Skiplagging can save on flights. What happens if you get caught

Airlines may not be fans of “skiplagging,” but travelers who use it to save money on flights surely are.

The practice is to purchase a connecting flight, without intending to make the second leg of the trip. Travelers do this when they find a connecting flight – one that stops at their intended destination – that is cheaper than a direct flight.

Skiplagged.com, a website that helps travelers find these flights, said its customers saved about $180 on average, which collectively amounts to $54 million in the past year alone.

But there are risks. Skiplagging, or “hidden city ticketing,” is prohibited by most airlines.

“Purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to benefit from lower fares” is a prohibited booking practice under the law. American Airlines Conditions of Carriage. Violators may have their ticket canceled, be prevented from flying or the airline may “fail to refund an otherwise refundable ticket,” it says.

But company founder Aktarer Zaman said he didn't think jumping lights would result in a traveler being banned from an airline for life.

“In our 11 years of existence, I have never heard of anyone being banned for jumping. Everything you read online about someone being banned is just a rumor,” Zaman said.

Zaman explained why some connecting – and therefore longer – flights are cheaper than direct flights. He said, for example, that flying from London to Boston, with a stopover in New York, can be cheaper than flying directly to New York.

London to New York is a more popular route, so it's priced higher, which creates the deals Skiplagged finds, he said.

But its website isn't the only way to find deals on “hidden cities,” Zaman said. Some travelers find these flights through travel agents or by spending hours researching flights on their own.

Zaman said some 300,000 customers had booked flights through its website over the past year. It's this success that puts it in the crosshairs of major airlines, he said.

American Airlines sued the company in August 2023, but voluntarily dropped its unfair competition claim before the suit went to trial, Zaman said. In October 2024, Skiplagged was ordered to pay $9.4 million to American Airlines for copyright infringement for the unauthorized use of the American Airlines logo on its website.

Zaman called it a victory for his company.

“It was a huge win for us (as it turned out), we are free to show jumping opportunities behind,” Zaman said. “This will probably deter all other airlines from challenging us. We have now laid the foundations to continue.”

Skiplagged has also previously been sued by United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Those lawsuits were either dismissed or settled out of court, Zaman said. That represents three lawsuits filed by some 800 airlines listed on the Skiplagged platform, he said.

During the trial, evidence showed that American Airlines does not have a no-fly list for late customers, Zaman added.

After the end of the American Airlines lawsuit, Skiplagged released a clearer statement advice on how to skip the shift safely – Zaman's key message to travelers being: do it sparingly and vary the carriers you use.

“I recommend people don't overdo it. Be grateful for saving money, but don't try to do it constantly,” he said.

Over the past year, more than 340 Skiplagged.com customers had to pay a higher rate for a direct ride, according to company data.

Airlines can also revoke passengers' frequent flyer points, which is why Skiplagged also advises people not to link their frequent flyer account to their booking.

On top of that, Skiplagged.com only books one-way tickets, Zaman said, to avoid customers having their return trip canceled if they haven't completed their outbound flight.

Skiplagged also recommends traveling with your passport for international flights, even if your planned outing is in your home country. This was an issue for 198 Skiplagged customers over the past 12 months, Zaman said.

The same goes for visas. Over the past 12 months, 22 Skiplagged.com customers have been tricked into not showing a visa for their flight.

Finally, the site advises travelers to travel with a small bag that fits under their seat. Checked bags are sent to the final destination listed on the ticket, an oversight that affected 67 Skiplagged customers in the past year, according to company data.

However, these types of issues only affected 0.3% of Skiplagged customers., Zaman said.

Skiplagged's data comes from users who report problems to the company.

“They would be more likely than not to report problems they are having to us – people with travel issues tend to complain at a high rate,” a company representative told CNBC Travel. “Even if you assumed that 50% of people experiencing a problem didn't report it, that would only reduce the success rate from 99.7% to 99.4%.”

As for Zaman, he says he doesn't “jump” very often. But the reason is not that his name is on airline blacklists, he said.

“I've done it many times, and the question is just does it make sense,” he said. “Everyone has to evaluate it for themselves. Nowadays I'm not able to travel as lightly as before, so it probably doesn't make sense for me to do it as much in the future.”

Despite the $9.4 million compensation awarded to American Airlines, which accounts for a large portion of the website's $20 million in annual revenue, Zaman remains committed to helping travelers save money, he said. -he declared.

“Even though we face challenges with these losses, I'm motivated to win because I know we're doing good here. One of the things that motivates me is hearing about the impact of Skiplagged about people's lives – like… helping people with long distance relationships,” Zaman said.

“It’s not just about American Airlines versus Skiplagged,” he said. “It’s American Airlines versus Skiplagged and real people.”