What to know about skiplagging, the sneaky travel loophole airlines HATE

Sick of skyrocketing vacation costs, travelers are increasingly resorting to a devious money-saving hack known as “skiplagging.”

In practice, holidaymakers book a flight with a stopover – which is actually their intended destination – and then skip the connecting journey. Some proponents swear it helped them save hundreds of dollars on a trip.

No wonder the airline industry is fighting back. American Airlines recently arrested a teenage boy at an airport after discovering he had tried to skip his flight.

And in 2018, German airline Lufthansa tried to sue a passenger who attempted the hack. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines also filed a failed lawsuit against Skiplagged, a site that advertises the best deals.

The backlash has been so fierce that Skiplagged has now posted a warning on its site not to use the hack too often – as airlines could penalize them by canceling their return flights or erasing their loyalty miles.

But why are companies so desperate to quell the hack? The practice is perfectly legal and experts insist there are no safety concerns.

Here, Dailymail.com explains everything you need to know about the controversial travel hack.

How does skip-plagging work?

To skip, a passenger books a flight from point A to point B with a stopover at the actual desired destination.

The traveler then leaves the last leg of his journey, remaining in the city that would be his stopover.

For example, instead of flying directly from Newark to Los Angeles, the traveler could book a ticket from Newark to Salt Lake City, Utah, with a stopover in LA

How much can it save – and why is the total flight cheaper?

Some customers claim to have saved hundreds of trips by implementing the hack.

On Skiplagged, a flight from San Francisco to London, UK, with a stopover in Lisbon, Portugal in April costs $265.

In comparison, a direct flight from San Francisco to London costs $375, saving the customer $110. Surprisingly, it also works faster.

The Skiplagged trip is available from airline TAP Portugal and takes a total of 11 hours and five minutes to get from San Francisco to Lisbon.

But if you were to find and book a trip from San Francisco to Lisbon, the cheapest option would be with Vueling – at $375 – and would take 16 hours and 25 minutes, including a stop in Barcelona.

Another example is a trip from Newark to Seoul, South Korea, in October, which would normally cost $770.

Travelers can shave $173 off the price by booking a flight from Newark to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with a stopover in Seoul.

The skipped trip is with Delta Airlines and would take 21 hours and 21 minutes to get to Seoul.

For comparison, a direct flight on Air Prema from Newark to Seoul would take just 14 hours and 55 minutes, but would cost $896.

All examples are based on one-way trips to a destination.

The practice highlights the excessiveness of flight pricing algorithms.

The cost of travel is often based on the popularity of the destination rather than the length of the trip – hence a two-flight trip can actually be cheaper.

In addition, larger airports — at top destinations like New York’s JFK and Chicago O’Hare — function as long-haul “hubs,” meaning they’re common stopovers.

For example, in the Newark-Los Angeles-Utah example, Los Angeles is a more popular destination than Utah and therefore the trip to Utah is cheaper – despite being further away.

However, customers should be aware that they will not be able to check in a bag if they implement the hack as it will continue to its final destination. And because airlines hate it so much, chances are you’ll be met at your gate by security if they suspect you’re guilty of the hack.

Why do airlines hate it? Is it a security risk or is it purely for financial reasons?

In a 2021 memo, American Airlines executives said the practice was “prohibited” and urged staff to keep a close eye on it.

A big part of the practice’s frustration is that it misses out on revenue for businesses. In 2014, United Airlines and travel website Orbitz attempted to sue Skiplagged CEO Akatrer Zaman for “unfair competition” and “deceptive conduct.”

The company argued that the website had a combined $75,000 in lost revenue from the date Skiplagged was founded in 2013 to the time the lawsuit was filed in 2015.

Kyle Kroeger of Via Travelers told Dailymail.com: “One of the main reasons airlines hate skiplagging is because it can disrupt their operations.

‘For example, if several customers buy connecting flights and only use the first part of those flights, an airline could end up with empty seats on the second part of those flights.

“Not only is the airline missing out on potential revenue, but it could also lead to delays for other customers.”

Airlines in the US have collectively lost more than $200 billion during the pandemic as travel ground to a halt overnight.

These losses – compounded by rising fuel costs – have left the airline industry in a race to recoup their losses.

Indeed, experts emphasize that skip-plagging is not a threat to safety, so it cannot be the main concern of the airlines.

Aviation security expert Arnold Barnett, a professor at MIT Sloan, told Dailymail.com: “Skip-plagging does not violate any laws and I don’t see how skip-lagging could create a security problem.

“If a passenger checks in a bag to the final destination and then does not board the connecting flight, that can pose a risk. But no rational person embarking in Florida on their way to Charlotte would check in a ‘skipped’ bag for New York.’

What are the risks of booking a ticket in this way?

While skipplagging is perfectly legal, many airlines say it violates their own terms and conditions.

In response to a case where a teen was detained for skipplagging, American Airlines explained, “Buying a ticket with no intention of flying all flights to get lower fares (hidden city tickets) is a violation of American Airlines’ terms and conditions.” Airlines and is described in our Conditions of Carriage online.”

According to NerdWallethave some customers’ tickets been canceled if they were caught using the hack before boarding – or had their return ticket voided.

In addition, flyers report that their loyalty miles and elite status have decreased. Some may never even book with the airline again.

In addition, it offers limited flexibility to the passenger. There is always a risk that an airline will change your itinerary at the last minute and change the layover, sabotaging your entire trip.