A German high court has handed consumers a big win, affirming that passengers may skip flight segments when plans change unexpectedly as long as they intended to fly the full ticket at the time of booking. The circumstances surrounding this case, particularly as it involves an overzealous Lufthansa flight attendant, are quite ironic. Several readers have asked me to address this, so here is my take.
German Court Rules You Can Skip Segments on Airline Tickets (Even If The Lufthansa Crew Reports You!)
A recent case involving a top-tier Lufthansa flyer showed just how aggressive airlines can be when passengers skip segments, but how it all backfired for the German flag carrier.
In April 2025, the passenger booked a journey from Greece to Saudi Arabia via Germany. Mid-trip, a family emergency forced him to reroute. He flew from Riyadh (RUH) to Frankfurt (FRA), then flew separately to Düsseldorf (DUS) instead of continuing the original ticket to Athens (ATH). Onboard the flight from Saudi Arabia to Frankfurt, a flight attendant apparently learned of his changed plans and reported him to Lufthansa revenue integrity (let’s call her Gladys Kravitz). A few weeks later, he received a bill for €414. Lufthansa claimed he had underpaid based on their fare rules (because the direct flight back to Frankfurt cost more than going to Greece via Frankfurt, a typical nuance of airline ticketing that charges a premium for nonstop flights).
Rather than just pay, he challenged it via his attorney, Dr. Matthias Böse (I’ve written about two Lufthansa lawsuits he has spearheaded in the past, with links below).
> Read More: Lufthansa Faces Lawsuit After Booting Passenger From First Class Seat
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The case landed with the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), Germany’s highest civil court. Even though Luthasna ultimately backed down in order to avoid such a ruling (it tried to argue the issue was moot because it stopped trying to collect the €414), the BGH delivered a strong ruling for passengers:
“The imposition of a payment obligation for passengers who, at the time of concluding the contract, intended to use the full service and have changed their plans due to subsequently discovered circumstances, is not justified by the legitimate interests of the defendant.
“Circumstances that only come to light after the conclusion of the contract and lead to the passenger changing their plans have no influence on the decision to conclude the contract and therefore do not pose a significant threat to the continued existence of the special pricing structure.”
In short: you can skip segments without penalty if at booking time you planned to fly the full itinerary but circumstances later forced a change. The result is that forced re-pricing or surcharge demands for skipped segments are, at least for German consumers, officially over.
Lufthansa even updated its contract of carriage to reflect the new reality. Under Section 3.3.4, the airline now concedes that if your plans change due to illness, force majeure, or other unexpected reasons, you will not be penalized for skipping legs. The caveat is that you should notify them as soon as possible and provide proof for the change.
“If you have chosen a fare that requires observance of a fixed ticket sequence, please note that if carriage is not used on all individual legs or not used in the sequence specified on the ticket, with otherwise unchanged travel data, we will recalculate the airfare in accordance with your amended routing. This does not apply if your travel plans simply change or if you are prevented, due to force majeure, illness or for another reason for which you are not responsible, from commencing carriage on all legs, or on individual legs in the order indicated on the flight ticket. Whenever possible, kindly notify us of the reasons for such changes as soon as you become aware of them.”
(though One Mile At A Time points out this only applies to residents of Germany and Austria, right now)
Legal Analysis
This ruling sets up an important precedent for travelers in Germany: you have flexibility. If you book a multi-leg itinerary but must skip a segment later, you will not automatically face a bill or have remaining segments canceled, provided your change of plans was genuine and documented (proving intent will be very hard for Lufthansa).
Airlines have long used multi-segment pricing as leverage over travelers. You receive a discount because you agreed to the sequence of flights and if you later do not fly one segment, they penalize you. The BGH has now recognized that life happens and that punishing travelers for a change in circumstances is unfair.
In the past, the law leaned in favor of carriers, even when passengers were acting reasonably. Now the court has rebalanced that power. Lufthansa’s attempt to collect €414 from a loyal flyer has instead set a precedent that will benefit all travelers forced to change plans after booking.
For frequent travelers who often hold complex itineraries, this ruling adds practical flexibility. It is a reminder that airlines do not get to unilaterally rewrite the deal after the fact simply because circumstances changed and supports the notion (implicitly, not explicitly) that if you A + B and only use A, you cannot be charged more.
Whether this becomes a broader precedent remains to be seen, though I suspect at some point this option will go beyond the borders of Germany and Austria.
CONCLUSION
If you hold a ticket with multiple segments and you must skip a leg for reasons beyond your control, the latest court ruling offers a standing defense in Germany. Skip the segment, but keep your documentation. In a world where airlines monetize every corner, this is a major wis for consumer travel rights and I applaud the court’s decision and commend Dr. Böse for another fine case.
image: Lufthansa
Can we please get some of these ‘courts’ in the USA, too?
Seems nice, you know, like when consumers don’t get screwed by the mega-corps.
While I’m certainly pleased that Lufthansa got the FAFO they earned, I’m still curious how this works in practical terms when you miss a segment in the middle of an itinerary. Do you just call them up and say sorry I can’t make this flight so cancel that but leave the rest alone?
We will see, but it seems that way.
That is exactly the case. Similar rules exist with a POS in Italy.
“the passenger booked a journey from Greece to Saudi Arabia via Germany”
You mean to Greece from Saudi Arabia.
I wonder if Mattias Böse advertises that he is willing to take on Lufthansa for potential clients?
No, it was a r/t ticket originating in Greece. The return from KSA is where the segment was skipped.
As I said elsewhere, what’s wrong with that Greek. Malaka, don’t go to KSA, generally, but, if you must, don’t route through Germany. Finally, Hellas pays its debts, yet, he gives the creditors more money. Oof.
Just a reminder: the exact name of the lawyer in question is Dr. Matthias Böse…
Influential phrase → “Skip the segment, but keep your documentation.”
Does not the balance of the itinerary cancel (once a segment is unflown) by AI or some automatic method? I just can’s see some human (agent) catching this mid-stream and that the passenger has to hurry or rush to call the airline and hope to get a human that can restore the balance of the itinerary……IF THEY EVEN KNOW HOW/ ARE TRAINED TO DO THIS.
As well, once auto-generated cancellation, it messes up the actual price of the ticket necessitating rebooking and reticketing to either honor the original fare or reprice for partial refund. Sort of like trying to “uncancel” a cancelled check. Sorry if this sounds confusing, my old ticketing days with UAL is kicking in. I suppose one could put in a claim for a full or partial refund with the airline after the trip is completed and hope for the best ???
No refund would be due in these circumstances, because only buying a ticket as far as FRA would’ve been more expensive.
The issue would arise when missing any other segment. I think that the most likely outcome is the passenger would hit a brick wall trying to reinstate the remaining itinerary, then buy another ticket from another airline and write to the offending carrier asking reimbursement for the cost of that.
It’s anyone’s guess whether/when the reimbursement will be processed by customer service or whether it’ll have to turn into a legal claim before a grown-up decides they’re going to lose the case.
@Matthew — my understanding is that the HON settled with LH prior to the case proceeding to court. The judgment came in a similar case involving the Verbraucherzentrale not the HON. Regardless, it’s a reasonable win for (German and Austrian) supporters.
*consumers not supporters