Search the FAQ Archives

3 - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives

FAQ: Air Traveler's Handbook 1/4 [Monthly posting]
Section - [1-21] Buying Someone Else's Nonrefundable Ticket

( Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Single Page )
[ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index | Sex offenders ]


Top Document: FAQ: Air Traveler's Handbook 1/4 [Monthly posting]
Previous Document: [1-20] Hidden City Fares
Next Document: [1-22] Discount Airlines
See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge

Many people, when they can't use their nonrefundable ticket (or the
return leg of a round trip ticket), try to sell their tickets through
classified advertisements. This can be a source of cheap air tickets.
However, you'll be traveling under someone else's name, and the
airlines frown on this practice. If they catch you doing this, you'll
be forced to pay full fare for the return flight (typically twice the
face value of the round-trip ticket), and the airline will cancel all
your frequent traveler miles and all the frequent flyer miles of the
person who originally bought the ticket. They may also terminate your
membership in their frequent flyer program. Their contract is with the
person named on the ticket, not with you. If the tickets are actually
stolen tickets, they will definitely catch you.  Many airlines offer a
bounty to employees who confiscate such tickets.

Most airlines only check IDs on full flights or on fares that require
a special ID, such as a student ID. But more are checking IDs on
randomly selected tickets in an effort to discourage this practice.
All carriers reserve the right to require identification and to refuse
transportation if identification cannot be provided. For example
Northwest prints the following warning on the inside flap of the
ticket jacket:

  "Photo identification is required for all passengers.  Boarding may
   be denied and ticket confiscated if passenger's identification does
   not match the name on the ticket."

If the person named on the ticket checks in for you at the baggage
check-in counter, you'll probably run into trouble on the return trip.
If the airline catches you, you'll have to pay for a full fare one-way
ticket, which will negate any savings (and probably cost you more than
a round-trip would have). Plus, many airlines now check IDs on
boarding at the gate, to discourage this practice.

If the airplane should crash and you die, the airline won't have your
real name (which can affect life insurance policies), and this is just
plain unethical.  Moreover, your legal rights are extended only to the
person named on the ticket (or their estate), so in the event of a
loss or claim against the carrier, you will have no legal recourse
whatsoever.  

But given that the airline pricing strategies try to game
the consumer market, some consumers feel they are entitled to game the
system right back. I NEITHER ADVISE NOR CONDONE USING THIS PRACTICE AS
A MEANS OF OBTAINING CHEAP AIR TRAVEL. This practice constitutes
fraud, and hence is illegal.

One thing, however, cannot be stressed enough: Never purchase such a
ticket for international travel. If the name on your ticket does not
match the name on your passport, you can get into a lot of trouble,
not just with the airline, but with Immigration, Customs, and the
police at your destination. The airlines are required to check your
travel documents before you are allowed to board the aircraft, so they
will compare the name on your ticket with the name on your passport.
Many countries require airlines to return passengers to their country
of origin (at airline expense) if the passenger is denied entrance
into the country. So airlines have some incentive to be careful.  If,
by some fluke, they don't catch you, Immigration and Customs will also
inspect your travel documents. They also tend to compare the name on
the passport with the name on the bags. When they catch you, the
consequences can be a lot more serious than having to pay for a
full-fare ticket.  Since traveling under false documents is often a
crime under the laws of the destination country, you will be subject
to the courts and punishments of the destination country, and there
will be little your embassy can do to help you.

User Contributions:

1
Report this comment as inappropriate
Feb 25, 2021 @ 2:14 pm
https://genericviagragog.com buy viagra without doctor prescription

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:




Top Document: FAQ: Air Traveler's Handbook 1/4 [Monthly posting]
Previous Document: [1-20] Hidden City Fares
Next Document: [1-22] Discount Airlines

Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Single Page

[ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ]

Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer:
mkant@cs.cmu.edu





Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:12 PM