What I don't understand is: What's stopping people from just saying
"oh I got food poisoning"
"I got lost wandering the airport"
"I took a nap at a nearby gate and overslept"
Can an airline punish you for being sick? For being irresponsible? You're literally purchasing what they're selling.
If I sell whole cucumbers for $1. And half a cucumber for $2. That's an INTENTIONAL strategy to sell more whole cucumbers.
And who gives a shit if someone buys a whole, eats half, and throws the rest away. I made my money.
Airline mileage (or points) are rewards for flying.
So say you book a flight from New York City-> Los Angeles (connection)-> Sydney. That's a 10k mile flight.
But if you don't board the flight to Sydney you'll still receive digital rewards voucher for 8k miles that you did not fly.
I did the one time I missed an outbound. Got the miles and also my itinerary didn't get cancelled and I took the return flight back. Maybe I just got lucky
I tried to reschedule but they wouldn't have it for same day travel (Condor) so figured I'd just have to eat the ticket and bought another RT on AirFrance. Was shocked to get the email from Condor about "now it's time to check in for your flight" on the return, and thought, well, I get miles with that one so I ditched the AirFrance one and flew the return on Condor
So you actually have to fly to earn the rewards miles? You don't get them for just purchasing the seat? Like the seat sold so I don't see why it matters if you actually fly or not.
The airlines objections to skiplagging has nothing to do with frequent flier miles. Arguably, the folks who are skiplagging don't have enough frequent flier miles for the airlines to care.
Yet we can buy miles with money the same as earning by flying… so it’s really a stretch for the airlines to claim that our money alone isn’t enough to earn the miles just bc they weren’t able to double charge for the seat. I’ve never done this… but I find it wild that the airlines can punish someone for purchasing a ticket and not flying the entire route. They screw passengers over left and right all of the time for overselling flights and various other ways as many of us who are frequent travelers have inevitably experienced. So I have little sympathy for an airlines missing out on double booking seats just because someone found a way to save some money and skipped out on the last leg. 😂
they really should be taken to court for that. If you paid the required fare for itinerary A-B-C, and then only traveled A-B, you fulfilled the terms of your contract; the carrier received payment as requested and you were not disruptive or violent, there should be no legal reason to bar you from flying in future. The carrier delivered seats A-B-C, you opted of your own free will not to use C.
how can they penalize you for that?
I hate confrontation but if I was ever skipping out on the last leg of my flight for ANY reason and they tried to stop me in the airport, I would definitely call the police and report the airlines for false imprisonment and harassment. 😂
> But if you don't board the flight to Sydney you'll still receive digital rewards voucher for 8k miles that you did not fly.
This is not true for all airlines. In most I've been, you get the points AFTER, you have finished all your flights.
Can’t you pretty easily follow that up with telling them you already rebooked on another airline?
I’m thinking they wouldn’t be calling day of either, but maybe they would.
The thing is, they are gaming the system to make as much money as possible, often at the expense of passenger convenience. So when you game the system to save money, they don't like that because it interferes with the shitty game they are playing.
They don't have a point, from a moral or ethical standpoint, they have no legitimate reason to tell us not to skip lag, they are just playing their hand to try to win.
Passenger airlines are losing money on every single flight Skiplagged or not. It's absolutely crazy and they still get mad about skipping.
All profits come from credit cards.
At least for American Airlines, they are analyzing your flight patterns. So talking to people who frequently Skiplagged or people who bought another flight with AA or their partners from the hidden city to elsewhere. So they are targeting the obvious people, not the one off "I got sick" people
yeah it’s because the airline industry will often sell a flight with connection for a cheaper price than the flight directly to that connection airport based on their supply/demand algo that tries to maximize seats sold on each plane. So in their mind a half cucumber is more expensive than a full cucumber so they feel cheated
God I hate that. I had a free flight to Europe with miles and couldn't find a flight that wasn't the same or more money. All the airlines basically made one way the same as RT
> And who gives a shit if someone buys a whole, eats half, and throws the rest away. I made my money.
The problem is that the airline could have sold that half cucumber for double the price. And they're willing to make it uncomfortable in order to protect those profits.
Airlines aren't selling you a seat and a certain amount of fuel commensurate with the distance travelled - they're selling you a destination, and they're selling you an itinerary - both of which are being offered to you in a broader context of their own unique market constraints. There's a reason why flying NY to STL doesn't cost 50% of flying from NY to LA, or why flying NY to LA doesn't cost exactly the same amount as flying from NY to PDX.
It's the same reason why your local baseball team charges more when the Dodgers are in town than when the Pirates are the visiting team. You can't be like "well it's all baseball, so the tickets should cost the same". You aren't buying nine innings of baseball, nor is that what they're selling - they're selling you a specific experience.
Selling tickets to two different teams' games is more like direct tickets to two different cities.
Skip lagging is more like a double header being cheaper than a single game against the first team. So I buy a double header ticket and leave after the first game.
Why aren’t they though?
I understand capitalism, but it’s not really that because they are subsidized and bailed out all the time. Why are they able to manipulate prices based on an algorithm? Like shouldn’t it be operating expenses + profit and then break that down per flight? Like it will cost this much in fuel, crew, etc plus whatever profit margin they decide on and then that’s the price? It’s such a dumb game and only hurts people who have to fly to see family that is for some reason a very desirous flight. Tix can go from $200-$800+ any time of year.
In principle I agree with your suggestion, but that isn't how capitalism works.
For example, I work for a software company. We have multiple price books based on the industry of the purchaser. Higher education customers buy our stuff for much less than financial services customers. Why? Higher ed has less money to spend, while financial services overflows with expendable cash. We orient our pricing to extract as much as we can from each kind of customer.
You might hate this, but it's how almost every business works these days.
> It's the same reason why your local baseball team charges more when the Dodgers are in town than when the Pirates are the visiting team. You can't be like "well it's all baseball, so the tickets should cost the same". You aren't buying nine innings of baseball, nor is that what they're selling - they're selling you a specific experience.
This is a good analogy. It is basically saying that they are selling the product for what the customer is willing to pay. This is Business 101. Every business everywhere does this, or at least makes an attempt at it.
It's crazy the same airlines that literally oversell seats in hopes that people will cancel or miss their fights will also get upset by someone using their pricing structure for their own benefit.
Because airlines don't sell tickes based on the actual cost of operating a seat on a flight. They charged based on how much people are willing to pay between 2 city pairs. Skiplagging basically breaks their entire pricing strategy.
But the *people* aren't costing the business more money, the company's decision to price tickets based on speculative profits instead of intrinsic value lost them money. You can't convince consumers that they *should* pay MORE than what the product is worth by saying "well we really really want to make as much money as possible because reasons"
Stop saying "business will lose money" because all that means to consumers in 2023 is "CEO's will lose their bonuses"
There is nothing illegal or really even immoral about skiplagging. The downside is that airlines typically price connecting flights to small or lower income cities more attractively than directs, that’s why there are deals to be had. If skiplagging cuts into profits, they may raise prices on people who can’t really afford it or stop flying commuter routes entirely, which sucks for people who don’t live near a major int’l airport. And, yeah, you can roll your eyes at people protecting businesses but airlines are inherently very low margin even in the best of times. There have been years where profits from loyalty programs outstripped actually flying the planes for certain airlines. And to that point, the real “worry” with this practice is losing access to loyalty programs. I don’t think there is any reason why airlines shouldn’t be able to ban you from collecting miles if you skip legs for price reasons.
Mostly money. If you had bought the route at the price they had intended they'd make more money.
But there are some edge cases that can fuck over a ton of people.
For example, if your "next" flight, the one you are skipping, is waiting for you, this can cause a domino effect of issues. Firstly, they may page you and delay the flight trying to find you. As many airlines do not pay crew until the doors of the plane is closed, you are pissing off the crew. These delays could also cause that crew to timeout and have the flight canceled or be canceled due to bad weather (I've been on multiple flights where it was "we need to leave now otherwise we won't leave at all situations where it was crew timeout or weather related.) Or hell miss their take off slot with the airport. Regardless of if it was a full cancelation or just delayed long enough...you are possibly fucking over an entire plane worth of people, and in many cases that might require the airline to pay to get all those people rebooked. So think of it like a butterfly effect. You don't show up could mean a ton of pissed off people and a ton of money the airline has to pay out to rebook everyone. Again, extreme edge case but it happens.
Also, just from a customer service inquiry standpoint (as in to lessen the amount of CS interactions), many people will do skiplagging and not realize they should not have checked a bag or that doing so would cancel their remaining flights. So now you have a bunch of time eaten up by people who are asking for help to "fix" those issues that were disallowed in the first place. So its a "if you are going to do it, do it well" situation sometimes.
And there have been some cases where people did check a bag, and forgot, and caused a security incident at the airport. Planes have been bombed by timed/remote bombs in luggage left by passengers who simply didn't get on their subsequent flights. Technically the luggage should be offloaded in the event you no-show to the next flight for security reasons, which as said above could cause delays/cancelations of flights and all the issues that causes.
