With airfare costs rising, some price-conscious travelers are getting creative—and risking disrupted travel plans—to nab cheap flights. One of the more controversial hacks used by budget fliers today is called “skiplagging,” also known as hidden-city or beyond-point tickets. They all mean the same thing: booking a multi-city flight with a layover in your desired destination, and skipping the second leg of the trip.
Why would this be cheaper than booking a direct flight? “Airlines make more money off pricing by market as opposed to distance,” Aktarer Zaman, who created the site Skiplagged in 2013 to help travelers find these fares, tells Condé Nast Traveler. The savings can be significant; according to Zaman, travelers who use Skiplagged save an average of 47%, or about $180 per flight.
While the tactic is not illegal, airlines are against the practice. Many ban it in their contract of carriage, which is a legally binding contract between an airline and its passengers that you automatically agree to whenever you purchase a ticket.
If you’re caught skiplagging, “some airline terms and conditions state that passengers could be permanently banned from flying in the future with that airline, or that the airline might take legal action against the passenger,” says NerdWallet travel expert Sally French. “Someone who flies once a year might try this tactic, but be unaware of the risks or nuances.”
According to Zaman, Skiplagged’s data shows that less than 0.1% of travelers have encountered issues with airlines. However, it’s still a possibility.
If you do decide to take the risks associated with skiplagging, Zaman suggests a few strategies to avoid complications: First, book one-way tickets so the return trip doesn’t get canceled when you skip the second leg. Second, if you book a flight with an international destination, be sure to bring your passport even if you don’t intend to get off abroad, as it may get checked during boarding. Third, if you can, only travel with a personal item in case the airline starts gate-checking carry-on bags, which would then be routed to the final destination. Finally, he advises not to use the practice too often in a short time frame with a single airline to avoid being flagged.
“At the end of the day, we believe travelers deserve full transparency when booking flights,” Zaman says of his site, Skiplagged. “Airlines will always try to maximize profits, but we’re focused on helping consumers find the best deals and keep more money in their pockets by showing all possible routes to a destination.”
With the practice being prohibited by most major carriers, we reached out to US airlines to get their official policies on hidden-city booking, summarized below. If you’re considering skiplagging or purchasing a hidden-city fare, it’s a good idea to read through your airline’s contract of carriage to understand possible repercussions and legal risks at the time of your purchase, as their policies may be updated.
Condé Nast Traveler does not endorse the practice. Breeze, Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines have not responded to our inquiries.
Alaska Airlines
Highlighting Rule 7 of its contract of carriage, the Seattle-based carrier tells Traveler that it “prohibits practices such as throwaway, hidden city, and beyond-point ticketing.” If discovered, the ticket will be invalidated, with remaining flight segments canceled or confiscated, including previously refundable tickets.
Additionally, the airline can assess “the actual remaining value of the ticket,” which will likely be even more than the difference between the multi-city fare you paid and a direct flight to your intended destination. Alaska also says it can delete points from its Atmos Rewards frequent flyer program, and terminate the traveler’s participation. It goes as far to say the carrier could “take legal action with respect to the passenger,” noting that once a prohibited ticketing tactic is used, the airline is no longer liable for getting you or your bags to your final destination.
American Airlines
The carrier says it prohibits skiplagging because it “can lead to operational issues with checked bags and prevent other customers from booking a seat when they may have an urgent need to travel,” leading to an “all-around bad outcome.”
