Is this back to back ticketing or throwaway ticketing?
Transatlantic repositioning cruises are extremely cheap, the only problem is they are one way and you need a one way flight ticket to get back which are very expensive, one option is a return throwaway ticket, which is against airline rules. However I want to do something different.
First definitions:
- H - my home airport in the US
- I - international airport in the US
- O - some overseas destination
- B - some US destination
I want to buy:
- return flight from H -> O (through I)
- return flight B -> H (nested)
- cruise from O -> B
- cruise from B -> O
This is what I want to do with it:
- Flight H -> I -> O
- one day later: Cruise O -> B
- same day: Flight B -> H
- six months later: Flight H -> B
- one day later: Cruise B -> O
- same day: O -> I -> H
Wouldn't it be weird for an airline company if I show up at B if I'm supposed to be at O? Do they care about nesting ticket? What if B = I?
Best Answer
There's no problem at all with this. You're booking, and taking, all your flights. You're using all your returns, the airline is not going to care.
No links or references I'm afraid, but I've done basically this without the cruises. When I relocated from the UK to Asia for work I ended up, for various reasons with a one-way ticket to the back to the UK. To get back to Asia I bought a very long term return (six months) and used the first leg for my immediate travel back and the second later in the year for a vacation. I had to do this a couple of times until I managed to arrange a way to get back to Asia one-way. During that six month period I traveled on the same airline and they didn't care that I had some open pending return ticket. There was no question that I'd 'thrown it away' as the date was still in the future. Tickets are only cancelled after you don't show up on the date in the ticket.
Of course, if you're paranoid, just book the B <-> H return with a different airline. Even if you don't they're really not going to care.
In fact, if you want to take both cruises it's an entirely sensible strategy, and probably the cheapest way to do it. I'd be surprised if a lot of people didn't do exactly this.
However, if you only really want one cruise you could book the returns and discard the return flights -- you normally get away with this if you don't do it to often and discarding one return shouldn't invalidate the other flight as long as they were booked as different transactions. Alternatively you might persuade an airline that the pair of flights H -> I -> O and B -> H counts as an open jaw return and gets the return discount. This probably wouldn't work if B is in the US, but if B was international I could see it working.
Finally, while the airline will not care, customs in various places may notice the odd pattern and may decide that it's good reason to pull you over for extra screening. They may not, it depends on a lot of things but I thought I'd mention it.
Edited to add: If you need more convincing consider this, someone might go on a six month holiday somewhere. But in the middle may need to return for a while for some urgent matter (or Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever) at home. They'd end up with the same pattern of flights as you, and this isn't really going to be that uncommon. So you're not doing anything that 'odd' even if it feels like it.
Pictures about "Is this back to back ticketing or throwaway ticketing?"
What is throwaway ticketing?
For those who don't know, throwaway tickets \u2014 also known as "hidden city" or "point beyond" tickets \u2014 are flights you purchase to an unpopular destination. Say you were trying to buy a ticket from New York to Chicago.Is throw away ticketing allowed?
Photo: United Airlines. Passengers use throwaway ticketing to save money. Nonetheless, airlines contend that it is illegal as it violates their contracts of carriage. As a matter of fact, United Airlines' Booking and Ticketing Policy clearly states that throwaway ticketing is a prohibited practice.Is a return ticket both ways?
Return train tickets (or two-way tickets) are tickets that are valid for both an outward and returning journey from the same station or destination on your chosen route.What is backtracking flight?
Backtracking. Backtracking is when you start flying in one direction around the world, then turn around and travel back in another direction before continuing in your original direction. Backtracking can be allowed on some RTW tickets but is not an efficient and cost effective way of travelling around the world.Hidden City Ticketing: What is it? Is it safe? How do you use it?
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Images: Anna Shvets, Karolina Grabowska, Rachel Claire, vjapratama