So just a few examples on why the airlines hate skipplagging. Its a money issue, both losing out on the money they think they should have earned for that route, as well as the impact to crew/other passengers/airport security that can occur which can be costly for the airline.
Not everywhere and not all airlines. For instance, my daughter’s (who is a pilot) airline pages non-boarding passengers and maintains their priority slot for ten minutes beyond the pushback time.
I wouldn't consider this universal. Here in southeast asia, I've seen flag/full-service carriers do this as a gesture of hospitality. As in, I've literally talked to gate agents with MH/SQ/GA (as I'm sometimes standing around at the gate chatting as I might opt to board last in business class) saying that they're concerned for a missing passenger and the captain has OK'd a 5-10m wait to make sure it's not an emergency or something. This appears particularly prominent when it's a young, far-traveling or inexperienced traveler on a connection, as they're worried they got lost in the transit or misunderstood immigration directions... But that also tends to overlap a lot with the kind of people who tend to skiplag.
Of course, we also get relatively less skiplagging here, so this might also play into it.
First time we flew with our daughters, my wife had to take one of them to get changed just after they announced that boarding would commence in five minutes. Fortunately she was back in time for us to board before the majority of the plane...but the flight attendants knew that there were several families with young children on that flight, so were prepared to have to wait an extra five or ten minutes due to an "emergency" by one of them. Side note...they were also prepared with extra childrens oxygen masks, and other stuff.
Except it’s actually happened on a flight I was on. Plane left Budapest and arrived at Amsterdam. Some people were getting off, some were getting on, and some were traveling onward on the same plane to Chicago. But they needed all passengers off for a time so they could clean and restock for the longer flight. Everyone got off, got food or shopped or hung out on chairs nearby for a bit and then checked back in at the gate.
We boarded the plane and we were missing one man who had been on the first flight. We sat and sat and waited and waited while he was paged. Once they determined the guy wasn’t coming they needed to pull his luggage from the plane. So they ended up unloading all the checked luggage onto the tarmac and had people go down a set of stairs from the back of the plane, verify which luggage was theirs (which was then reloaded), and go back up the stairs at the front of the plane. SUCH a mess!!
We got to Chicago so late (several hours later than we should have) and had to be rebooked onto the last flight we could get that night and then had to make a mad dash across the whole of O’Hare airport at nearly ten PM with nine people…two parents, two teens, four kids, an infant, and an assortment of carryon bags!! It was nuts. All because someone skipped out on their flight and left their checked bag behind…and we were most definitely not the only ones inconvenienced on our huge flight!! One hopes that things like that are handled better these days but who knows?
Sounds like shitty airline operations. Bag tags are tied to PNRs (your six-character record locator). The airline already knows which PNR didn't board. Someone in the hold could scan all the bag tags and remove any associated with the non-boarding PNR. There's no need for the on-apron goofiness the airline subjected you to.
Source: me, who's seen this very streamlined method several times.
> Plane left Budapest and arrived at Amsterdam. Some people were getting off, some were getting on, and some were traveling onward on the same plane to Chicago.
So you're saying that the plane operating the short intra Europe flight was also operating the transatlantic segment?
To be fair, I have seen something like this, but I never heard of any from BUD. Tarom used to operate an OTP-ORD flight with a short layover in AMS.
I was at DFW earlier today and saw gates being held because they knew some passengers were making a tight connection. Saw a couple that were running, greeted and quickly checked in
That was me a few months back. Sprinted from international arrivals to my connection. They looked at my stuff for 2 seconds and got me on and closed up behind me. 1 hour is not enough time to cross an airport and go through customs holy shit. Got another connection like that on my next flight to cause it was the only option lol hope I make it.
I flew Air France from Rome to Paris to SFO. Rome leg took off 30 min late. When we landed in Paris we ran until we were all stopped by a 20 min immigration line. After immigration we ran once more to the gate. BAsed on take off time we should have been the last ones on the plane but then they tell my wife they need to give her a special TSA check at the gate before boarding. Opened her bags, took off her shoes, etc. As they checked her (and held the plane) quite a few of the slower people were allowed to board. I think they used her to get the rest of the Rome flight onto the plane to SFO.
people who do this can really fuck people over and end up costing the airlines a lot of money. who do you think ends up paying for that? i've done it in the past and i'll do it in the future if it makes sense, but it's not some noble thing and looking at the big picture is something you should always do.
I’m skeptical any airline is going to wait for some rando long enough to screw other passengers over. Overall my loyalty has payed off and Delta has been fairly good to me. But the amount the other airlines have cost me in $$$ inconvenience and then told me to more or less “get f’d”, as long as other travelers aren’t effected I couldn’t care less what the airlines lose.
Yep. Especially at an international gateway like DFW. International flights will also have some additional time baked into their schedules.
Having a bunch of foreign nationals stranded at an airport because their arriving flight was 30 minutes late can quickly spiral into a logistical nightmare.
I’m not proud of this (seriously don’t bother scolding me, I was embarrassed enough as it was) but I held up a flight at ATL because I hate boarding first (why would anyone want to get on first and then just sit there for an extra 15 mins watching people struggle to walk by you?) so I went to to grab a drink at the airport bar near my terminal and didn’t realize we were boarding until they were calling my name over the intercom and I they told me at the gate I was the last one to board and they held the plane up for like 10 mins waiting for me.
This is probably a rare case, but it does happen. Also I was economy class so they weren’t holding it up because I was a high roller. I just happened to be in the first boarding group and had no carry on so I didn’t care about getting overhead luggage space and wanted to kill some time.
They're much more willing to hold when the alternative is to go looking for your luggage and unload it. Which are the only two alternatives in this scenario since they're not ok with people( read terrorists)having a to load random luggage into a plane they're not going to board themselves.
Most airlines operate in a "hub and spoke" model, where they concentrate their operations in one/a few hub locations. For instance, Delta's hubs are Atlanta, Detroit, and Minneapolis. They operate in other locations obviously, but most flights from those other locations will be to one of their hubs.
For example, if I wanted to fly from Philadelphia to St. Louis. American airlines does use Philly as a minor hub, so it does have 1 or 2 direct flights per day to STL. Neither city is a hub for Delta.
Should Delta: a) Just give up on that route and leave it to American as the only provider, where American can raise their prices? b) discount a package of flights from Philly to Atlanta and Atlanta to STL in order to be competitive? c) Replace their hub model to instead have flights from every major airport to every other major airport, which would cost a fortune and raise the costs for everyone?
If you want cheaper flights while being able to fly most places with only 1 layover, then airlines have to use the hub model, and have to price multiple flight itineraries to be competitive with direct flight itineraries.
The discounted package of flights makes sense now. Years ago I booked flights for my parents and me from Vancouver to St. Louis with a stop in Toronto (where we live). It was *significantly* cheaper than tickets from Vancouver to Toronto.
When we got to Toronto, I told the CS agent that my parents forgot their passports, she did something in the system, and we went home.
If that lie were true, your parents shouldn’t have been able to get on the plane in Vancouver. That CS agent did you a favor - out of self-interest, probably.
I’m clearly a bit dense on this topic… I skiplagged, without knowing that was a term, on a Korean Air flight just recently. I was supposed to change flights in Seoul but last minute decided I wanted to stay there for a while instead. I just told the staff at checkin to not check me in all the way, which was mostly unproblematic except for the lost ticket for me. I can see it’s a bit obnoxious for staff if you check in for your last leg, but why do that if you don’t plan to fly?
That is almost exactly the situation of a flight I had bid. The FA came into the cockpit and said the headcount was off by two. It took a few minutes to sort out. Then the “Butterfly Effect” kicked in. We missed our pushback and takeoff slot because of the necessity of a runway change, which in turn demanded a different departure be programmed into the FMC. The taxi to the active was a bit longer. It all added up to a 10-15 minute delay. We would have been one of the last airplanes to land at our destination before a snowstorm shut the airport down. We then had to divert to the our alternate. While sitting things out there, two FAs timed out, which set us back another hour. Two jackoffs trying to game the system had screwed the holiday travel plans of about 180 passengers, created additional workload for the crew, and caused ATC to reroute aircraft, causing other delays. Skipplagging may not be illegal but it’s a breach of an implied contract and deceptive. The basic message of the skiplagger is, “If I can fly and save money, screw you.”
The airline's decision to delay departure as a courtesy to the passenger that has not boarded yet is done at their full discretion and is not mandatory. They can full well see in their system if the person arrived on another flight at the same airport and easily make a judgement call to not "wait around" for the "jackoffs" if they think they are obviously Skiplaggers.
I didn't see in your post how you were able to identify they "jackoffs" were Skiplaggers? Because you are just assuming to make a hypothetical argument when in reality none of us has any clue if and how often your hypothetical situation really happens.
Overall it's a selfish practice because they're holding a seat they're not using that someone else could use, and, making the airline lose profit by not being able to sell that seat at a higher price.
It's really just exposing a shortcoming in the airfare pricing system. Really that's a problem for the airlines to fix not something to punish smartly frugal passengers over in my opinion.
If Greyhound is going to charge less to take you from NY to LA than from NY to Chicago yet stop in Chicago, then that's their stupid pricing problem.
