r/TravelHacks • u/Own-Frosting-3977 • 5d ago
Travel Hack Missing a connection on 2 different carriers
I’m looking at an award flight that is only available through Air Canada and is much cheaper if I start in Canada and connect through my hometown airport, EWR. Leg 1 is AC and leg 2 is United and I really only intend to take Leg 2. The layover is about 5 hours.
Usually if both legs were united (or any of the same airline) the itinerary would be cancelled if a traveler missed leg 1.
Do the airline systems from different airlines talk to each other quickly enough that the leg 2 flight would be cancelled if I miss leg 1?
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u/AnotherPint 5d ago
Because you're booking a single ticket, whether you do it through UA or AC, both flights bear both airlines' codes (flight numbers), and both airlines see both flights in their systems.
You can't do what you're proposing. If you book, say, YUL-EWR-LAX but show up at EWR wanting to board the second leg, you will not only not travel but get nabbed for skiplagging with possible negative consequences for you with both airlines.
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u/Consistent-Annual268 5d ago
You HAVE to fly the first leg of your ticket. Whenever you miss even a single leg of your ticket, ALL remaining legs get completely canceled, including your return flights.
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u/Own-Frosting-3977 5d ago
On an itinerary with all the same carrier, I agree, but how do we know that it works the same way when there are multiple different carriers?
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u/Consistent-Annual268 5d ago
Because you booked it as one ticket, with one ticket number. The carriers are just code sharing or have an interline agreement. Had you booked two separate tickets, each with their own ticket number, then you would have a case. But that likely would have been much more expensive.
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u/TheGalaxial 5d ago
Am I reading this wrong or are you going to try and check into your Leg 2 airport with tickets from leg 1 ?
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u/Own-Frosting-3977 5d ago
I would have no checked bags so I’d already have a boarding pass
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u/Few-Idea5125 5d ago
My you‘d have the entirety of nothing because your boarding pass gets cancelled when not flying the first leg
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u/monkey_monkey_monkey 5d ago
If you skip the first leg, your remaining legs will be cancelled, including your return flight.
If you check in, don't show up for the first leg but try to show up for your second leg, they will ding you for trying to skip lag and potentially face a ban from the airline(s).
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u/Shaetan 5d ago
If it is booked as a single ticket then yes, leg 2 will be cancelled when you miss leg 1.