US work trip - flights/plans/accommodation etc.

[Beeblebrox237]

I'd discuss why I hate United so much, but... *shudders*

 

[Adamgp]

Personally, I don't think I have ever had a good experience with Delta.

 

[Barra333]

If you're connecting into somewhere out in the American (South)west, do whatever it takes to grab a window seat...you won't be disappointed at the view!

Couldn't agree more. I took this out of the window somewhere between Dallas and LA in February.

 

[Touring Mars]

This might be a really dumb question, but does anyone know if you can skip one leg of a flight?

My return flight from CA stops in New York - I was wondering if I can just board the flight in NY instead... or would that involve essentially booking a new flight altogether? Ideally I'd like to extend the stop-over in NY from a few hours to a few days - is that possible on a standard ticket/fare?

 

[Beeblebrox237]

I don't think you can skip the flight without getting heavily questioned by the TSA. How long is the layover? If it's over about 6 hours you could possibly check in online and then when they ask you why you're not already in the airport you can tell them that you wanted some fresh air or something.

If it was an EU flight I'd say it's probably fine, but the Americans aren't very forgiving of anything other than traveling by the book. Those guns aren't decorative...

 

[Touring Mars]

Yeh, I would have booked it differently if I could but because it's a work thing, and I'm claiming back the fare on expenses, I had to keep it simple.

I just wanted to avoid flying back to CA from New York, just to have to fly back to New York a couple of days later anyway, but it would keep things alot simpler if I just book my trip to New York as a completely separate thing that I'm paying for myself!

 

[Barra333]

This might be a really dumb question, but does anyone know if you can skip one leg of a flight?

My return flight from CA stops in New York - I was wondering if I can just board the flight in NY instead... or would that involve essentially booking a new flight altogether? Ideally I'd like to extend the stop-over in NY from a few hours to a few days - is that possible on a standard ticket/fare?

DO NOT SKIP A LEG.

If you don't show up for any portion of your itinerary, the rest of it is cancelled by the airline. It is nothing to do with the TSA.

I know someone who missed an outbound flight last weekend due to a 3hr delay on a ferry. She had to fork out €100 for a last minute overnight train from Amsterdam to somewhere in Germany, then when she tried to use the return leg, the airline said that it was cancelled when she didn't show for the first flight.

 

[Crash]

This might be a really dumb question, but does anyone know if you can skip one leg of a flight?

My return flight from CA stops in New York - I was wondering if I can just board the flight in NY instead... or would that involve essentially booking a new flight altogether? Ideally I'd like to extend the stop-over in NY from a few hours to a few days - is that possible on a standard ticket/fare?

You can't skip legs, especially if it's the first leg.

You miss the first leg, your ticket gets voided, and subsequent legs will not include you on it, even if you show up.

You could skip the last leg, but you're not supposed to do so, though I'm not sure what the consequences are other than you don't get the frequent flyer mileage.

If you really don't want to lose the time to fly back to CA from NY, you could try to find a red-eye flight and just sleep on the plane?

 

[phillgt2002]

I actually enjoy red-eye flights.

Since CA to NY is around 6 hours non-stop, it'll be a nice time to envy the sunrise.

 

[Crash]

Hope you're all settled in and enjoying California and freedom the US.

Just want to give you a heads up that you should keep an eye out for Cars and Coffee and other like events down in SoCal. There used to be a huge one in Irvine that got shut down apparently due to noise and hooliganism, but there are smaller ones and other car shows popping up here and there.

At least at the old C&C Irvine, some pretty rare cars would come out for them.

 

[Touring Mars]

Thanks for the tip @Crash - it looks like I will have plenty of free time at the weekends so any suggestions are most welcome!

I have settled in to CA life very nicely - probably a bit too comfortably if I'm being honest...

 

[Touring Mars]

So I'm going to be arriving in New York tomorrow night, and will be in town until Saturday... I can't wait

I've had loads of great suggestions and I already have a list of places I would like to visit, but does anyone have any specific recommendations for nice places to eat and/or bars/locations that a solo traveller might be able to sample the nightlife and atmosphere of NYC?