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I am traveling to Pakistan from New York. But first JetBlue will take me to Washington DC and from there Qatar Airways to Doha and then to Lahore.

I actually live near Washington DC. I was wondering, if instead of going to New York and come back from JetBlue, can I just simply go to Washington airport and get on the Qatar Airways directly?

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  • Is this one booking? Then most likely no, you must fly from NY.
    – mts
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 17:34
  • WHat do you mean by booking?
    – Talha
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 18:17
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    Does the ticket have one PNR/booking code? If yes, then you'd be likely required to take the first flight as it appears on your ticket (from NYC). If it's two separate bookings (one domestic, one international), you can easily skip the domestic and fly straight from D.C.
    – Marbles
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 19:02
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    Do NOT rely on PNR for this! When separate airlines are involved you can have one master PNR and separate PNRs for some/all individual flights - but missing the first flight will still cancel the ticket.
    – Doc
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 20:55

2 Answers 2

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No, you can't. When you miss the first flight, they will cancel your second flight and you will not fly that day.

The reason is because of the way airlines sell airfares. They competitively price market by market. For instance, NYC-Lahore is a fairly competitive city-pair, and they price lower to win your business away from, say, Emirates. Washington DC to Lahore is not as competitive and they have a more direct flight, so they can command higher prices. I am not saying prices are like this, but as a hypothetical example: 

   Lahore via Doha and Washington to NYC: Emirates $2000, Qatar $1900  
   Lahore via Doha to Washington: Emirates not offered, Qatar $2500

The smart consumer figured out to book to NYC instead of DC, then get off at DC and never take the DC-NYC hop... And save $600. Thre are websites to help you find deals like this. This is called "Hidden City ticketing". The airlines consider it a scam, and do everything possible to shut it down.

They can't do anything about the example I just gave. But in the other direction, you bet they can shut it down, and they do! If you don't board in NYC, they assume you are trying the hidden city "scam" and cancel the entire rest of your itinerary, including any return trip. And they use the same rules for all flights, even ones where "hidden city" gives no advantage.

So you must call them and get their consent to change your itinerary. This may (or may not) involve a repricing.

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No you can't, if this is all on one ticket/PNR. This is called hidden-city ticketing. If you miss the first flight, your seat on the second flight will likely be automatically released. (It may be held if there are other flights from your first airport that would arrive in time for your second one, but even in this case, you may still not be permitted to board.)

I'd suggest calling the airline and asking them if you can board at the second flight. If they say no, you'll either have to amend your ticket (likely at a cost) or you should just board at your original first airport.

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