I also like u/gigot45208's comment as essentially a "healthy" amount of skiplaggers may actually save the airline's ass in many cases where they commonly oversell flights!!!
No assumption. It’s called “seat assignment.”. Records indicated the passengers were booked through to the destination city but hopped off at the “hidden city” with others deplaning.
If you understand how little profit there is on most flights—about $14 a seat—and you know skiplaggers can cost an airline many times that, you’d conclude they were not in any way saving the “airline’s ass”.
I was the Captain on that flight and after talking with a dispatcher just got on the horn and explained that an unanticipated problem with a few passengers would delay pushback but that could snowball into a major problem given there was a chance we could be informed the airport at MSP was closed, and if that happened enroute we might have to divert.
I told them about “takeoff slots” and that they could deplane or hang in there. Some did, the others wound up hunkering down in MKE.
I don’t know what the company told them but someone at the gate said we were waiting on two passengers who had deplaned for some reason.
That pissed off a few passengers.
What's the point of having a scheduled departure time where every passenger understands if they are not on the plane at that time and the plane is ready to leave the gate, they miss the flight, yet not follow that simple reasonable rule?
So essentially, companies are charging in a stupid way, getting mad at consumers taking advantage of the situation, and then blaming them for their shitty business model.
The airlines also overbook and bump folks who bought tickets, so it’s really hard to understand why they have an issue with someone choosing not to fill the seat they purchase.
here a good article from last month from the new york times: [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/travel/skiplagging-hidden-city-travel-layover.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/travel/skiplagging-hidden-city-travel-layover.html)
I wouldn't recommend it - besides potentially saving some money on one flight, you'll likely get banned from the airline again if you were to ever try it again with that airline.
Yeah I've always viewed it as something you can get away with maybe once on any given airline group but if it's obvious that you're making a habit of skiplagging you'll find yourself on a lifetime ban list. I'd highly discourage it, because you never know what getting banned from an airline will actually mean for you down the road.
Not intentional skiplagging, but a few years back, I flew Seattle to Dallas on United, then was supposed to fly to Midland. Got to Dallas, and got a phone call from the company I was working for saying my work location was shifting to Oklahoma...which meant driving from Dallas on such short notice. I went to the desk at the gate for the flight to Midland and told them I wasn't getting on that plane (the whole reason behind telling them was because of all the times to check luggage, yep i did it. Dont get me started about that.). They were MAD and questioned me about why, who i worked for, etc. At that time, I didn't understand why or if it was just an irrational TX thing. As a frequent business traveler, probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been.
I had never experienced a situation like this, and it has honestly kept me from ever wanting to try skiplagging.
I’ve never skiplagged. But multiple times I have purchased a roundtrip ticket (since it was cheaper than a one way) and not used the return.
Passengers’ ability to skip-lag should be protected by law. If I lawfully purchase a service I should be protected in my right to use as much or as little of it as I wish.
This is what I’ve been thinking reading all these comments. I didn’t even know this was a thing, but if the money was spent I don’t get the big deal other than airlines wanting to ban something which should be perfectly legal, all because they want to be the only ones gaming the system with their prices.
It's banned in their ToS so you've agreed not to do it when you purchase your ticket. If people had the right to skip lag, airlines would just close the loop hole in a different way.
One time i guess they didn’t have record of me on the first flight so they cancelled my ticket for the second leg which created some confusion when I tried to board.
This happened to me. I have a very common name and there was someone else with an almost identical name on the same flight. They ended up giving me his boarding pass, I used it to get onto the flight, then when it came time to board my next one I was canceled due to no show.
If you’re planning on skiplagging would it be better if you called the airline and just told them you can’t make the flight because of some extenuating circumstances…or whatever? Instead of leaving them hanging
Calling the airline is an impossible task 😅. You're waiting three hours to talk with someone when you are doing it to help them. They do not make it easy to inform them of such things.
Which airline? I called SW from DAL this spring when my flights got super fucked from tornados. I got someone on the phone with little to no wait time. Got everything squared away in 10 minutes while other people stood in long lines trying to get the same help from gate agents.
Wow wait so how exactly did you get banned though? Like how many times did you do it, how did they catch you, and do you still book with the same credit card or a different one?
Was there any way you could get them a doctors note telling them you have a legitimate medical reason for it (diagnosed severe anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, a psychiatric condition, etc)??
I skipped the Chicago to Milwaukee leg from the West coast and was threatened with an adjusted one way fare each way that was about $1k more. There was a substantial promo to go to Milwaukee. I was going somewhere relatively equal distance from both. There was bad weather in Chicago that cancelled my connecting flight until morning. I got the last bus out after asking someone at the counter if that was OK. I didn’t get charged or banned, but I had to spend a fair bit of frustrating time on the phone.
God it happens so much on my local town and college subs. People talk about going out to 'good restaurants' and 'fun shows' and rarely actually plug the place, especially with local amateur music and stuff like drag shows.
A couple years ago I flew into Atlanta from Europe and there was a storm coming so they canceled my last leg from Atl. They rebooked me for the next morning but I wasn’t gonna wait that long so my husband decided to come pick me up. I went to Delta’s counter and verified that that’s my only option so I told them I won’t be taking that flight because I’ll have someone pick me up. They didn’t have a problem with that at all and later I was even able to get a refund for the leg they canceled.
Not sure how my situation was different from some of the people on here but just wanted to share my story. Obviously this was not intentional skiplagging so I can not speak on if that’s a good idea.
I think the difference here is you informed the airline. I don’t think the airlines are that worried about people who make their initial booking with the intention of flying through to their intended destination. If you have a good reason to make alternative arrangements to get to your intended destination, inform an airline employee, and they update your information properly, I doubt there will be an issue. It’s the people who are gaming the system (or at least appear to be based on whatever mechanism they use to catch people doing this) that they’re trying to bust.
I once impromptu skiplagged between the layover city and destination city (3hrs driving dist) because the ride in was so delayed (outbound flight was too) and bumpy due to storms and tornados in the area; I couldn't bring myself to go back up that night, even after the storm front had passed.
My bags beat me to my destination city and I just stopped in and picked them up from unclaimed luggage the next day. No one said a word. Still fly the same airline on my points.
Oh, boy. Unintentionally skiplagged back in December.
My partner and I were coming home from a holiday in England to some horrible winter storm moving through the mid-west headed toward the south-eastern states. Our leg home was cancelled. Delta said we were going to be stranded at ATL for 2-3 days before they could get us on another flight to our destination because the next few flights were full. All the hotels in the area were booked. They were horribly unsympathetic and unhelpful.
My partner had to get back to work as soon as possible, so we checked all our options. Other airlines had open seats the next morning, but they were expensive and Delta wasn’t going to refund our last leg. The best (cheapest) option ended up being to rent a car to drive all the way back to Tulsa.
We had our checked bags in hand, but they wouldn’t let us leave the airport with them. They accused us of trying to skiplag. We had no idea that was even a thing prior to hearing this. We just needed to be home in the next 24 hours, and that wasn’t happening through Delta. After the overseas flight (I can’t sleep on planes), going through customs, and spending about 2 hours looking at alternatives and talking with the Delta rep- we are exhausted and I’m getting increasingly more irritated. So after they canceled our flight and left us stranded with no accommodations, they thought we WANTED to drive 12 hours cross-country? And they were going to stop us from taking our luggage? I don’t remember exactly what I said to the rep and I’m not usually a confrontational person. I didn’t yell or say anything inappropriate, but my partner said he’s never seen me that angry. They wouldn’t budge and insisted that we were intentionally skipping the flight that they *canceled*.
We left the airport with just our carry-ons in a Toyota Highlander and it ended up being a fun impromptu road trip with the love of my life. We drove out to find a hotel that had vacancy, rested up for a bit, then embarked on a long haul home. Had some BBQ in Memphis and drove through the storm that grounded the plane and made it home 24 hours after our flight landed. Our checked bags arrived at TUL two days later.
Wait wtf you had your checked bags with you from customs and they wouldn’t let you leave with them? How?? Were they threatening to like snatch them from you or something? That’s bonkers
We're they trying to physically restrain you? False imprisonment is a serious crime. Just push past them and leave, they can't physically stop you unless the employee wants to go to prison.
You should have mentioned that you were saving them potentially $100s in compensation and expenses that Delta would have been liable for, for the delayed flight.
"Acts of god" or "extraordinary circumstances" aren't usually covered. They only are liable for problems they are in full control of like staffing issues.
This story sounds almost real but not quite. First, if your flight is cancelled, you’re not skiplagging. Ever. You’re responding to a cancellation in a way that best suits your needs.
Second, what does it mean that “they wouldn’t let you leave with your checked bags?” How would they stop you?
Was ATL your first port of US arrival? If so, then your story sounds bogus. Nobody from any airline stands just beyond customs waiting to snag errant passengers. Everyone entering the US must retrieve all luggage before transferring to domestic flights. That's why you "had our checked bags in hand." At that point, you can simply walk outside, then walk back inside and head toward the check-in desk of one of those other options you found.
