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I have booked a flight from AMS-FRA-YVR (Amsterdam to Frankfurt to Vancouver) and then back from YVR-FRA-AMS with Lufthansa.

What I really want is just the FRA-YVR portion as I live in Frankfurt, so on the way back I was just planning on leaving the airport in Frankfurt and missing the FRA-AMS portion. However, I am wondering if I call Lufthansa now and plead with them to cancel the AMS-FRA portion of the outbound flight if there is any chance of them doing this. Would be a pain to travel to Amsterdam from Frankfurt just to catch a flight right back there.

It is disgustingly cheaper to book from Amsterdam than direct from Frankfurt (like 75% cheaper). So ya, just wondering if anyone has had any luck with being straight up with the airline and asking them nicely to cancel a portion of the journey.

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    Without knowing or searching for it, I would guess it's the same with the flight to and back from the destination - The Ticket back is only valid as you took the flight to the destination - I would say you can only enter the plane in FRA as you checked in and flew from AMS.
    – Top Questions
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 10:46
  • You might not be able to board from FRA directly because you skipped the AMS-FRA leg.
    – Alic
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 16:36
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    The whole reason it is cheaper is that someone from AMS would hate to fly to FRA first, have a layover, and then continue. It is a waste of two to four hours each way, That is exactly the reason it is 75% cheaper - exactly enough cheaper to make it interesting again for someone in AMS.
    – Aganju
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 21:05
  • Try booking two one way tickets (does not have to be same carrier) and only do carry on.
    – Kevin
    Commented Mar 8, 2017 at 1:37

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It depends on the rate you have booked. If this rate allows a modification, then yes you'll be able to modify your bookings. The point is that you'll probably have to pay the difference as the ticket price should be higher based on what you have seen.

There is a good reason why the flights starting from Amsterdam are cheaper. Lufthansa wants to attract more traffic from Amsterdam to fill their intercontinental flights. So they offer discounted flights. On the other side, they don't have problems to fill flights with passengers from Frankfurt as it is more direct for you so you pay a higher bill.

This might not sound fair or logic but it makes sense from a business point of view. Indirect flights are usually cheaper and then, airline companies also offer higher discounts there to beat their competitors. If a passenger in Amsterdam has two options : one direct to Vancouver and one via Frankfurt, he will always pick the direct one if it is roughly the same price as the indirect one (unless he has some loyalty program benefits). So the indirect one has to be much cheaper...

So you got it for the price (you probably knew all this already). Now, will it be allowed for you to take the plane only in Frankfurt? I don't think so... Companies have strict policies around this to avoid people cheating the booking system to get lower rates. If you haven't checked in in AMS, there is 90% probability that you won't be able to check in in FRA directly without passing through AMS. For the return flight, it is a bit different. Nothing prevents you from getting out of the airport in Frankfurt.

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    Unless you've checked luggage, at which point you will have a bit of a problem if you decide to terminate your journey early.
    – Zach Lipton
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 11:07
  • So I shouldn't even bother calling them I guess?
    – sci-guy
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 11:09
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    Of course you can call them. It never hurts. Depending on the agent and the current policy, there might be some flexibility, you never know, it is always worth trying but the probability that they will help is low.
    – Laurent
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 11:29
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    If the OP is a No Show in Amsterdam, it is almost a certainty that the entirety of the ticket will be cancelled. The ONLY course of action to board in FRA is to rebook the ticket and pay the penalty. Or stick with what they bought.
    – user13044
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 13:44
  • @ZachLipton: I think you should weave this comment in answer. Leaving the airport at FRA is unlikely to work well with checked in luggage...
    – Matthieu M.
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 14:20

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