Can I check-in and board at my connecting airport to avoid driving past it to get to my originating airport?

Question

Has anyone ever done this? I'm driving south past LAX to fly out of San Diego Carlsbad airport. After the plane leaves Carlsbad there is about a 3 hour layover 1-stop and plane change at LAX. It will take me 4 1/2 hours to drive to Carlsbad and it would only take me 2 1/2 hours to drive to LAX. I chose this flight because it was 1/2 the price than actually having LAX as my originating departure. Now I'm hoping to save time and GAS $$$$$.

Answer 1

If you don't check in for your original departure in San Diego, the rest of your itinerary will be cancelled and the airlines will suspend the ticket so you can not use it at all - even at a later date.

Answer 2

If you show up for the connection flight they might be cool with it but then again there is no guarnatee, plus if you tell them that you are not going to take the flight from Carlsbad and instead catch it directly form LAX then they may charge you a fee.

What ever you do remember (im assuming your comming back and you are leaving your car at the airport?) your ticket back might still have your final return destination as Carlsbad, so take that into consideration, especially if your car is in LAX!

Answer 3

Call the airline and discuss it with them.  It's true that they might cancel your whole reservation if you don't do it the way they say, but maybe if you point out to them that you would free up a seat for them to sell to a standby passenger in Carlsbad.  Maybe maybe you'll get someone who isn't and anusaurus.

Once I was leaving ATL, going to NYC to catch a flight to Santiago,Chile that required a change in Miami.  There was a 2 hour delay and I couldn't have made my flight in NY.  Continental agreed to fly me to Miami instead but Pan Am in NY didn't want to let me meet their flight in MIA because I had bought a ticket with "no changes allowed".  Finally, thanks to the Continental agent's help, Pan Am finally agreed and flexed the rules for me due to the delays. I would have really been mad if they hadn't. Pan Am went out of business, you know.  Good Luck.

Answer 4

nope. if you do that your trying to by-pass the higher fare. if you read the rules on your ticket, your contracted to go from san diego. if you dont get on there you break the contract of carriage