The practice of booking a flight with a layover city and not intending to travel the complete trip is known as skiplagging. Sometimes it is referred to as “hidden-city” or “throwaway” ticketing. Recently, a North Carolina teenager was detained at a Florida airport for using this flight hack and violating American Airlines’ policy. The teenager had booked a ticket from Gainesville to New York JFK with a stop in Charlotte, but he only intended to travel to Charlotte. The indirect ticket terminating at JFK was cheaper than a direct trip to North Carolina, so he booked that fare with the intention of skiplagging. A gate agent in Florida became suspicious when they noticed the teenager had a North Carolina driver’s license, as it was his first time traveling alone.
Skiplagging involves buying a cheaper flight option with a layover and not completing the entire trip. Instead of getting on the second flight, the traveler simply takes their carry-on suitcase and leaves the airport. This method can help book a flight for a lot cheaper than booking a ticket to the desired destination. However, it is important to note that this practice will not work for travelers who want to travel with checked baggage. The luggage is tagged to the final destination listed on the ticket.
There is a flight-booking website called Skiplagged.com that alerts travelers to these deals based on their preferred airport and destination. The website helps expose inefficiencies in airline pricing, such as hidden-city options, to find deals that can’t be found elsewhere. In 2015, United Airlines filed a lawsuit against Skiplagged’s founder for promoting “strictly prohibited” travel and “unfair competition.” However, the lawsuit was thrown out because the founder did not live or do business in the area where the lawsuit was filed.
Even with airlines adding barriers to make it harder to skiplag, it is still possible depending on one’s risk tolerance and if it’s not done frequently with the same airline.