The controversial airfare trick known as "skiplagging" will soon go on trial in federal court.
The purportedly money-saving hack involves booking a flight with a connection, but then getting off the plane in the layover city and not continuing on to the final destination on the trip itinerary.
So, for instance, if you wanted a cheap flight from Boston to Dallas but the best price you could find was for a two-flight trip to Phoenix that stopped in Dallas, you'd deboard in Dallas—if you were skiplagging—and deliberately miss that final leg to Phoenix 'cause it was cheaper than booking directly to Texas.
Proponents of the hack, which is sometimes referred to as "hidden-city flying," argue that tickets including a layover are on occasion cheaper than nonstop flights.
Airlines, which hate skiplagging, counter that the practice violates their terms and conditions and that offenders deserve to be banned for life.
Last year, American Airlines filed a lawsuit against the travel booking website Skiplagged, which offers hidden-city fares as well as traditional tickets. The site is, as its name suggests, a major resource for would-be skiplaggers, though some simply go the DIY route by combing through airline itineraries on their own.
As Courthouse News Service explains, the carrier claims that Skiplagged's promotion of hidden-city fares "breaks the airline’s policies, infringes on American’s trademarks, [and] risks customers having their airfare voided." What's more, the lawsuit alleges, using the booking site often ends up costing consumers more than "if they simply booked a ticket on American’s website."
The airline is seeking more than $94 million in damages. This week jury selection began in Fort Worth, where American is headquartered.
Skiplagged has previously been sued by Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, resulting in an out-of-court settlement and a dismissal, respectively.
Clearly, then, airlines loathe the practice.
But is skiplagging illegal?
No, not technically.
So should you try it? Also no.
Because even though skiplagging is not against the law, the airlines still consider it to be against the rules. Carriers says it's a violation of their policies—or "contracts of carriage" in commercial aviationese—and everyone who buys an airline ticket has to agree to the contract of carriage. Consequently, passengers caught attempting the hack are subject to strict penalties devised by the airlines.
U.S. News & World Report warns that these punishments range from getting banned by the airline to getting sued by scary, high-priced lawyers.
In July 2023, American caught a 17-year-old skiplagger and blocked the kid from flying with the airline for 3 years.
And even if you don't get caught, there are other complications that could make skiplagging more trouble than it's worth.
You can't check any luggage, for one thing. Your suitcase would wind up in the final destination—i.e., on the flight you're not taking.
Plus, you couldn't book a round-trip journey, either, since you'd be missing a flight along the way, triggering an automatic cancellation of the return trip.
And what about American's argument in the lawsuit that the Skiplagged site is a bait-and-switch operation that lures customers in "with the promise of secret fares, and instead sell[s] ... a ticket at a higher price”?
In other words, does skiplagging even work as a money-saving hack?
When we checked the Skiplagged site for that itinerary mentioned earlier—Boston to Dallas-Fort Worth—for dates later this month, we found that the cheapest hidden-city fares for one-way flights were no more than a few dollars less than what you'd pay by booking directly on the airlines' websites. In the case of American, Skiplagged would save you a grand total of $1 for a hidden-city fare.
(Screenshots showing airfare prices for a flight from American Airlines [top] and Skiplagged [bottom])
Obviously, that's one narrow example. But if those savings are at all representative, is that really a discount that's worth a lifetime ban and a possible lawsuit from an airline?
On the other hand, our 2024 ranking of the best airfare search sites did find that if you uncheck the "Skiplagging" box when you look for fares at Skiplagged, you can exclude that risky option and see fares for direct itineraries that 1.) won't enrage the airlines' lawyers and 2.) will rank among some of the most affordable options available on the internet. Using Skiplagged.com to book legitimate, airline-approved fares ranked the site third among the most economical major players in booking engines, according to our tests.
Strangely enough, Skiplagged seems to works best when you don't use it for skiplagging. Besides, airlines are onto the practice, and they're going after flyers who try it. So why take the risk?