With concerns about travel to Bangkok on their mind, one of members asks an interesting question
The political situation in Thailand is a bit worrying and could be much worse by the time of travel, so I’m considering ditching BKK as a destination if the situation worsens. The last leg of the ticket is Hong Kong – Kuala Lumpur then Bangkok….If I decide not to go to Bangkok, would it be possible to check in at HKG as far as KUL without losing my luggage? Of course, I’d understand that the rest of the ticket will be cancelled, but that will be of no consequence.
When situations arise that may affect air travel in general, Airlines can make changes to their policies. Such waivers as they are called, will usually be published on their website. Usually they offer a refund or free changes to those affected, you just need to contact them or your travel agent. If your booked and are flying on the same airline as the one that issued your ticket, there are often no further issues.
However if you are travelling on a codeshare flight or an airline that is different to the one that issued the ticket, things can get complicated. They may not have a waiver in place or have even considered the need for one if they don’t physically fly to that port. That may well leave a “no show” as the only alternative.
A “no show” put simply means you don’t get on that flight. If your flight is the last leg of the ticket, there are few implications for you. If you have further flights on that ticket, you can run the risk of them being cancelled. This is because of a rule most airlines have that sectors must run in sequence.
Airlines have the sequence rule to prevent throw away ticketing. Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney might be cheaper than Sydney to Melbourne for instance. Without the sequence rule, you could just not fly the first leg and get the cheaper fare. Luckily for our member, the “no show” flight being considered is the last one on their ticket.
If you are considering a no show, think about checked baggage. Hopefully you have left some time between flights. If so, ask for baggage to be checked to your intended destination rather than the final ticketed destination. With the restrictions in place on liquids, airlines are now used to such requests as passengers purchase duty free at intermediate ports that cannot be carried on.
What other considerations are there, have you been in a similar situation and would like to share your experience, join the conversation HERE.
