“In short, market competition dictates airfares more than distance or any other factor,” Russell concludes. An empty seat is also one that could have been sold to another paying passenger. Airlines claim that this means they lose money when passengers don't continue to their final destination.

Skiplagging, or "hidden-city ticketing," causes financial loss for airlines primarily through lost revenue opportunities and operational inefficiencies. When a passenger books a flight from City A to City C with a layover in City B (their actual destination) and walks away at the hub, the airline is left with an empty seat on the leg from B to C. Since airlines use complex algorithms to price flights based on demand for specific city-pairs rather than just distance, the flight to the further destination is often cheaper to remain competitive. By "skipping" the second leg, the passenger pays a lower fare than if they had booked the direct flight to City B. Furthermore, the empty seat on the second leg cannot be resold at the last minute, representing a 100% loss of potential revenue for that spot. Additionally, ground crews may experience delays waiting for the "missing" passenger to board the second flight, which can create costly ripple effects across the airline's entire daily schedule.