PARIS – Travelers across the globe are always in search of hacks to get to their destination for cheap fare but few know about the hack named ‘Skiplagging’.
In the world of travel, skiplagging has gained popularity which is also called “hidden-city” or “throwaway” ticketing, and involves booking a cheaper flight option with a layover city, but with no intention of flying the entire route.
In fact, the stopover is the traveler’s intended destination and the reason globetrotters use this controversial hack is because it’s cheaper to book a layover flight than boarding a direct flight.
For instance, a flight from New York to Orlando might be $450 nonstop, but a similar flight from New York to Dallas with a layover in Orlando might be somewhere around $230. Using this hack, if a passenger wanted to fly to Orlando, they would get off the plane at the layover destination in Orlando rather than flying to Dallas.
A dedicated travel service, Skiplagged.com, has emerged to facilitate this practice. The website alerts customers to hidden-city deals and exposes loopholes in airfare pricing to save money. Through Skiplagged, travelers can search for routes with hidden-city destinations, with flight search results displaying crossed-off final legs of the journey and prices marked as “skiplagged rate.”
Skiplagged works by giving travelers the option to search for a route with a hidden-city destination, but not all routes are covered.
While it is beneficial for travelers, this hack is despised by aviation companies. In 2014, United Airlines and travel website Orbitz sued Skiplagged CEO Aktarer Zaman, claiming that the practice of hidden-city ticketing was “unfair” and strictly prohibited; the airline claimed that the website cost the companies $75,000 in lost revenue.
As far as the verdict is concerned, the case was dismissed due to jurisdictional issues, with Zaman asserting that the practice was legal; interestingly, the case was filed in Illinois where the court did not have jurisdiction, as Zaman worked and resided in New York City.
Although skiplagging seems like a cost-effective way to travel, it comes with many risks as airlines have cracked down on the practice in recent years. Moreover, skiplagging only works when passengers don’t check their bags – as checked bags will end up at the ticketed final destination rather than the layover city.
