Sick of sky-high vacation costs, travelers are increasingly resorting to a crafty money-saving hack known as ‘skiplagging.’
The practice sees vacationers book a flight with a layover- which is actually their intended destination – and then skip the connecting journey. Some advocates swear it has helped them save hundreds of dollars on a trip.
So it’s little wonder the aviation industry is fighting back. American Airlines recently detained a teenage boy at an airport after finding he had tried to ‘skiplag’ his flight.
And in 2018 German airline Lufthansa attempted to sue a passenger who tried to implement the hack. Meanwhile Southwest Airlines also launched a failed lawsuit against ‘Skiplagged,’ a site which advertises the best deals.
The backlash is so fierce that Skiplagged now has a warning on its site not to use the hack too frequently – because airlines might penalize them by canceling their return flight or wiping their loyalty miles.
But why exactly are firms so desperate to clamp down on the hack? The practice is perfectly legal and experts insist there are no security risks.
Skiplagged.com offers the ‘skiplagged’ rates between destinations and calculates how much you can save by implementing the travel hack
Aviation security expert Arnold Barnett, a professor at MIT Sloan, told Dailymail.com: ‘Skiplagging poses no violation of any laws and I don’t see how skiplagging can create a security issue.
‘If a passenger checks a bag to the final destination and then fails to board the connecting flight, that could present risk. But no rational person who boards in Florida headed for Charlotte would check a “skiplagged” bag for New York.’
Here Dailymail.com explains everything you need to know about the controversial travel hack.
How does skiplagging work?
To skiplag, a passenger books a flight from Point A to Point B with a stopover at their actual required destination.
The traveler then abandons the last leg of their journey and remains in the city which was supposed to be their layover.
For example, instead of flying directly from Newark to Los Angeles, the traveler could book a ticket from Newark to Salt Lake City, Utah, which has a layover in L.A.
How much can it save – and why is the total flight cheaper?
Some customers claim to have saved hundreds on journeys by implementing the hack.
On Skiplagged, a flight from San Francisco to London, United Kingdom, with a layover in Lisbon, Portugal next April costs $265.
By comparison, a direct flight from San Francisco to London would cost $375 saving the customer $110. Surprisingly it also works out quicker.
The Skiplagged journey is available from airline TAP Portugal and takes 11 hours and five minutes in total to get from San Francisco to Lisbon.
But if you were to search and book a trip from San Francisco to Lisbon the cheapest option would be with Vueling – for $375 – and would take 16 hours and 25 minutes including a stop in Barcelona.
Skiplaggers stand to save $110 on a trip from San Francisco to Lisbon in April 2024, Skiplagged claims
The skiplagged journey is available from airline TAP Portugal and takes 11 hours and five minutes in total to get from San Francisco to Lisbon
But if you were to search and book a trip from San Francisco to Lisbon the cheapest option would be with Vueling – for $575 – and would take 16 hours and 25 minutes including a stop in Barcelona
Another example is a trip from Newark to Seoul, South Korea, in October which would normally cost $770.
Travelers can shave off $173 off the price by booking a flight from Newark to Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, with a layover in Seoul.
The skiplagged trip is with Delta Airlines and it would take 21 hours and 21 minutes to travel to make it to Seoul.
By comparison, a direct flight with Air Prema from Newark to Seoul would take just 14 hours and 55 minutes – but would cost $896.
The practice highlights the outrageousness of flight pricing algorithms.
Costs for journeys are often based on the popularity of the destination rather than the length of the journey – hence why a trip requiring two flights can actually work out cheaper.
What’s more, larger airports – in prime destinations such as JFK in New York and Chicago O’Hare – function as ‘hubs’ for long journeys meaning they are common layover stops.
For instance, in the Newark-Los Angeles-Utah example, Los Angeles is a more popular destination than Utah which is why the Utah trip is less expensive – despite being further away.
However customers should be aware that they cannot check a bag if they do implement the hack – because it will continue onto the end destination. And because airlines hate it so much, there’s every chance you could be met by security at your gate if they suspect you are guilty of the hack.
Meanwhile travelers can also shave off $173 off the price by booking a flight from Newark to Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, with a layover in Seoul rather than going straight to Japan
Why do airlines hate it? Is it a security risk or is it purely for financial reasons?
In a 2021 memo, American Airlines execs said the practice was ‘prohibited’ and urged staffers to closely monitor it.
Much of the frustration of the practice is that it loses firms revenue. In 2014 United Airlines and travel website Orbitz attempted to sue Skiplagged CEO Akatrer Zaman for ‘unfair competition’ and ‘deceptive behavior.’
The company argued the website had cost $75,000 between them in lost revenue from the date Skiplagged was set up in 2013 to when the lawsuit was filed in 2015.
Kyle Kroeger, of Via Travelers, told Dailymail.com: ‘One of the major reasons airlines hate skiplagging is because it can disrupt their operations.
‘For example, if multiple customers purchase connecting flights and only use the first leg of them, it could leave an airline with empty seats on the second part of those flights.
‘Not only does the airline lose out on potential revenue, but it also could lead to delays for other customers.’
Airlines in the US collectively lost more than $200 billion during the pandemic when travel ground to a halt overnight.
These losses – compounded with rising fuel costs – has put the aviation industry in a race to recuperate their losses.
What are the risks of booking a ticket this way?
While skiplagging is perfectly legal, many airlines say it is a violation of their own terms and conditions.
In response to a case of a teenager getting detained for skiplagging, American Airlines explained: ‘Purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to gain lower fares (hidden city ticketing) is a violation of American Airlines terms and conditions and is outlined in our Conditions of Carriage online.’
According to NerdWallet, some customers have had their tickets cancelled if they are found before boarding to have used the hack – or have had their return ticket voided.
On top of that, fliers report having their loyalty miles and elite status taken away. Some have even been banned from booking with the airline ever again.
What’s more, it offers limited flexibility to the passenger. There is always a risk that an airline could change your itinerary last minute and change the layover – thereby sabotaging your whole trip.
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