's probably unlikely that they would actually do the latter, but it's hard to be sure.

I would suggest you ask your travel agent about this. Find out how much you are actually saving with this trick, and assess for yourself whether it is worth the risks. I don't think they should have made an itinerary like this for you without your permission, and if you are not comfortable with it, I think they ought to change it for you. If there is a change fee (in addition to the difference in fare), I think it would be appropriate to ask the travel agent to pay it themselves. Of course, I don't know if you will be able to get them to agree to that.

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Nate Eldredge
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  • Ha .. Thanks for letting me know about "Hidden City ticketing " . This is the first time I heard about this 2) I just spoke to my travel agent and asked them to send me the confirmation and they said "United Airlines " allows this and going to send confirmation on it 3) I am traveling from USA to India and India to USA . So there will not be any trip after Newark . But I see this is unethical . I should have known this before booking . Unfortunately then generated the e-ticket and not sure it can be changed now .
    • – bujji2 Jun 20 '15 at 03:31
  • sorry I can not vote up your answer , since I don't have minimum reputation – bujji2 Jun 20 '15 at 03:36
  • Glad it helped! If you feel my answer resolves your question, you can click the check mark by my answer to mark it as "accepted". – Nate Eldredge Jun 20 '15 at 03:46
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    As the OP just confirmed, there is no return flight to India. Would make sense to edit your answer accordingly. – Relaxed Jun 20 '15 at 07:32
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    Note that hidden-city ticketing is not illegal and there really isn't much the airline can do stop it. – JonathanReez Jun 20 '15 at 09:03
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    @JonathanReez I am not so sure about that: you are entering into a contract you intend to break, in order to obtain a lower price than the other party intends to offer. I think that could be construed as fraud by misrepresentation. However I agree that in practise no one will do anything about it. – Calchas Jun 20 '15 at 10:11
  • @Calchas breaking a contract is a civil case. there have been zero documented cases worldwide on someone being charged with a crime for hidden-city ticketing. – JonathanReez Jun 20 '15 at 10:13
  • @Relaxed: Thanks, somehow I read the itinerary backwards. I've edited. I also found another relevant question to link. – Nate Eldredge Jun 20 '15 at 15:13
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    @JonathanReez "Illegal" does not just refer to criminal penalties in English. For instance, there are generally not criminal penalties for not-for-profit copyright infringement, and yet it's referred to as "illegal." – cpast Jun 20 '15 at 17:12
  • @cpast copyright infringement is illegal because you're breaking a government law. And there's no government law against breaking a contract. – JonathanReez Jun 20 '15 at 17:26
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    @JonathanReez Still no. "Illegal" means it violates the law, yes. The law prohibits breach of contract; it is accepted in common-law systems as a valid cause of action, and in civil-law systems it's codified that contracts create legal obligations. It is illegal to breach a contract, because it involves violating a legal obligation and makes you liable for damages in a court of law. – cpast Jun 20 '15 at 18:08
  • @cpast legally speaking you are correct. But telling someone they are doing something 'illegal' generally implies troubles with the government. Breaching a contract usually doesn't involve anything more than a civil lawsuit, and even that has never happened in the history of hidden city ticketing. – JonathanReez Jun 20 '15 at 18:24
  • @JonathanReez And a civil lawsuit seems a little thing to you? Be aware that it depends a lot on the country and its judicial system. E.g. In Italy a civil lawsuit can last decades (the average lawsuit takes about 1100 days, i.e. 3+ years) and you'd have to pay a lawyer for all that time, which may cost much more than the final sentence... – Bakuriu Jun 21 '15 at 15:03
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    Could you please take this semantic discussion to chat? – Nate Eldredge Jun 21 '15 at 15:35