Is This Airfare Hack Worth the Risk? What to Know About 'Skiplagging'
As the peak summer travel season winds down, the so-called "shoulder season" has begun. With school back in session, flexible travelers can find cheap fares to help them soak up the last of the summer sun — especially if they're willing to experiment with methods like skiplagging.
The booking site Skiplagged boasts that it can save flyers hundreds of dollars on plane tickets with that travel hack, also called hidden-city ticketing. To that end, the company's website promises to "show you flights the airlines don’t want you to see."
But is skiplagging a smart financial deicsion?
In an interview with Money, Skiplagged CEO Aktarer Zaman argues the service is "useful for anyone that wants to say money" but acknowledges its limitations — including that you have to fly "backpack-only." (Otherwise, your baggage would be sent to the wrong place.)
Here's the general idea: Say you live in city A and want to travel to city B. With Skiplagged, you book a ticket to a third city, city C, that connects in city B. You never board the final leg of the trip, simply getting off at the connection point (city B). You save money because the airfare to city C is actually cheaper than a flight to city B.
How hidden-city ticketing works
Why is it even possible to save money booking travel this way? Henry Harteveldt, president and travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, explains that "Skiplagged has found a way to monetize some of the frankly illogical realities of airline pricing."
Basically, yes, it can be cheaper to add an extra flight to an itinerary than to take a direct route. This phenomenon occurs due to differences in demand from destination to destination or various levels of airline competition for certain routes, Harteveldt says.
"There is absolutely no logic to it [airfare pricing]," Harteveldt says. "It can cost more to fly further than shorter distances."
The hidden-city ticketing concept has been around for at least 25 years, but Zaman is credited with popularizing it. Skiplagged, launched in 2013, now reports that thousands of people book flights with the platform every month. The controversial service is still a frequent topic of discussion on travel blogs and forums.
The consequences of skiplagging flights
Skiplagged's search tool can help users find savings with hidden flights, but the consequences could be severe. Airlines typically don't like travelers to take advantage of hidden-city ticketing because it's against their terms and conditions and can cost them money. If an airline identifies an individual on a hidden-city ticket, it may take action.
"The risk to the consumer is this: If the airline catches you, they could potentially demand you compensate them the extra fare … If you belong to the airline's loyalty program, they could potentially close your account," Harteveldt says. "It is not something I would advise that anybody use because the risks of the penalties — should you be caught — are quite substantial."
Zaman, however, says his critics are exaggerating Skiplagged's risks.
"I've never heard of anyone actually being banned," he adds. "According to our own data from hundreds of thousands of Skiplagging customers… the success rate is quite literally almost 100%."
Skiplagged itself makes money from service fees, which showed up as 10% of the fare in one of Money's tests. The company says the fee "allows us to offer Skiplagged Guarantee and operate the Skiplagged platform." That guarantee reimburses customers for alternate travel in the case of rare issues, such as when airlines reroute flights or cancel tickets.
Skiplagged vs. the airlines
Skiplagged has been sued by airlines including United (2014), Southwest (2021) and American (2023).
The lawsuit from American, for example, alleged that "Skiplagged action's constitute tortious interference, breach of the AA.com terms of use, trademark infringement, copyright infringement and other violations." While the company says it has defeated the airlines, that's not the full story. Litigation is still ongoing, and Skiplagged has already been ordered to pay serious fines.
As to whether skiplagging will actually get you banned, the answer is dubious.
A representative for Delta Airlines confirms to Money that its policies prohibit "hidden city/point beyond ticketing," which it defines as "the purchase or usage of a fare from a point before the passenger's actual origin or to a point beyond the passenger's actual destination." The policy states that "Delta reserves the right to cancel any unused portion of the passenger’s ticket, void any remaining value of the unused portion of the ticket, refuse to let the passenger board or check bags, and/or, if the passenger is permitted to board, charge the passenger the Applicable Full Fare."
Southwest also points to a document banning the practice of "purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to gain lower fares (hidden cities)." Like Delta, Southwest says it could take action such as cancelling reservations that "it believes, in its sole discretion, were made without intent to travel" or "charg[ing] the customer for what the ticket would have cost if the customer hadn’t engaged in a prohibited practice."
That means the risk — but also the potential reward — is yours.
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