What is a hidden stopover?

Skiplagging, also known as hidden city ticketing, is when an air traveler buys a ticket for a flight with a layover before the final destination and departs at the layover airport. A travel website called Skiplagged.com allows people to find and book tickets for flights with hidden city ticketing.



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It's highly unlikely you'd face any repercussions if you do it once, but if you make it a habit or the airline sees an egregious pattern of hidden city ticketing, there could penalties from the airline, like losing your frequent flyer points.

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If an airline finds out what you are doing, it could simply cancel your ticket or even ban you from flying with it. That's what reportedly happened recently to a North Carolina teen who booked an American Airlines flight from Florida to New York but disembarked at his Charlotte connection.

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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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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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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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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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The practice goes by a few different names, including skiplagging or hidden-city flying. Passengers disembark at their layover city, leaving an empty seat on their next flight, and save money in the process. But airlines are cracking down on the practice, claiming it breaches their rules and costs them revenue.

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It's not against the law. But it is a violation of the contract of carriage you entered into when you bought your ticket. Many people do this. It's called “Hidden City Ticketing” and it's a practice that should be used lightly because the airline will just ban you in the future if you do this too much.

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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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Airlines are cracking down on the viral travel hack.
The teenage traveler caught “skiplagging” last week has been banned by American Airlines for the next three years.

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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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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 accuses the company Skiplagged of illegally selling its tickets to customers and using “unauthorized and deceptive ticketing practices” in the process. The lawsuit comes just a few weeks after American Airlines made national headlines when it caught a teen apparently planning to use the tactic.

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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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Where does Janet Airlines go? Janet flights fly out of Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, from a terminal and parking lot dedicated to the highly classified airline.

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Enter Skiplagged. This service finds hidden city tickets — which means you buy a ticket with a layover in your desired destination and instead of getting on the second flight, you just take your carry-on suitcase and leave the airport.

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Absolutely! We show regular flights in addition to hidden-city flights. 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.

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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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