What is the skip lagging trick?

Skiplagging, also known as hidden city ticketing, is when a customer books a connecting flight, but actually gets off at the layover airport rather than their final destination. The hack can save customers hundreds of dollars on their ticket — but can come at a heavy price if airlines find out.



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Skiplagging is not illegal. But most major airlines, including American, Delta Southwest and United, don't allow it. For one thing, airlines lose money on the practice, says Tim Huh, a professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, who co-authored a study on skiplagging last year.

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What Is Skiplagging—and Is It Illegal? Skiplagging is the practice of hopping off in your layover city instead of boarding the connecting flight to your ticket's final destination. Many travelers do this in order to capitalize on a lower airfare to your secretly intended destination (the layover city).

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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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In some cases, it may even ban you from flying with the airline temporarily — as in the incident with the teen earlier this summer. Even worse, you could be banned permanently.

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Limit interaction with the airline's employees
He said passengers planning to use hidden city tickets should avoid in-person check-in and use online or mobile check-in instead. To avoid arousing suspicion when skiplagging, fly under the radar and avoid speaking to airline staff unless necessary.

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

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The practice can even result in airline-enforced penalties, such as adding those passengers to no-fly lists, asking them to buy full priced tickets to their true destinations or even removing frequent flier miles from their accounts. Even if airlines suspect you're skiplagging, punishments could be on the way.

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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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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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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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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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Technically, no, skiplagging isn't illegal. You're not breaking any laws by doing it. You won't get arrested or face legal action from authorities for using this strategy. But, most airlines ban the practice in their terms and conditions, which everyone agrees to when they purchase a ticket.

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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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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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Skiplagging, also known as hidden city ticketing, is when a customer books a connecting flight, but actually gets off at the layover airport rather than their final destination.

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Backpack only — We recommend only bringing a backpack that can fit under the seat in front of you. Anything larger risks getting checked at the gate, and all checked bags will end up in Dallas (final ticketed destination)!

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