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Yes, a strange thread title, I know.
But if you have booked a BA flight that includes a stop somewhere. For example, London – Antigua – Aruba. Can you get off at Antigua if you are hand baggage only? One way ticket only.
Why would you want to do that?
But my guess is no because you wouldn’t have authorisation to enter Antigua.*Well – you could probably get off the plane but as you wouldn’t have a ticket to Antigua, you’d probably be turned away at immigration.
On similar routes, e.g. LHR-NAS-GCM, there’s usually an announcement that people who booked to GCM shouldn’t leave the aircraft.
People usually do this – skiplagging – to benefit from a cheaper fare than would otherwise be available to the intermediate stop. It shouldn’t create an immigration issue as long as the person meets the requirements to enter the earlier stop off city/country.
It will upset the airline and while US/Canadian airlines can pursue these cases quite aggressively, European airlines are less interested and if it’s a one way ticket, they have less leverage. However, there’s no way of knowing in advance if you might get blacklisted even if they are probably going to struggle to pursue you for any fare difference or costs.
For the route you suggest, there won’t be an issue at all as long as you are able to enter Antigua. Obviously if it was a return ticket any further sectors would be cancelled. Probably better to tell the crew what you’re doing (possibly once you’re safely off the plane!) if not all passengers are disembarking.
If you are planning to do a more traditional “drop the last leg” on an ex-EU booking then as long as you book it directly with BA then you’ll be fine, but BA have gone after travel agents in the past where passengers have skipped the last leg.
The difference is that ex-EUs are much cheaper than ex-LHR, so BA are losing out if you end at LHR on the way back. Missing the 5th freedom sector of a one way wouldn’t be seen to have the same impact.
Antigua won’t have any API for the OP, though, which I still think might cause an issue.
As noted, there’s no obvious benefit to skip lagging on this route, unless OP has currently got a ticket to Aruba and has just changed their mind about going there!
Antigua won’t have any API for the OP, though, which I still think might cause an issue.
As noted, there’s no obvious benefit to skip lagging on this route, unless OP has currently got a ticket to Aruba and has just changed their mind about going there!
The API wouldn’t be an issue; you simply need to meet the entry requirements for Antigua. A common scenario (as highlighted in another thread this week) would be a passenger having API of one passport in their booking but using a different passport to enter a country. BA can’t hold passengers captive!
As for fares and or any potential skiplagging benefit, I haven’t looked at the matrix for this route, but it wouldn’t be uncommon on multi-stop routes to see higher fares for intermediate stops vs the final destination. It’s far from automatic that a longer journey costs more and flights to different markets are sold in different ways.
The distribution of reward seats between destinations on routes with intermediate stops can also mean that seats are available for the full journey but not to an intermediate one or for each individual sector but not the full journey.
Antigua appears to require API for anyone on an arriving aircraft anyway, but I doubt the lack of API would impede your entry, the worst that would happen is probably that BA gets fined
Antigua appears to require API for anyone on an arriving aircraft anyway, but I doubt the lack of API would impede your entry, the worst that would happen is probably that BA gets fined
I’m sure BA would pass the fine on to you.
I thought BA check boarding passes as you leave the plane.
At NAS they are definitely very specific that non-Bahamas pax should not leave the plane, let alone try to enter Bahamas. Otherwise it would be a nice little leg stretch during the time on the ground, and would also make it easier for the cleaning crew! We were once delayed departing by 3 hours when a private jet crash landed on the runway and only cabin crew were allowed to step outside.
I do know that they couldn’t physically keep you on board, but that implies to me that NAS immigration would take a very dim view of anyone presenting themselves unexpectedly and such a person would be directed back to BA to complete their journey!
I’ve never noticed whether they specifically check the boarding passes of disembarking pax. They do carry out a sweep of the plane and match all remaining hand baggage with the remaining passengers, But I think that’s a security measure more than anything.
I was recently asked “Is that your final destination?”. Watch the film… Didn’t want to get on the flight?!
Even the gate agent laughed, but then she wasn’t boarding… 🤔
@NorthernLass – are you suggesting that an immigration officer is reconciling arriving passengers vs the flight manifest when you present at the immigration desk?
The reason you are warned not to get off in NAS is not because it would present a problem if you got off as booked or not booked, but if you did wish to continue to GCM, you might not be able to board again.
I have not seen BA check boarding cards of disembarking or remaining passengers at GIG or GRU (when the flight continues to EZE) but the new crew carries out both a reconciliation of passengers and their hand luggage before the joining passengers can board.
On a QR flight DOH-ADL-AKL everyone was required to disembark at ADL and once well inside the airport, continuing passengers went one way and were handed a transfer card, leaving passengers went the other way to immigration. No questions asked or boarding card check at that point.
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