(CNN) — What would you do to save $500 on a flight? Some travelers use a practice called “skiplagging” to achieve this.
Skiplagging, also known as “hidden city tickets” or “throwaway tickets,” is a way for some travelers to bypass the often unintuitive ticket booking system and reduce the price of their travel.
Airlines sometimes charge more for direct flights than flights with one or more connecting cities. In this practice, travelers book cheaper flights with two or more stopovers instead of purchasing more expensive direct flights. But it’s a transit city, not the final city of the flight, it’s the “skiplagger’s” actual hidden destination.
The “skiplagger” departs from the airport connecting the city. To put it mildly, airlines don’t like this tactic. Passengers who do this may face penalties from the company. However, some passengers are willing to take the risk.
“Skier” Story
Amanda, a mother who works in marketing in Texas, flies frequently and has recently started doing so. He agreed to talk about his “escape” experience if CNN Travel would only publish his name.
Amanda said she has used Hidden City Tickets about 10 times in the past two years and estimates she has saved $3,000 to $4,000.
“I think I started about two years ago, right after the pandemic. I think companies started raising prices in 2021,” Amanda explained.doing Skip hysteresis“I pay a lot less, and I keep doing it.”
Amanda said she usually does this on international flights.
Currently, the airline does not appear to be aware of Amanda’s behavior. Worried about being discovered later?
“I hope not, because it helps me a lot,” he said. “I plan on doing another one” at the end of the month on an international flight.
To be clear, “skiing” is not a criminal offense.
“You’re not going to jail,” said Scott Keyes, founder of the travel website Going. “This is a breach of the airline’s contract of carriage, which means they believe it is a breach of the terms and conditions you agreed to when you purchased your flight.”
While airlines can’t jail offenders, Keyes said they can try to deter fare evaders, especially the more disrespectful repeat offenders, with stiff penalties, such as frequent flyer mileage reductions or even airline bans flights.
The practice of “jumping,” or buying flights to “hidden cities,” has been around for a long time, but the term has gained a lot of traction in the past decade. Photo credit: Pakphipat Charoenrach/Moment RF/Getty Images
The history and operation of “skiplagging”
Skiing is nothing new.
“Travel agents have actually been using it for years as a tool to save their clients money,” Phil Dengler, co-founder of travel website The Vacationer, explained in an email interview.
Dengler said the website Skiplagged.com has raised awareness of the practice over the past decade.
“The term ‘snowboarding’ has gradually replaced ‘hiding urban access’ as the most commonly used term to refer to the practice.”
“This could be considered the ghost of a modern airline flight, in that the airline waits for you in the seat you purchased,” Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and FlightAware spokesperson, said in an email interview. , but you never showed up.”
According to Bangs, this practice does not exist on direct flights, and he presented a hypothetical situation:
“Let’s say I want to fly from Minneapolis to Miami, and the fare is $500. Then I find out that if I book a flight from Minneapolis to Jacksonville, Florida, with a stop or a transfer in Miami, the ticket Price is only $350.”
“In this case, I could book a one-way flight, bring only my carry-on bag, not board the Miami-Jacksonville leg of my itinerary at all, and voila: I’m in Miami, where I wanted to be in the first place, and in the process I saved $150.”
Why airlines hate baggage hopping
Airlines despise this practice. Dengler explains why.
“Airlines don’t like overbound flights because they cost money. Connecting flights are usually cheaper than direct flights because airlines have a lower price cap,” he explains.
“Skipping the last leg guarantees an empty seat on the flight, which the airline can sell for more money to those who want to fly non-stop. Although the plane will be slightly lighter, the airline sees the fuel savings as Not worth it.” It. “The sale price of lost tickets.
“Additionally, the airline knows you’re on the first flight and you’re at the airport now. The gate agent may call you by name or delay the gate a little. In addition to losing money, this costs the airline Additional stress comes from staff.
Case said airlines operating a hub-and-spoke model operating flights from major airports to multiple destinations in all directions tend to be the most affected and therefore most concerned about springboard issues.
The practice of “fare evasion” violates many airlines’ contracts of carriage and can result in the loss of loyalty points. Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images
CNN Travel contacted seven major airlines with such aircraft for comment: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the United States, as well as Air Canada, British Airways, Emirates (Dubai) and Lufthansa (Germany).
Only American Airlines provided official comment, stating: “American’s Conditions of Carriage and Agency Agreement prohibit the practice of hiding city fares…if a passenger knowingly or unknowingly purchased a fare that was not included in the fare on your itinerary. Flying on all sectors may cause operational issues with checked baggage and prevent other passengers from booking seats in the event of emergency travel. Intentionally creating an empty seat that may be used by other passengers or team members is a completely negative outcome.
Air Canada, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines responded by referring to their contracts of carriage. Emirates did not comment, while British Airways and Lufthansa did not respond.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, which has defended passengers’ rights in the wake of canceled flights in recent years, did not specifically mention stowaways when asked for comment, saying only that “as we have demonstrated,” through our law enforcement, public Awareness and Regulatory Efforts Consumer protection is one of the Department’s top priorities. We will continue to review issues and respond as appropriate. “
Case said airlines maintain a delicate balance in combating crackdowns.
“They’re worried that if they give too many examples, if they emphasize this too much, it might backfire and make more people aware of how some people save money on flights.”
One travel expert said the approach created “too much trouble and stress” but some travelers were willing to take the risk. Photo credit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The consequences of “job hopping”
Case said he’s jumped on it a few times himself, noting that a New York Times ethicist wrote an op-ed about the practice.
Dengler warned against swimming in these waters.
“While skipping boarding is a way to save money on flights, I wouldn’t recommend it in most cases. It’s too complicated and stressful. Although if you don’t do it often, you might get away with it Get away with it, but your risk does exist. The airline will confiscate your miles, force you to pay the fare difference, and temporarily ban you from flying.
Back in Texas, Amanda was willing to take the risk because it was the only way she could fly out of the country as often as needed.
Air tickets now are “three times, sometimes five times more expensive than they were two or three years ago. So, you know, sometimes it’s just not possible to keep traveling.”