What is a thru flight?

HobokensFury

I'm starting to research flights to San Diego this summer for Comic Con.  So far the cheapest one I found includes a thru flight.  I have no idea what that is. I googled it and it says it's a stop without changing planes. Does that mean it just stops to pick up more passangers and we stay on the plane, same seats and all or do we have to get off and reboard?  Sorry but I've never heard of this before.  Does anyone have any experience?

Maggie0829

A tip with this kind of flight.  If you are flying Southwest where you aren't assigned a seat, when you make the stop and the passengers that need to get off get off and before the new passengers board, grab your carry-on and move up towards the front (if you aren't already there).  That way when you get to your final destination you will be able to get off the plane quicker

lyndausvi

I've been on thru flights where I've had to disembark before.  We got to keep our same seats and even leave our bags , but we still had to leave the plane.   I've been on other ones where we didn't get of the plane.

allychase

Huh. I always thought when a plane stops everyone had to get off and back on. I never heard of this

emeejeeayen

I did this once on a flight from SFO to JFK. We stopped in Las Vegas. I think it was about an hour, so I just slept in my row. 

Peavy

If you haven't already booked hotel, do it right away.  You can always cancel if you don't go, but it will be harder to get hotel the longer you wait.  Many hotels have a three or four night minimum.  The hotels sell out quickly, and you could end up staying 30 miles away.  Make sure to verify the hotel's cancellation policy in case you don't go.

Maggie0829

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_what-is-a-thru-flight?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:a43833f5-293a-4ff2-8c6a-b1c0f9c0d17bPost:745566f3-166c-49b1-b829-75dc52a1604c">Re: What is a thru flight?</a>:
[QUOTE]Huh. I always thought when a plane stops everyone had to get off and back on. I never heard of this
Posted by allychase[/QUOTE]

Nope.  I have been on quite a few thru flights where the people who had to keep going till their final destination stayed on the plane while the other passengers luggage was removed/added and the refreshments restocked and trash disposed of.

I had actually never heard of a flight where if you weren't changing planes where you had to get off the plane until today.  How would that work?  Do they let you keep your boarding pass after they scan it so you still have a boarding pass to get back on?

HobokensFury

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_what-is-a-thru-flight?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:a43833f5-293a-4ff2-8c6a-b1c0f9c0d17bPost:67b61125-b4a5-43dd-80a9-fd8931db3f2a">Re: What is a thru flight?</a>:
[QUOTE]If you haven't already booked hotel, do it right away.  You can always cancel if you don't go, but it will be harder to get hotel the longer you wait.  Many hotels have a three or four night minimum.  The hotels sell out quickly, and you could end up staying 30 miles away.  Make sure to verify the hotel's cancellattion policy in case you don't go.
Posted by Peavy[/QUOTE]

We actually booked a hotel through CCI because they pretty much have the entire town of San Diego blocked off so you can't get a hotel from anywhere else without paying over $500 a night.

lyndausvi

Maggie - yes, you get off with your boarding pass.  They just scan you back in when it's time to reboad.

Now that I think about it, this was before 9/11, so maybe it's different now?   I'm so "old" I remember when you could met people at the gate and take liquids in your carry on.   Actually I've taken a case of beer in my carry-on. 

HobokensFury

Thanks for the help. We decided to go with united because we had a $300 airline credit from last year when they ruined our luggage.  I learned something new about flying from kayak.com today.  They saved us $60 each by booking the flights as 2 one way tickets instead of a round trip ticket.  So we got 2 plane ticket to San Diego for $500! That's less than we paid for 1 ticket last year. Only downside is are not direct flights but I can't complain for the price.

HobokensFury

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_what-is-a-thru-flight?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:a43833f5-293a-4ff2-8c6a-b1c0f9c0d17bPost:d1ab85aa-fb2f-4deb-9986-e10317f15a4a">Re: What is a thru flight?</a>:
[QUOTE]Hoboken, do you have the United VISA card?  It is free for the first year, and you don't have to pay baggage fees if you book directly through United (same price as other "discount" sites) and pay with the card.  My DH is getting a free flight for our next cruise because of this, and we aren't even frequent fliers.  For the two of us, flying round trip anywhere, we save $100 just in those baggage fees!
Posted by CMGr[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to look into getting one.