The practice of “skiplagging” or “hidden-city ticketing” refers to booking a plane ticket to one destination but getting off at the layover city. This strategy has been around for decades and can often be cheaper than booking a direct or layover flight to the desired destination. Airlines set their routes to distribute traffic at airports and minimize the number of unfilled flights, so skiplagged fares can offer significant savings. However, airlines frown upon this practice as it disrupts their planned routes and leads to flights with empty seats.
Major airlines like American Airlines, United, and Delta have prohibitions against skiplagging in their policies. While it is not illegal, it is not supported by airlines. The recent financial disclosure form of Donald Trump’s Save America PAC revealed that they admitted to using skiplagging by paying $10 in fees to the travel website Skiplagged. This raised attention due to the irony of a PAC that raised millions of dollars using this strategy to save a relatively small amount.
Airlines have become stricter in cracking down on skiplagging in recent years. In a high-profile incident, American Airlines prevented a passenger from boarding a flight after suspecting that they were using their ticket to get off at the layover city instead of flying to the final destination. The airline canceled the passenger’s ticket and cited the violation of their terms and conditions. Other airlines, such as Lufthansa, have tried unsuccessfully to sue Skiplagged’s founder, leading major airlines to independently ban “booking without the intent to fly” in their contracts of carriage.
American Airlines is known for being the strictest in enforcing this ban. In April 2020, they removed a passenger who had skiplagged 95 flights from their AAdvantage frequent flyer program. The financial disclosure forms of Trump’s Save America PAC do not specify the types of flights where skiplagging was used.
Overall, skiplagging is a controversial strategy that offers potential savings but is strongly discouraged by airlines due to its impact on their operations.
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