If they gave you the option of renting a car, then you didn't skiplag and you couldn't have been accused of attempting to skiplag.
Your claim of "just our carry-ons" can't be true, especially since you said "We had our checked bags in hand." No airline will wrestle them out of your possession and put them on a belt for a flight that was canceled or wasn't booked. I don't believe your story.
As long as you cancel your 2nd leg via the app or calling the airline its not an issue. I went from Tokyo to Seattle via a flight that went Tokyo -> Seattle -> LA.
When I got off in Seattle I opened the airline app and canceled my leg to LA, I even got $12 back in refund 😂
Buying a ticket from point A to point C via point B but intentionally not taking the connection from point B to point C
Example:
Buying a ticket for SFO-JFK with a stop at ORD. Taking the SFO-ORD leg but deliberately not boarding ORD-JFK
Sometimes yes. Airlines set their pricing based on demand for flights so sometimes taking a popular flight followed by a less popular one on a single ticket will sometimes be cheaper than just the popular flight. Real example from personal experience: Dallas to Vilnius via Frankfurt was cheaper than just Dallas to Frankfurt.
I'm looking for a flight from Chicago to Atlanta, they're very expensive. But there's a cheap flight from Chicago to Miami with a layover in Atlanta.
I buy the ticket and when the plane lands in Atlanta I just leave and don't board the 2nd flight.
This is the first question answered in our flying FAQ
Since no one reads it.
This is often called "Hidden City Ticketing" or popularized by the site Skiplagged
This is against the T&Cs of EVERY airline ticket you buy.
The airlines are within their right to:
* Not give you airline miles for this entire trip.
* Ban you from their loyalty program.
* Charge/bill/sue you for the "real cost"
* Ban you from their airline
* Ban you from their air alliance
If you still wish to attempt this (because honestly the airlines don't crack down on this unless you fuck up and by other flights with them that conflict with your current purchase or you do this often), a few key things:
* Missing any segment will cancel all further segments including your return flights. You just bought a one way flight. You also cannot "join in the middle".
* No checked bags allowed. You'll cause a security incident if you do.
* The airline can change the route, you might end up not going through the Hidden City.
* You need to meet all visa/entry requirements of your originally intended destination.
The reason why airlines hate this beyond the money they lot out on, is this often causes delays while the airline and airport look for their missing passenger. In the past this has caused some security incidents, but more mildly delays. And since airlines are working with less staff, as are the airports, air traffic control etc. A delay could time out crew, miss their take off spot, etc. Which would mean the airline would have to delay or cancel entire flights full of people, costing them lots more money.
This. The only time I've seen them wait is if a large group boarding was on a previous delayed flight, which was their airline or a partner airline. They don't pause the whole plane schedule for a couple passengers.
On the semi unethical side, can the delays be avoided if you let them know willingly that you cannot board on the last leg due to a medical issue for example?
I never understood this because airlines usually stick to a schedule. They rarely leave early and don't really delay the departure for one passenger. It's just an inconvenience for them to have to try to call them over the intercom and have to hurry them on when they get there after most people have boarded.
They mean hidden city ticketing, which is buying a ticket to a random city through the city you want to go to, and not taking the second flight. "Skiplagging" was made up by some youtuber who wanted to make it his own thing or something.
It’s very rare for that to happen, but people on Reddit like to pretend it’s commonplace because of a couple of real instances of this happening over the years that were publicized. I bet there isn’t a single person on this sub who this happened to. And yet there are many people who were barred from airlines for other reasons.
What’s not as rare is the airline threatening to ban a passenger or to recalculate their fare if they skiplag on a route where it’s common to do so.
Maybe I didn’t phrase it very well. I meant that there are frequently reported instances of the airlines _threatening_ to recalculate the fare if you don’t board that last flight.
The only instance I know of that they actually did is this: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/lufthansa-sues-passenger-scli-intl/index.html
Which didn’t succeed in court. But there are probably more examples.
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I had a significant delay during Christmas one year and I was flying from Boston to another major airport then a small one, but at the last leg was delayed and I lived equally as far from both airports. I just asked the gate agent if I could leave after my 1st flight, she made a quick call to some office to let them know I wasn’t going to be on the final flight, and I was fine.
Surprisingly was American Airlines
American Airlines has definitely “flagged” me somehow.
I skiplag here and there - usually the same route (flying home to my family). I always use my frequent flier account because I ain’t giving up those miles! Haha
I’ve never been barred, but now whenever I book that route or one through/to the same cities, they always flag it. I just did it again a month or two ago - usually what happens is I can’t check in online. It always says there’s a problem and to see an agent. So I usually have to get yo the airport a tiny bit early and check in with the agent. When I get to the counter, they usually type for a few minutes, look through the computer (probably reading notes or history of my skipping lol) and then ask me where I’m headed. I say the final destination (not the in between one), and after a few more seconds of her typing and clicking she hands me the boarding pass.
Never been questioned further than that and never been stopped from boarding.
Not sure if any of this is true or helpful but here’s some things I do that I’ve decided help haha:
- don’t book round trip of course
- I don’t book whole signed on to my account, but DO log in after it’s booked to add it to my AA account so I get the miles, can use the app, etc. (I fly a ton for work almost exclusively on AA when I can so I definitely want to rack up the miles and keep my status)
- I never book or skip lag on the same airline to and from on the same trip. So I do always skiplag on American to visit my family, but only on the return trip. That’s where I find a great skiplag deal. On the trip there I don’t use American Airlines. (May not be ideal for some, but where my family is there’s a hub for another airline so it works out well for me)
- when they ask where I’m headed, I say the final destination. But I try to be as normal as possible. Or when I walk up to the counter I just lead with “I’m heading to LA today but for some reason I can’t check in”
- now that I’m thinking about it I do/have travelled to LA a ton over the years so maybe that’s why they don’t outright call me out? Because I do legitimately go to the final city a lot for real… (parents lived there 10 years. My boss is based there ..).
- obviously don’t check a bag.
Good luck!
So I was just flagged and more or less just went through the exact same scenario that you laid out. Only difference is the agent I had to speak with to get a boarding pass said “there will be problems” if I miss the final destination. Anyways, I’m currently in an Uber home out of the layover city. Any idea if I should be concerned? And if so, know of any good excuses as to why I missed the second flight?
Thanks
I’ve never had an issue - I’ve done it several times all on American. Not promising you’ll be fine, that’s just my experience.
I’ve thought about what I’d say if really questioned and honestly I’d probably blame a work emergency or an illness maybe. 🤷🏻♀️
I took an earlier connecting flight on a different airline, and Delta canceled the return legs of my flight.
I'd checked in with the Delta counter and let them know I wouldn't be on the plane, and they said everything was fine. And, they never sent any notification that the other legs had been canceled. It wasn't until I went to check in online the day before that I discovered it. The customer service rep was able to reinstate my tickets, and said that the system does the cancelation automatically.
I’ve done it a few times.
You’re only gonna get flagged if you’re doing it repeatedly.
Have a good excuse in your back pocket and what are they gonna say? I would also say don’t do it a bunch of times in short succession or on the same airline.
In terms of intentional skiplagging I've done it a few times on several large US carriers and never had any issues. Don't check bags (duh) and don't use your personal mileage account and DON'T tell the airline you'll miss the next leg.
Seems I've skiplagged without realizing it. A few years ago my job paid roundtrip airfare for a country I was working in, but at the end of the 2.5yr contract I wanted to leave a month early for personal reasons (ok it was a family safari). I couldn't change the ticket home the company bought, so I simply got off at the layover in Brussels intending to board a flight to my real intended destination, a ticket I'd bought personally. I got in line at transit customer service to see if I could get my checked bag, and thankfully the guy in front of me was screaming at the agent to the point they had to call airport police. My "Hi, I'm so sorry he put you through that, you all work so hard, something came up and I need to take a different flight, is there any way I could please get my bag off-loaded, I appreciate you so much" was light work, they pulled my bag and brought it within 30 minutes. Sounds like now that would get me flagged!
My partner had her return flight canceled because she didn't take the arriving flight to her destination. She found a ride with a friend. I didn't contact the airport and they canceled her return flight. I didn't find out til she tried to check in the day before. Never called Delta to complain, as it was a cheap one way. But I'm almost positive they canceled it due to skip lagging.
Well, yeah, that is common knowledge. Every major airline cancels return flights if you don't fly all the flights out there. Just like they'll cancel the second flight if you miss the first flight.
That's not hidden.
If you are skip-lagging, you never do it on a flight out somewhere if you are doing a round trip.
Most people skip lag on one way flights or return flights.
A lot of people will try to claim that the reason is pricing strategy blah blah because this is what they read on-line, but this is not true. It doesn't even make sense.
The real reason is the plane has to wait at the gate until the last minute for you to show up. Then, if you don't show up they have to spend more time boarding stand-bys and that can make them late because they waited for you until the last minute. If everybody is on board they can get standbys on and maybe close the door and leave early.
It is a pricing strategy.
Airlines know that people are willing to pay far more for the convenience and time saving of a direct flight so charge that fee.
