Can I skip the first leg of a journey, on a two way flight, on a low cost carrier?

6/28/2022 1:30:29 PM

Apologies for the anecdotal answer but Ryanair have cancelled my return flight for missing the outbound one. The agent told me I needed to inform them that I intended on keeping my return leg as soon as I missed the first flight.

6/28/2022 2:22:34 AM

There is no hard answer. It varies by airline.

Some airlines book multiple-segment trips. For instance they will cheerfully book a round trip A-B-C…C-B-A. They set prices based on the A-C demand market, and they have a vulnerability – if A-C is heavily discounted, and B-C is costly, someone might book A-B-C and only plan to use the B-C segment. This is called "Hidden City Ticketing", and the airlines Hate it. (Not least it breaches their subsidy agreements e.g. if the A government subsidized A-B-C flights). Anyone who tries it gets their entire round trip itinerary canceled without refund.

Other airlines book individual segments only. So they would sell a ticket A-B, a ticket B-C, a ticket C-B and a ticket B-A as separate deals. They do not offer full itineraries, and if you miss a connection it’s all on you. Since the tickets are not linked, missing A-B probably will not cancel B-C.

You are falsely equating the second type to "all discount airlines". That is not so. Discount airlines exist which follow the first model.

You need to check on an airline by airline basis, i.e. ask them.

6/27/2022 1:23:15 PM

This answer is based on personal experience. Whilst it will provide infomation, it should not be considered definitative.

I needed to cancel/miss the outbound leg of an EasyJet flight in summer 2018, and I spoke to their customer service over web-chat on this matter.

The pleasant gentleman I communicated with confirmed that they would not cancel my return if I missed my outbound flight.

He then asked if I would like to cancel the outbound – although I wouldn’t get a full refund – I could have my taxes back (which amount to only something like 8 EUR, but was a nice bonus).

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

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Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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