Will we be in danger of being arrested if my family just get off in Glasgow,surely they would have to remove our luggage from the plane also.

Yes, I would think that there would be a very good chance that you would be in danger of getting arrested if you just try and disembark at Glasgow. What a perfect ruse for a terrorist attack that scenario could be! Imagine it - you'll have been checked through to Manchester as per your ticket as will your bag. You just get up and get off the plane in Manchester and your bags - or anything else you've left on the plane - carries on without you. Or you get off and then inform the authorities there that you'd also like your luggage retrieved please and they have to take the decision to either hold the plane up and go rummaging for your luggage (which will have been stowed with all the baggage destined for Manchester) or else let it stay on the plane and take it to Manchester without you? They are unlikely to let the bags go onto Manchester without you but if I was another passenger I think that I'd get pretty disgruntled at being held up while all this went on.

This is not to say that I don't agree with you that it ought to be possible to go Manchester - Las Vegas - Glasgow but I think that you'd be foolhardy to try and do it without this being agreed in advance with the airline. Also, how are you propsing to get down to Manchester? This scenario works if you are taxing/using public transport at both ends of the trip but not if you were planning on driving down!

SM

Hi thanks for reply,we were going to get a lift to manchester from a friend,seems strange that airline wont change booking when we have given them 4 months notice,the tickets havent been printed never mind issued.
I certainly shall not run the risk of getting family arrested at airport by getting off plane but i do wonder how many more people will be on the same flight who take the opportunity to get off in Glasgow.Are you in a position to tell me of any organisation i can contact who may be able to help me further or will i be fighting a losing battle against airline.
Don.

who are you flying with? Seems a very strange scenario. Is it the airline or travel agent who is saying that you must return to the airport you flew from. You may of course have to pay a fee to make changes.

Hi we are booked to go with Thomas Cook.

It is a thomas cook charter flight

I hope for your sake that nobody does try and get off in Glasgow if they've been checked through to Manchester! I can't help with suggestions as to who you could take this up with and this probably isn't the best forum for checking out the information you need because as yet you don't really have a complaint - the airline is still providing you with exactly what you booked, that is a return flight from Manchester to Las Vegas and back. I would suggest that you post your query in the Airlines/Flight only thread as a number of people who have access to information that isn't generally available about aircraft movements are regulars there.

I would think that they would need the following information:

Tour Operator/ Travel Agent (if any) that you booked with,
Whether it's part of a package or you booked direct,
the name of the airline,
Whether it's a Charter or Scheduled service (if you know),
Flight times and flight number for both your original booking and the amended details if now different,
Dates of both inbound and outbound flights,
Arrival and departure times for both your original flights and the amended flights if different.

If they were consolidating flights I would have expected the outbound flight to have also embarked passengers at both Manchester and Glasgow if the return flights are doing that but this appears not to be the case. One question to ask of the airline is 'Where did the people who will be disembarking in Glasgow on the return flight start their journey from?' And it's important to note that sometimes 'open jaw' tickets with scheduled airlines (ie returning to a different airport than the one you left from) are possible but depending on the airline can cost you a lot more than a straightforward return. Did they say that you couldn't return to Glasgow full stop or that you couldn't do it on the type of ticket that you had without re-booking at extra cost?

SM

PS Having just seen your more recent replies I think that the fact that it is a charter rather than a scheduled flight could be significant.

was about to say the same as Sma. Thomas Cook won't do open jaw tickets. Whilst I feel for you, I really don't think there is much you can do.

you could always stage an illness/faint etc which happens to come on as you land in Glasgow...................

In all seriousness, you will just have to sit tight I think to Manchester

Thank you for your replies,i will let you know how i get on.

Unless you want your belongings destroyed/confiscated then you'll be best staying on till Manchester. There is always a nice word in the check in agents ear though.... a few years ago I operated a flight with the same scenario ( I work for the airline ), and approx 23 pasengers got off in Glasgow after enquiring with the check in staff if they could just ticket their bags to Glasgow instead of Manchester, the airline itself were happy about it, as it meant no delays for the people staying on the aircraft if others took it into their own hands and just got off.
A nice polite request with lots of pleases and thankyous will get you a long way in the world of aviation, not guaranteeing it will work, but god loves a tryer...

Many thanks butterchicken.

Don 888,

As the plane is dropping people off at Glasgow then their luggage must be put to one side from the Manchester passengers to enable easy access,so why not ask T.C. do put your luggage with theirs.

Is that to easy or am I missing something.

Good luck.

There will be no danger of anyone getting arrested or baggage destroyed. I operated a similar flight on a fortnightly basis upto a couple of years ago and all that happened was the flight got massively delayed and the customers baggage got delivered to their house a day or two later.

That being said, what others have said in asking the check in agent to load your bags accordingly should work i've done this myself.

Please think of others on the flight - none of this is their fault.

Just take your luggage back in bags that will fit in the overhead lockers so you don't have any to check in. Then you don't need to worry about leaving any bags behind or causing delays.

Go with nothing and buy in Las Vegas so you don't have so much to bring back