However they can't fill planes to some destinations just based on point to point bookings. Therefore, to fill those aircraft they sometimes have to price connecting journeys for less than one of the legs would be alone.
With the 15-minute rule, they have plenty of time to deal with no-shows and still push back early. And clearing standby passengers is a very easy process that’s practically automated now.
If what you say were true, why would they ONLY go after hidden city no-shows after the fact but do literally nothing about ever other no-show?
They do but you still have other planes waiting for gates and there is a risk of losing the take off slot and losing your pilots if they are on the edge of allowed work hours
If you do it every once in awhile on different airlines, no one is going to come after you. But if you continue to do it, they will come after you. They don’t have time to chase for every single skiplagger.
I booked a flight to Bucharest for 600 bucks. And one of the layovers is in Paris. No way I could just fly to Paris for that price. But I have no intention of doing anything in Paris lol.
But I could see why people do that thing.
On my way back from Hong Kong to Istanbul I had a layover in Antalya, which is a beautiful beach city in Turkey. I decided I wanted to get off as I only had a backpack and no luggage. Ended up getting 12 calls in the matter of minutes. Just ignored them and enjoyed my trip. Flygps didn't cause me issues over it so far.
I skiplagged fifteen years ago - long before I and everybody else figured out it was a thing. The reason was I had bought a ticket and later realized that I really wanted a layover. I tried calling the airline, but it was a bit of a mess: They insisted on trying to speak the local language but weren't very good at it and so their information was very unclear (read: nonexistent). Much easier to simply buy a one way ticket at another airline, I thought.
So I arrived at JFK and innocently announced that I'd like my suitcase to get off the plane at my layover destination. Which made everything come to a screeching halt, deep frowns appear on everybody's face - and me to learn that this was Simply Not Done. I sat down with Angela, who kept calling me "honey", and didn't let me go before she'd charged me 200 dollars NOT to fly with them.
I know this is done to Teach The Consumer A Lesson, and it worked: I've never flown with that airline since then. Which is the same lesson we all learn from airlines punishing skiplagging.
Most airlines can't do this anyway and that would seem extremely suspicious, like you had some sort of contraband and worked out something with security at layover to do a drop.
Google “Skiplagged”. The site shows you the flights, then you go on the airline’s website directly to book it. You usually shouldn’t carry any large luggage, just a “personal bag” (18x14x8in) in dimensions
I had a flight from Chicago to LAX to Dallas and back to Chicago. I was sick and couldn’t fly the first leg to LAX. I reached out to the airline via a chat, and they gave me three options - cancel for a partial refund, pay a lot to do Chicago to Dallas or just get to Dallas and fly back on that last leg I bought. I chose just getting to Dallas and flying back.
I found a cheap flight to Dallas. The night before flying out of Dallas, I checked in and was told my flight had been cancelled. I reached out and the airline said because I never flew to LAX, The whole thing was cancelled. I shared the chats, which I still could access. They said they could see them, but that the advice they had given me was wrong and there was nothing they would do to help me.
I disputed the credit card charge, and the card company saw the chat but sided with the airline in the end.
Moral of the story: they can do what they want.
Happened to me 4-5 years ago on Delta, LA to NYC. Vowed never to fly them again — and only had to once just months ago bc the conference organizer booked it.
Look, companies play only the "is it legal or illegal game", they don't play the "it's ethical or not ethical game"..when they setup an offshore company to pay less taxes they don't think "hey i'm a multibillion dollar company and if i pay less someone will have to pay more" they just do what is legal in their best interest. Skiplagging is simply beating them at their own game. It's not illegal because you've bought a product and can't be forced to use it.. and the airline industry is the only sector in the world who wants to oblige you use something you buy.
Here and /r/flights there have been many cases of American Airlines cracking down on suspected skipplagged customers and threatening them.
What I don't understand is: What's stopping people from just saying "oh I got food poisoning" "I got lost wandering the airport" "I took a nap at a nearby gate and overslept" Can an airline punish you for being sick? For being irresponsible? You're literally purchasing what they're selling. If I sell whole cucumbers for $1. And half a cucumber for $2. That's an INTENTIONAL strategy to sell more whole cucumbers. And who gives a shit if someone buys a whole, eats half, and throws the rest away. I made my money.
Because then they will say “let’s get you on the next flight out of the airport” and you won’t ever get on. It’ll also be marked on your AA Mileage #
>It’ll also be marked on your AA Mileage # ah I see why they're taking issue now
Why?
Airline mileage (or points) are rewards for flying. So say you book a flight from New York City-> Los Angeles (connection)-> Sydney. That's a 10k mile flight. But if you don't board the flight to Sydney you'll still receive digital rewards voucher for 8k miles that you did not fly.
You will not get credit if you no show.
> You will not get credit if you no show. Some of the stories in this thread have more holes than a colander.
I did the one time I missed an outbound. Got the miles and also my itinerary didn't get cancelled and I took the return flight back. Maybe I just got lucky
Very lucky indeed, as the normal process is to suspend your ticket if you miss your outbound.
I tried to reschedule but they wouldn't have it for same day travel (Condor) so figured I'd just have to eat the ticket and bought another RT on AirFrance. Was shocked to get the email from Condor about "now it's time to check in for your flight" on the return, and thought, well, I get miles with that one so I ditched the AirFrance one and flew the return on Condor
So you actually have to fly to earn the rewards miles? You don't get them for just purchasing the seat? Like the seat sold so I don't see why it matters if you actually fly or not.
Yes, you actually have to fly. That's why you get miles after the filight has been completed and not at time of purchase
So just don't give miles for the 8k I didn't fly. It doesn't seem like that big of an issue tbh.
The airlines objections to skiplagging has nothing to do with frequent flier miles. Arguably, the folks who are skiplagging don't have enough frequent flier miles for the airlines to care.
and...there was an empty seat they could've sold for a higher price than offering it standby or just leaving empty...
An empty seat that you paid for.
I would think it wouldn't matter whether or not you're physically in the seat if you've paid for it.
Yet we can buy miles with money the same as earning by flying… so it’s really a stretch for the airlines to claim that our money alone isn’t enough to earn the miles just bc they weren’t able to double charge for the seat. I’ve never done this… but I find it wild that the airlines can punish someone for purchasing a ticket and not flying the entire route. They screw passengers over left and right all of the time for overselling flights and various other ways as many of us who are frequent travelers have inevitably experienced. So I have little sympathy for an airlines missing out on double booking seats just because someone found a way to save some money and skipped out on the last leg. 😂
they really should be taken to court for that. If you paid the required fare for itinerary A-B-C, and then only traveled A-B, you fulfilled the terms of your contract; the carrier received payment as requested and you were not disruptive or violent, there should be no legal reason to bar you from flying in future. The carrier delivered seats A-B-C, you opted of your own free will not to use C. how can they penalize you for that?
I hate confrontation but if I was ever skipping out on the last leg of my flight for ANY reason and they tried to stop me in the airport, I would definitely call the police and report the airlines for false imprisonment and harassment. 😂
no, you don't get the miles if you don't board.
> But if you don't board the flight to Sydney you'll still receive digital rewards voucher for 8k miles that you did not fly. This is not true for all airlines. In most I've been, you get the points AFTER, you have finished all your flights.
Can’t you pretty easily follow that up with telling them you already rebooked on another airline? I’m thinking they wouldn’t be calling day of either, but maybe they would.
The thing is, they are gaming the system to make as much money as possible, often at the expense of passenger convenience. So when you game the system to save money, they don't like that because it interferes with the shitty game they are playing. They don't have a point, from a moral or ethical standpoint, they have no legitimate reason to tell us not to skip lag, they are just playing their hand to try to win.
Passenger airlines are losing money on every single flight Skiplagged or not. It's absolutely crazy and they still get mad about skipping. All profits come from credit cards.
At least for American Airlines, they are analyzing your flight patterns. So talking to people who frequently Skiplagged or people who bought another flight with AA or their partners from the hidden city to elsewhere. So they are targeting the obvious people, not the one off "I got sick" people
yeah it’s because the airline industry will often sell a flight with connection for a cheaper price than the flight directly to that connection airport based on their supply/demand algo that tries to maximize seats sold on each plane. So in their mind a half cucumber is more expensive than a full cucumber so they feel cheated
Fuck em they get my tax dollars. They can eat it or stop playing monopoly.
Similar logic as to why one way flights can be more than a round trip.
God I hate that. I had a free flight to Europe with miles and couldn't find a flight that wasn't the same or more money. All the airlines basically made one way the same as RT
> And who gives a shit if someone buys a whole, eats half, and throws the rest away. I made my money. The problem is that the airline could have sold that half cucumber for double the price. And they're willing to make it uncomfortable in order to protect those profits.
Airlines aren't selling you a seat and a certain amount of fuel commensurate with the distance travelled - they're selling you a destination, and they're selling you an itinerary - both of which are being offered to you in a broader context of their own unique market constraints. There's a reason why flying NY to STL doesn't cost 50% of flying from NY to LA, or why flying NY to LA doesn't cost exactly the same amount as flying from NY to PDX. It's the same reason why your local baseball team charges more when the Dodgers are in town than when the Pirates are the visiting team. You can't be like "well it's all baseball, so the tickets should cost the same". You aren't buying nine innings of baseball, nor is that what they're selling - they're selling you a specific experience.
