Is it possible to drop first leg of international reward ?

[Quickstatus]

it is very common that a flight that goes the "long way" is cheaper. Hence SYD-MEL-LAX is almost always going to be cheaper than simply MEL-LAX.

"Almost always going to be cheaper?". It can be cheaper but not "almost always"

If it was a cash fare, it can be cheaper but not "almost always". The price of the fare would be dependant on other factors not just because its a 2 sector rather than a nonstop

As it is a combination of 2 award flights it is possibly more expensive in frequent flyer points because the amount of points required may be more than required points for MEL-LAX

But this departs from the original question.

Celtic2:
Generally the answer is no - you would have to go to SYD. Airlines sometimes offer award availability only if it is married to another sector.

Did it cost you more points than a SYd-LAX nonstop?

 

[9171]

My experience of such things (over many airlines and many countries):

Rule 1.- Once you skip a segment, the entire rest of your ticket disappears. So if you were SYD-MEL_LAX, and skip SYD-MEL, the entire ticket just died. Including the return leg.

Rule 2.- Only ever use this on a one-way thing where you want to skip the last leg.

Rule 3.- The most common defense an airline has against you skipping the last leg is your luggage. If you travel only with carry-on you are positioned well.

Experience 1.- I have used this lurk a million times with Copa Airlines in central america. They are an airline that has a business model where Panama City is the mid stop between any two points in the Americas. A bit like what Emirates does with the rest of the world. So between any two city pairs in the Americas, Copa is the cheapest fare, but getting from any city to Panama itself is expensive. So to get to Panama I book one way to a further city and ditch the last segment.

Experience 2.- This has worked for me many dozens of times, even though I use my Copa frequent Flyer details and earn points each time. But can only do it without checked bags.

Experience 3.- I have heard anecdotal things about airlines chasing people who use this lurk, but never have actually seen real evidence of this. Yes, the airlines lose a couple of bucks when it happens, but enough to chase passengers?? No way.

 

[antycbr]

Experience 3.- I have heard anecdotal things about airlines chasing people who use this lurk, but never have actually seen real evidence of this. Yes, the airlines lose a couple of bucks when it happens, but enough to chase passengers?? No way.

Most airlines simply aren’t organised enough to do this, not to mention in the age of social media they’d be crucified for it.

Could anyone imagine, for example, Qantas ticketing being organised enough to chase down passengers? The statute of limitations would have passed…

 

[Celtic2]

"Almost always going to be cheaper?". It can be cheaper but not "almost always"

If it was a cash fare, it can be cheaper but not "almost always". The price of the fare would be dependant on other factors not just because its a 2 sector rather than a nonstop

As it is a combination of 2 award flights it is possibly more expensive in frequent flyer points because the amount of points required may be more than required points for MEL-LAX

But this departs from the original question.

Celtic2:
Generally the answer is no - you would have to go to SYD. Airlines sometimes offer award availability only if it is married to another sector.

Did it cost you more points than a SYd-LAX nonstop?

No the points needed are same. However the airport taxes/carrier charges are slightly higher in my case. A direct J reward between Mel and Lax costs 95,400 points and around 131 dollars in taxes. However because of additional leg I ended up paying 170ish dollars.

Surprisingly that reward seat is also available as Bne -> Mel -> Lax.

Since I am also an Aeroplan member as well, I checked it there too, the same flight costs 87,500 and 211 CAD

 

[Quickstatus]

No the points needed are same......

Yep, its sold as is - you will have to go via SYD. It appears that the MEL-LAX award flight is available only with a domestic married segment ex SYD/BNE