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[tee_bee]

Hi, forumites,

I figured this would be a good place to ask this question. I am due to go to a conference in Sweden in May. I recently found out that I need to fly to DC for a meeting the day after I get back from Sweden (fortunately, it's just the flight--the meeting starts the day after the day I get back from SWE).

As it turns out, I can either return by (1) flying all the way back home to North Carolina, then, the next day, fly to DC or (2) playing a game on the airline by simply deplaning at Newark Airport, claiming my bag at customs, and then merrily going to the Amtrak station to take a train to DC. (I could even just fly EWR-DCA if I so choose, which I might). I get to DC a day early, hit the hotel, relax, recover from jet lag, etc.

I am thinking of doing No 2 because, in case of delays or anything, it gives me a bit of a cushion, plus I get to DC a day early, can meet with a couple colleagues, do some sightseeing, sleep, etc.

The big questions:

1. If you were you, would you go straight to DC from Europe (I will be there 7 days) or would you go home, repack, and go back to DC (it's only a 45 min flight from RDU to DCA, after all)?

2. More to the point: will my plan to grab my bags at customs and just not make my connecting flight work? I've flown internationally before, but not much, and it all seems like a blur. I have to check the bag (a carry on won't cut it), and if I remember correctly, upon landing in the USA you have to grab your bag, clear customs, and then put it on the connecting flight belt if you are connecting to a domestic flight. My plan is clearly to not drop my bag on the belt, but to just go onward without using my EWR-RDU leg (I wouldn't be a schmuck! I would tell the airline, after I have my stuff, that I am cancelling that leg so that someone can have the seat). Of course, if I want to make this legit, I have to pony up $200, which stinks.

Ideas? Suggestions? Thanks for your advice, and apologies for the length of the query.

[crowie]

I would definitely do 2) but I might just pay the fee to make it legit even if it would be possible to get away with it.  I suppose I'm law-abiding/meek that way, mainly because I've never tried something like that and wouldn't want anything to go wrong.  I would be interested to hear whether others have done it, how they justify it ethically (if they bother), and what, if any, negative consequences have occurred.  It's hard to think of what they could do to you, I have to admit, once you are off the plane and have your bags at EWR.

[euro_trash]

Been there done that...

If 2 is an easier solution for you, then do it.  Who cares about the airlines?

[socsci]

Well, the airline usually has your credit card number, so in principle it could charge you more. Airlines can get pretty uppity about their rules, which actually form a contract with you, and even though they are BS rules, I wouldn't count on leniency from the airlines given that suddenly they are all losing money again. Can you rebook your flight as RDU-SWE-EWR? I don't know if that would cost you more than the $200 you mention, though.

If you do want to go with just getting off and missing your connection, it is perfectly allowable to pick up your bag after customs and not put it back on the conveyer belt. I did that just last week because I wanted to take something out of my checked bag and put it in a separate box (a 750 ml. bottle of beer I'd been given by a friend the day before I flew home which I didn't want breaking in my suitcase).

[jwormold]

On the skipping out after customs front-- do it. Don't pay extra. Don't tell the airline. (If they are overbooked, the seat will be given away anyway. In fact, the airline could just as easily bump you).

Rebooking will likely be quite expensive, unless you have a very flexible ticket. The airline won't charge you extra. If you'd like a sense of what other people try to get away with, peruse flyertalk. You could always post your query over there for the opinions of a truly maniacal bunch. They might laugh at you, though!

[tee_bee]

Thanks everyone--this is useful advice. What I've decided to do is just come back to RDU, drop off my huge bag, and then just take the flight to DCA the next afternoon. This way, if there's a screwup in Europe, I can do the missed connection thing as a plan B, and, if it's the airlines fault, I might be able to get them to fly me right to Dulles. We'll see if this works. Thanks again.

[dr_stones]

It'll be fun to see how homeland security handles your disappearance once you get inside the security perimeter ...

[doctor_torrseal]

It'll be fun to see how homeland security handles your disappearance once you get inside the security perimeter ...

Huh?  The TSA isn't "1984" yet.  Anybody can walk through security with a boarding pass and walk back out of the same airport.  When you go through TSA security, they look at your boarding pass, but they don't yet scan it, so they don't have a running tally of who is inside the security perimeter.  Also, at many airports, when you arrive from an international flight and clear customs, you wind up outside the security perimeter and have to pass back through security to get to your connection.

Generally, airlines do not charge you to cancel a flight.  If you wanted to get off in Newark and skip the last leg, you could just tell them so, and they won't charge you more.  If you wanted to skip an early leg of a multi-leg trip, but do the rest, it would be more complicated, and you'd probably have to pay the change fee.

[euro_trash]

The TSA people I have seen do not seem the most gifted or motivated workers ever.

[jwormold]

The TSA people I have seen do not seem the most gifted or motivated workers ever.

They have awesome duct tape, though!