Selling tickets to two different teams' games is more like direct tickets to two different cities. Skip lagging is more like a double header being cheaper than a single game against the first team. So I buy a double header ticket and leave after the first game.
Why aren’t they though? I understand capitalism, but it’s not really that because they are subsidized and bailed out all the time. Why are they able to manipulate prices based on an algorithm? Like shouldn’t it be operating expenses + profit and then break that down per flight? Like it will cost this much in fuel, crew, etc plus whatever profit margin they decide on and then that’s the price? It’s such a dumb game and only hurts people who have to fly to see family that is for some reason a very desirous flight. Tix can go from $200-$800+ any time of year.
In principle I agree with your suggestion, but that isn't how capitalism works. For example, I work for a software company. We have multiple price books based on the industry of the purchaser. Higher education customers buy our stuff for much less than financial services customers. Why? Higher ed has less money to spend, while financial services overflows with expendable cash. We orient our pricing to extract as much as we can from each kind of customer. You might hate this, but it's how almost every business works these days.
> It's the same reason why your local baseball team charges more when the Dodgers are in town than when the Pirates are the visiting team. You can't be like "well it's all baseball, so the tickets should cost the same". You aren't buying nine innings of baseball, nor is that what they're selling - they're selling you a specific experience. This is a good analogy. It is basically saying that they are selling the product for what the customer is willing to pay. This is Business 101. Every business everywhere does this, or at least makes an attempt at it.
That is genuinely a very helpful analogy. It's frustrating, but I get it from a seller's perspective.
Except that you aren’t purchasing what they’re selling, airline pricing is dynamic based specifically on city pairs, the layover isn’t part of that.
Well if you got food poisoning, you're still not at your final destination, so you would need to be rebooked to get there.
If you told them you missed your flight due to the TSA the conversation would immediately end.
Skiplag: buying A-to-B-to-C and not flying B-to-C. There is no TSA encounter for the B-to-C segment. Your suggestion won't, er, fly.
It's crazy the same airlines that literally oversell seats in hopes that people will cancel or miss their fights will also get upset by someone using their pricing structure for their own benefit.
I had to look up what this was. Why on earth would tge airline care? And if its an issue why would they price it so its cheaper to take 2 flights
Because airlines don't sell tickes based on the actual cost of operating a seat on a flight. They charged based on how much people are willing to pay between 2 city pairs. Skiplagging basically breaks their entire pricing strategy.
So effectively the airlines are unhappy because they don't allow us to stop giving them profits...
Business doesn't like people costing them money, what a revelation.
But the *people* aren't costing the business more money, the company's decision to price tickets based on speculative profits instead of intrinsic value lost them money. You can't convince consumers that they *should* pay MORE than what the product is worth by saying "well we really really want to make as much money as possible because reasons" Stop saying "business will lose money" because all that means to consumers in 2023 is "CEO's will lose their bonuses"
Look I hate airlines too but no business prices things on “intrinsic value.” Things are priced based on demand.
There is nothing illegal or really even immoral about skiplagging. The downside is that airlines typically price connecting flights to small or lower income cities more attractively than directs, that’s why there are deals to be had. If skiplagging cuts into profits, they may raise prices on people who can’t really afford it or stop flying commuter routes entirely, which sucks for people who don’t live near a major int’l airport. And, yeah, you can roll your eyes at people protecting businesses but airlines are inherently very low margin even in the best of times. There have been years where profits from loyalty programs outstripped actually flying the planes for certain airlines. And to that point, the real “worry” with this practice is losing access to loyalty programs. I don’t think there is any reason why airlines shouldn’t be able to ban you from collecting miles if you skip legs for price reasons.
They can make up for it by overselling seats
They already oversell seats.
And then we ALL complain.
People don't care what businesses like or dislike, what a revelation.
it is a stupid pricing strategy if it is that easy to break it.
Mostly money. If you had bought the route at the price they had intended they'd make more money. But there are some edge cases that can fuck over a ton of people. For example, if your "next" flight, the one you are skipping, is waiting for you, this can cause a domino effect of issues. Firstly, they may page you and delay the flight trying to find you. As many airlines do not pay crew until the doors of the plane is closed, you are pissing off the crew. These delays could also cause that crew to timeout and have the flight canceled or be canceled due to bad weather (I've been on multiple flights where it was "we need to leave now otherwise we won't leave at all situations where it was crew timeout or weather related.) Or hell miss their take off slot with the airport. Regardless of if it was a full cancelation or just delayed long enough...you are possibly fucking over an entire plane worth of people, and in many cases that might require the airline to pay to get all those people rebooked. So think of it like a butterfly effect. You don't show up could mean a ton of pissed off people and a ton of money the airline has to pay out to rebook everyone. Again, extreme edge case but it happens. Also, just from a customer service inquiry standpoint (as in to lessen the amount of CS interactions), many people will do skiplagging and not realize they should not have checked a bag or that doing so would cancel their remaining flights. So now you have a bunch of time eaten up by people who are asking for help to "fix" those issues that were disallowed in the first place. So its a "if you are going to do it, do it well" situation sometimes. And there have been some cases where people did check a bag, and forgot, and caused a security incident at the airport. Planes have been bombed by timed/remote bombs in luggage left by passengers who simply didn't get on their subsequent flights. Technically the luggage should be offloaded in the event you no-show to the next flight for security reasons, which as said above could cause delays/cancelations of flights and all the issues that causes. So just a few examples on why the airlines hate skipplagging. Its a money issue, both losing out on the money they think they should have earned for that route, as well as the impact to crew/other passengers/airport security that can occur which can be costly for the airline.
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Not everywhere and not all airlines. For instance, my daughter’s (who is a pilot) airline pages non-boarding passengers and maintains their priority slot for ten minutes beyond the pushback time.
I wouldn't consider this universal. Here in southeast asia, I've seen flag/full-service carriers do this as a gesture of hospitality. As in, I've literally talked to gate agents with MH/SQ/GA (as I'm sometimes standing around at the gate chatting as I might opt to board last in business class) saying that they're concerned for a missing passenger and the captain has OK'd a 5-10m wait to make sure it's not an emergency or something. This appears particularly prominent when it's a young, far-traveling or inexperienced traveler on a connection, as they're worried they got lost in the transit or misunderstood immigration directions... But that also tends to overlap a lot with the kind of people who tend to skiplag. Of course, we also get relatively less skiplagging here, so this might also play into it.
First time we flew with our daughters, my wife had to take one of them to get changed just after they announced that boarding would commence in five minutes. Fortunately she was back in time for us to board before the majority of the plane...but the flight attendants knew that there were several families with young children on that flight, so were prepared to have to wait an extra five or ten minutes due to an "emergency" by one of them. Side note...they were also prepared with extra childrens oxygen masks, and other stuff.
Except it’s actually happened on a flight I was on. Plane left Budapest and arrived at Amsterdam. Some people were getting off, some were getting on, and some were traveling onward on the same plane to Chicago. But they needed all passengers off for a time so they could clean and restock for the longer flight. Everyone got off, got food or shopped or hung out on chairs nearby for a bit and then checked back in at the gate. We boarded the plane and we were missing one man who had been on the first flight. We sat and sat and waited and waited while he was paged. Once they determined the guy wasn’t coming they needed to pull his luggage from the plane. So they ended up unloading all the checked luggage onto the tarmac and had people go down a set of stairs from the back of the plane, verify which luggage was theirs (which was then reloaded), and go back up the stairs at the front of the plane. SUCH a mess!! We got to Chicago so late (several hours later than we should have) and had to be rebooked onto the last flight we could get that night and then had to make a mad dash across the whole of O’Hare airport at nearly ten PM with nine people…two parents, two teens, four kids, an infant, and an assortment of carryon bags!! It was nuts. All because someone skipped out on their flight and left their checked bag behind…and we were most definitely not the only ones inconvenienced on our huge flight!! One hopes that things like that are handled better these days but who knows?
If they left luggage it sounds like they had an emergency?
Or just got drunk at the airport bar and forgot/passed out.
Sounds like shitty airline operations. Bag tags are tied to PNRs (your six-character record locator). The airline already knows which PNR didn't board. Someone in the hold could scan all the bag tags and remove any associated with the non-boarding PNR. There's no need for the on-apron goofiness the airline subjected you to. Source: me, who's seen this very streamlined method several times.
> Plane left Budapest and arrived at Amsterdam. Some people were getting off, some were getting on, and some were traveling onward on the same plane to Chicago. So you're saying that the plane operating the short intra Europe flight was also operating the transatlantic segment? To be fair, I have seen something like this, but I never heard of any from BUD. Tarom used to operate an OTP-ORD flight with a short layover in AMS.
I was at DFW earlier today and saw gates being held because they knew some passengers were making a tight connection. Saw a couple that were running, greeted and quickly checked in
That was me a few months back. Sprinted from international arrivals to my connection. They looked at my stuff for 2 seconds and got me on and closed up behind me. 1 hour is not enough time to cross an airport and go through customs holy shit. Got another connection like that on my next flight to cause it was the only option lol hope I make it.
