Does United allow skiplagging?

Skiplagging is not illegal. But most major airlines, including American, Delta, Southwest and United, don't allow it.



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No, but it's against most airlines' contracts of carriage or the rules people must follow to fly with the airline.
  • American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both put skiplagging first on their lists of prohibited booking practices. ...
  • United Airlines and Delta Air Lines also prohibit skiplagging.


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If an airline catches you skiplagging, in most scenarios it will punish you as per the terms and conditions of the ticket you're flying on. The punishments could range from financial penalties to restrictions on future booked travel.

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Skiplagging may not be illegal in the eyes of the law, but it can be damaging for the passenger doing it, the airline and, to a lesser extent, other passengers. If you're caught, it could cost you. According to American Airlines' terms and conditions, this might involve: Canceling any unused part of your ticket.

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If you book a regular flight, you can check bags. The only time we advise not to check bags is if you are utilizing a hidden-city itinerary. In those, since you would be exiting at a layover city, if you check bags, they will end up at the ticketed final destination.

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“Hidden city ticketing,” or booking a flight with the intention of getting off at the layover city rather than the final destination, is perfectly legal, but there are some factors to consider before making it a habit. According to Business Insider, hidden city ticketing is a sneaky way to save money.

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Bobby Laurie, who worked as cabin crew for US Airways (now American Airlines) and the now-defunct Virgin America, offers his top tips to avoid getting caught when skiplagging: Check in online or via an app instead of at a kiosk. Limit your interaction with airline staff.

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“Hidden city ticketing,” or booking a flight with the intention of getting off at the layover city rather than the final destination, is perfectly legal, but there are some factors to consider before making it a habit.

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While not illegal, intentionally skipping segments on an itinerary does almost always violates airlines' contracts of carriage. For example, American's contract of carriage says this: Reservations made to exploit or circumvent fare and ticket rules are prohibited.

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But if you intentionally miss the last leg of the journey, your ticket won't be cancelled, as there is nothing left for the airline to cancel. If you skip the first flight, your return flight also gets cancelled. To avoid that, don't ever skip a flight on a return flight.

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Technically, hidden city ticketing isn't illegal. But, as mentioned above, doing so is considered a violation of your airline's conditions of carriage. The consequences of hidden city ticketing may vary.

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He says airlines have been cracking down on the practice in recent years, in part because they believe it is costing them revenue. Airfares have been high this summer, they were high last year, and the bigger the price — and the bigger the losses — the greater attention it gets [from airlines], he said.

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Skiplagged founder Aktarer Zaman identified a problem -- the seeming arbitrary nature of airfares -- and attacked it. Now United and Orbitz may eat him for lunch. Aktarer Zaman, the 22-year-old Skiplagged founder who got sued by Orbitz and United, has a B.S.

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While skiplagging isn't illegal, American Airlines filed a civil lawsuit earlier this month against Skiplagged.com, accusing the company of unauthorized and deceptive ticketing practices and tricking customers into believing they've gained access to a secret loophole.

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Throwaway ticketing is purchasing a ticket with the intent to use only a portion of the included travel. This situation may arise when a passenger wants to travel only one way, but where the discounted round-trip excursion fare is cheaper than a one-way ticket.

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American Airlines' conditions specifically prohibit “purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to gain lower fares (hidden city ticketing).” Most other major U.S. airlines have similar restrictions in place.

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Does Skiplagged charge a fee? There is a service fee with each standard booking completed through Skiplagged, starting around $8.

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American Airlines filed suit against Skiplagged Inc., an online travel agency, over allegations that the agency deceives customers, though the airline does have the right and ability to cancel the tickets.

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Skiplagged searches for the route you want to take and then looks to see if there are cheaper options on the same route by booking an onward flight. The example Skiplagged uses is a flight from Atlanta to Orlando costing $250, but a flight from Atlanta through Orlando to Dallas costing $130.

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“The reason someone might try to utilize hidden-city ticketing is simple: People can fly directly to their destination without paying the direct flight price tag,” Going.com spokesperson Katy Nastro says.

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It makes sense, because the practice saps revenue from them on two fronts: Not only do passengers underpay — potentially by hundreds of dollars per ticket — but the seat on the tossed leg also could have been sold to someone else. Most contracts of carriage from major airlines expressly forbid skiplagging as a result.

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