If you’ve heard of the term skiplagging before, congratulations. You’re deep in travel hack territory.
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Skiplagging is a highly controversial way to book cheaper flights. To simplify, skiplagging is buying a cheap multi-stop flight with plans to get off halfway through. You look for cheap flights that have a connection at your destination, then, instead of reboarding during your layover, you head to your hotel or rental.
Let’s say you want to fly from New York City to Oklahoma City. Direct flights cost $500, but you see a flight from New York City to Austin, Texas that costs only $300… and has a stopover in Oklahoma City. Instead of booking the pricier direct flight, you book the cheaper flight to Austin with a layover—and instead of taking the last flight from OKC to Austin, you leave there and start your vacation.
Doesn’t sound so controversial, right? Turns out, it’s sort of illegal, and airlines have been going after some passengers for skiplagging. In fact, they’ve been trying for years to shut down a booking platform based solely on the art of skiplagging. Welcome to advanced travel hacks 101.
The art of skiplagging
Skiplagging is the same as hidden city fares. Hidden city fares were once the domain of savvy travel agents who needed to meet client budgets. However, as airfare prices started to climb post-pandemic, frequent flyers and travelers began hunting for travel hacks that offer true savings.
The hidden city phenomenon began to take off. Skiplagged, a platform dedicated to booking hidden city fares, took off (though it had been around for years). Rather than finding hidden city routes or relying on travel agents, everyday travelers could now find, book, and save on flights around the world.
The idea is simple—but the practice has raised legal concerns.
Is skiplagging illegal?
Skiplagged (the platform) first launched in 2013. By the next year, United Airlines filed a suit alleging ‘unfair competition’. In 2015, Orbitz joined the suit. Both proved futile, and the cases were dismissed. Skiplagged continued to offer lower fares—but not too many people knew about it prior to the pandemic.
Back in August 2023, American Airlines filed a suit against Skiplagged, calling its practices ‘deceptive and abusive’, per NPR. According to the airline, Skiplagged didn’t have the authority to issue tickets for American Airlines flights.
However, skiplagging is not illegal. Instead, airlines can bar passengers from booking hidden city fares. Today, American, Delta, United, and Southwest all have strict penalties for any passengers caught with ‘hidden city ticketing’.
If you’re caught booking skiplagged fares on these four airlines, you could have your tickets cancelled without any refund, have your frequent flyer miles or status revoked, be charged for the difference in fare to your destination, and be refused boarding. Again, skiplagging is not a criminal offense for which you can be charged under federal law.
How can you use skiplagging? And should you?
You can seek out hidden city fares or skiplagged fares all by yourself. Just look for cheap flights with a stopover in your preferred destination. You can also make life easier by shopping for hidden city fares directly on Skiplagged. The company recently sweetened its offers by adding a guarantee that covers route changes, ticket cancelation, and missed connections.
If you’re feeling a little conflicted about whether or not it’s ethical, know that airlines still have the right to overbook and bump you from a flight—for no reason other than an algorithm predicted a certain number of no-shows that proved to be incorrect.
So long as airlines have the right to bump passengers to sell out flights, I believe passengers have the right to also game the system. However, if you have elite status or frequent flyer points to use, you might not want to risk them to save a few hundred dollars on a flight.