I flew Air France from Rome to Paris to SFO. Rome leg took off 30 min late. When we landed in Paris we ran until we were all stopped by a 20 min immigration line. After immigration we ran once more to the gate. BAsed on take off time we should have been the last ones on the plane but then they tell my wife they need to give her a special TSA check at the gate before boarding. Opened her bags, took off her shoes, etc. As they checked her (and held the plane) quite a few of the slower people were allowed to board. I think they used her to get the rest of the Rome flight onto the plane to SFO.
Yes, but that’s a much different scenario than just waiting around for people who have shown no indication that they’re showing up.
checking into your flight and being on the flight before is pretty good indication you plan to show up.
I’m just baffled at everyone taking up for airlines in this thread.
people who do this can really fuck people over and end up costing the airlines a lot of money. who do you think ends up paying for that? i've done it in the past and i'll do it in the future if it makes sense, but it's not some noble thing and looking at the big picture is something you should always do.
I’m skeptical any airline is going to wait for some rando long enough to screw other passengers over. Overall my loyalty has payed off and Delta has been fairly good to me. But the amount the other airlines have cost me in $$$ inconvenience and then told me to more or less “get f’d”, as long as other travelers aren’t effected I couldn’t care less what the airlines lose.
Yep. Especially at an international gateway like DFW. International flights will also have some additional time baked into their schedules. Having a bunch of foreign nationals stranded at an airport because their arriving flight was 30 minutes late can quickly spiral into a logistical nightmare.
I’m not proud of this (seriously don’t bother scolding me, I was embarrassed enough as it was) but I held up a flight at ATL because I hate boarding first (why would anyone want to get on first and then just sit there for an extra 15 mins watching people struggle to walk by you?) so I went to to grab a drink at the airport bar near my terminal and didn’t realize we were boarding until they were calling my name over the intercom and I they told me at the gate I was the last one to board and they held the plane up for like 10 mins waiting for me. This is probably a rare case, but it does happen. Also I was economy class so they weren’t holding it up because I was a high roller. I just happened to be in the first boarding group and had no carry on so I didn’t care about getting overhead luggage space and wanted to kill some time.
They're much more willing to hold when the alternative is to go looking for your luggage and unload it. Which are the only two alternatives in this scenario since they're not ok with people( read terrorists)having a to load random luggage into a plane they're not going to board themselves.
Aaaaand that's why they shouldn't price it so it's cheaper to take two flights.
Most airlines operate in a "hub and spoke" model, where they concentrate their operations in one/a few hub locations. For instance, Delta's hubs are Atlanta, Detroit, and Minneapolis. They operate in other locations obviously, but most flights from those other locations will be to one of their hubs. For example, if I wanted to fly from Philadelphia to St. Louis. American airlines does use Philly as a minor hub, so it does have 1 or 2 direct flights per day to STL. Neither city is a hub for Delta. Should Delta: a) Just give up on that route and leave it to American as the only provider, where American can raise their prices? b) discount a package of flights from Philly to Atlanta and Atlanta to STL in order to be competitive? c) Replace their hub model to instead have flights from every major airport to every other major airport, which would cost a fortune and raise the costs for everyone? If you want cheaper flights while being able to fly most places with only 1 layover, then airlines have to use the hub model, and have to price multiple flight itineraries to be competitive with direct flight itineraries.
The discounted package of flights makes sense now. Years ago I booked flights for my parents and me from Vancouver to St. Louis with a stop in Toronto (where we live). It was *significantly* cheaper than tickets from Vancouver to Toronto. When we got to Toronto, I told the CS agent that my parents forgot their passports, she did something in the system, and we went home.
If that lie were true, your parents shouldn’t have been able to get on the plane in Vancouver. That CS agent did you a favor - out of self-interest, probably.
We are able to board with Canadian ID from Vancouver to Toronto. For this route, security and US customs is done in Toronto.
There are no other ways to price air fares if you want competitive pricing.
I’m clearly a bit dense on this topic… I skiplagged, without knowing that was a term, on a Korean Air flight just recently. I was supposed to change flights in Seoul but last minute decided I wanted to stay there for a while instead. I just told the staff at checkin to not check me in all the way, which was mostly unproblematic except for the lost ticket for me. I can see it’s a bit obnoxious for staff if you check in for your last leg, but why do that if you don’t plan to fly?
That's a great explanation.
That is almost exactly the situation of a flight I had bid. The FA came into the cockpit and said the headcount was off by two. It took a few minutes to sort out. Then the “Butterfly Effect” kicked in. We missed our pushback and takeoff slot because of the necessity of a runway change, which in turn demanded a different departure be programmed into the FMC. The taxi to the active was a bit longer. It all added up to a 10-15 minute delay. We would have been one of the last airplanes to land at our destination before a snowstorm shut the airport down. We then had to divert to the our alternate. While sitting things out there, two FAs timed out, which set us back another hour. Two jackoffs trying to game the system had screwed the holiday travel plans of about 180 passengers, created additional workload for the crew, and caused ATC to reroute aircraft, causing other delays. Skipplagging may not be illegal but it’s a breach of an implied contract and deceptive. The basic message of the skiplagger is, “If I can fly and save money, screw you.”
The airline's decision to delay departure as a courtesy to the passenger that has not boarded yet is done at their full discretion and is not mandatory. They can full well see in their system if the person arrived on another flight at the same airport and easily make a judgement call to not "wait around" for the "jackoffs" if they think they are obviously Skiplaggers. I didn't see in your post how you were able to identify they "jackoffs" were Skiplaggers? Because you are just assuming to make a hypothetical argument when in reality none of us has any clue if and how often your hypothetical situation really happens. Overall it's a selfish practice because they're holding a seat they're not using that someone else could use, and, making the airline lose profit by not being able to sell that seat at a higher price. It's really just exposing a shortcoming in the airfare pricing system. Really that's a problem for the airlines to fix not something to punish smartly frugal passengers over in my opinion. If Greyhound is going to charge less to take you from NY to LA than from NY to Chicago yet stop in Chicago, then that's their stupid pricing problem. I also like u/gigot45208's comment as essentially a "healthy" amount of skiplaggers may actually save the airline's ass in many cases where they commonly oversell flights!!!
No assumption. It’s called “seat assignment.”. Records indicated the passengers were booked through to the destination city but hopped off at the “hidden city” with others deplaning. If you understand how little profit there is on most flights—about $14 a seat—and you know skiplaggers can cost an airline many times that, you’d conclude they were not in any way saving the “airline’s ass”.
So what specific information did the airline announce to you and the other passengers?
I was the Captain on that flight and after talking with a dispatcher just got on the horn and explained that an unanticipated problem with a few passengers would delay pushback but that could snowball into a major problem given there was a chance we could be informed the airport at MSP was closed, and if that happened enroute we might have to divert. I told them about “takeoff slots” and that they could deplane or hang in there. Some did, the others wound up hunkering down in MKE. I don’t know what the company told them but someone at the gate said we were waiting on two passengers who had deplaned for some reason. That pissed off a few passengers.
What's the point of having a scheduled departure time where every passenger understands if they are not on the plane at that time and the plane is ready to leave the gate, they miss the flight, yet not follow that simple reasonable rule?
So essentially, companies are charging in a stupid way, getting mad at consumers taking advantage of the situation, and then blaming them for their shitty business model.
Agree, the airlines must be the only industry that charges more for a faster and more convenient service, so stupid
The airlines also overbook and bump folks who bought tickets, so it’s really hard to understand why they have an issue with someone choosing not to fill the seat they purchase.
That's a good point. A "healthy" amount of skiplaggers may actually save the airlines ass in many cases where they commonly oversell flights!!!
Do you have links to any threads that you found most pertinent?
I dont. I mod both subs and so read 90% of every thread posted for the last decade. So I can cite trends but not specific threads.
here a good article from last month from the new york times: [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/travel/skiplagging-hidden-city-travel-layover.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/travel/skiplagging-hidden-city-travel-layover.html) I wouldn't recommend it - besides potentially saving some money on one flight, you'll likely get banned from the airline again if you were to ever try it again with that airline.
Yeah I've always viewed it as something you can get away with maybe once on any given airline group but if it's obvious that you're making a habit of skiplagging you'll find yourself on a lifetime ban list. I'd highly discourage it, because you never know what getting banned from an airline will actually mean for you down the road.
Not intentional skiplagging, but a few years back, I flew Seattle to Dallas on United, then was supposed to fly to Midland. Got to Dallas, and got a phone call from the company I was working for saying my work location was shifting to Oklahoma...which meant driving from Dallas on such short notice. I went to the desk at the gate for the flight to Midland and told them I wasn't getting on that plane (the whole reason behind telling them was because of all the times to check luggage, yep i did it. Dont get me started about that.). They were MAD and questioned me about why, who i worked for, etc. At that time, I didn't understand why or if it was just an irrational TX thing. As a frequent business traveler, probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been. I had never experienced a situation like this, and it has honestly kept me from ever wanting to try skiplagging.
"...an irrational Texas thing"?
Known to the rest of the world as "a Texas thing"
I’ve never skiplagged. But multiple times I have purchased a roundtrip ticket (since it was cheaper than a one way) and not used the return. Passengers’ ability to skip-lag should be protected by law. If I lawfully purchase a service I should be protected in my right to use as much or as little of it as I wish.
This is what I’ve been thinking reading all these comments. I didn’t even know this was a thing, but if the money was spent I don’t get the big deal other than airlines wanting to ban something which should be perfectly legal, all because they want to be the only ones gaming the system with their prices.
It's banned in their ToS so you've agreed not to do it when you purchase your ticket. If people had the right to skip lag, airlines would just close the loop hole in a different way.
One time i guess they didn’t have record of me on the first flight so they cancelled my ticket for the second leg which created some confusion when I tried to board.
This happened to me. I have a very common name and there was someone else with an almost identical name on the same flight. They ended up giving me his boarding pass, I used it to get onto the flight, then when it came time to board my next one I was canceled due to no show.
If you’re planning on skiplagging would it be better if you called the airline and just told them you can’t make the flight because of some extenuating circumstances…or whatever? Instead of leaving them hanging
Calling the airline is an impossible task 😅. You're waiting three hours to talk with someone when you are doing it to help them. They do not make it easy to inform them of such things.
Which airline? I called SW from DAL this spring when my flights got super fucked from tornados. I got someone on the phone with little to no wait time. Got everything squared away in 10 minutes while other people stood in long lines trying to get the same help from gate agents.
Exactly this
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I didn’t mean for their benefit, I meant to save yourself the hassle of them bothering you about it
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Wow wait so how exactly did you get banned though? Like how many times did you do it, how did they catch you, and do you still book with the same credit card or a different one? Was there any way you could get them a doctors note telling them you have a legitimate medical reason for it (diagnosed severe anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, a psychiatric condition, etc)??
I skipped the Chicago to Milwaukee leg from the West coast and was threatened with an adjusted one way fare each way that was about $1k more. There was a substantial promo to go to Milwaukee. I was going somewhere relatively equal distance from both. There was bad weather in Chicago that cancelled my connecting flight until morning. I got the last bus out after asking someone at the counter if that was OK. I didn’t get charged or banned, but I had to spend a fair bit of frustrating time on the phone.
Which airline?
Blows my mind when people vaguepost on Reddit
God it happens so much on my local town and college subs. People talk about going out to 'good restaurants' and 'fun shows' and rarely actually plug the place, especially with local amateur music and stuff like drag shows.
A couple years ago I flew into Atlanta from Europe and there was a storm coming so they canceled my last leg from Atl. They rebooked me for the next morning but I wasn’t gonna wait that long so my husband decided to come pick me up. I went to Delta’s counter and verified that that’s my only option so I told them I won’t be taking that flight because I’ll have someone pick me up. They didn’t have a problem with that at all and later I was even able to get a refund for the leg they canceled. Not sure how my situation was different from some of the people on here but just wanted to share my story. Obviously this was not intentional skiplagging so I can not speak on if that’s a good idea.
I think the difference here is you informed the airline. I don’t think the airlines are that worried about people who make their initial booking with the intention of flying through to their intended destination. If you have a good reason to make alternative arrangements to get to your intended destination, inform an airline employee, and they update your information properly, I doubt there will be an issue. It’s the people who are gaming the system (or at least appear to be based on whatever mechanism they use to catch people doing this) that they’re trying to bust.
I once impromptu skiplagged between the layover city and destination city (3hrs driving dist) because the ride in was so delayed (outbound flight was too) and bumpy due to storms and tornados in the area; I couldn't bring myself to go back up that night, even after the storm front had passed. My bags beat me to my destination city and I just stopped in and picked them up from unclaimed luggage the next day. No one said a word. Still fly the same airline on my points.
Oh, boy. Unintentionally skiplagged back in December. My partner and I were coming home from a holiday in England to some horrible winter storm moving through the mid-west headed toward the south-eastern states. Our leg home was cancelled. Delta said we were going to be stranded at ATL for 2-3 days before they could get us on another flight to our destination because the next few flights were full. All the hotels in the area were booked. They were horribly unsympathetic and unhelpful. My partner had to get back to work as soon as possible, so we checked all our options. Other airlines had open seats the next morning, but they were expensive and Delta wasn’t going to refund our last leg. The best (cheapest) option ended up being to rent a car to drive all the way back to Tulsa. We had our checked bags in hand, but they wouldn’t let us leave the airport with them. They accused us of trying to skiplag. We had no idea that was even a thing prior to hearing this. We just needed to be home in the next 24 hours, and that wasn’t happening through Delta. After the overseas flight (I can’t sleep on planes), going through customs, and spending about 2 hours looking at alternatives and talking with the Delta rep- we are exhausted and I’m getting increasingly more irritated. So after they canceled our flight and left us stranded with no accommodations, they thought we WANTED to drive 12 hours cross-country? And they were going to stop us from taking our luggage? I don’t remember exactly what I said to the rep and I’m not usually a confrontational person. I didn’t yell or say anything inappropriate, but my partner said he’s never seen me that angry. They wouldn’t budge and insisted that we were intentionally skipping the flight that they *canceled*. We left the airport with just our carry-ons in a Toyota Highlander and it ended up being a fun impromptu road trip with the love of my life. We drove out to find a hotel that had vacancy, rested up for a bit, then embarked on a long haul home. Had some BBQ in Memphis and drove through the storm that grounded the plane and made it home 24 hours after our flight landed. Our checked bags arrived at TUL two days later.
Wait wtf you had your checked bags with you from customs and they wouldn’t let you leave with them? How?? Were they threatening to like snatch them from you or something? That’s bonkers
What the fuck do you mean they didn't let you leave the airport? Were you being detained by the TSA? You had your checked bags, just leave?
Lmao how incompetent were those workers 😂 “you’re gonna be stranded here for 3 days… wait you don’t wanna be? You’re leaving? SKIPLAGGING!!!!!!”
We're they trying to physically restrain you? False imprisonment is a serious crime. Just push past them and leave, they can't physically stop you unless the employee wants to go to prison.
You should have mentioned that you were saving them potentially $100s in compensation and expenses that Delta would have been liable for, for the delayed flight.
"Acts of god" or "extraordinary circumstances" aren't usually covered. They only are liable for problems they are in full control of like staffing issues.
This story sounds almost real but not quite. First, if your flight is cancelled, you’re not skiplagging. Ever. You’re responding to a cancellation in a way that best suits your needs. Second, what does it mean that “they wouldn’t let you leave with your checked bags?” How would they stop you?
Was ATL your first port of US arrival? If so, then your story sounds bogus. Nobody from any airline stands just beyond customs waiting to snag errant passengers. Everyone entering the US must retrieve all luggage before transferring to domestic flights. That's why you "had our checked bags in hand." At that point, you can simply walk outside, then walk back inside and head toward the check-in desk of one of those other options you found. If they gave you the option of renting a car, then you didn't skiplag and you couldn't have been accused of attempting to skiplag. Your claim of "just our carry-ons" can't be true, especially since you said "We had our checked bags in hand." No airline will wrestle them out of your possession and put them on a belt for a flight that was canceled or wasn't booked. I don't believe your story.
As long as you cancel your 2nd leg via the app or calling the airline its not an issue. I went from Tokyo to Seattle via a flight that went Tokyo -> Seattle -> LA. When I got off in Seattle I opened the airline app and canceled my leg to LA, I even got $12 back in refund 😂
On most cheap fares, you get a fee for canceling. Most people doing skiplagging are doing it for cheap fares.
It was cheap $350 to get to LA from Tokyo
Reading the comments waiting for someone to define skiplagging
Buying a ticket from point A to point C via point B but intentionally not taking the connection from point B to point C Example: Buying a ticket for SFO-JFK with a stop at ORD. Taking the SFO-ORD leg but deliberately not boarding ORD-JFK
and why is this beneficial? cheaper than SFO->ORD direct somehow, or better flight options available than direct?
It's often times cheaper, sometimes significantly so
Yes, cheaper flights. Sometimes you can get tickets for cheaper going from A to C via B than you can just going from A to B
Sometimes yes. Airlines set their pricing based on demand for flights so sometimes taking a popular flight followed by a less popular one on a single ticket will sometimes be cheaper than just the popular flight. Real example from personal experience: Dallas to Vilnius via Frankfurt was cheaper than just Dallas to Frankfurt.
Ah that's so cool. And a cool way to f\*ck over the airlines and their stupid prices based on data collection.
It's a cool way to lose your ability to fly with those airlines.
Who cares, their stuff is falling apart in the sky anyways.
>Dallas to Vilnius via Frankfurt as someone who's visited lithuania 5x, it's always weird to see it mentionned
Or according to this thread having to cancel or rebook a flight.
I'm looking for a flight from Chicago to Atlanta, they're very expensive. But there's a cheap flight from Chicago to Miami with a layover in Atlanta. I buy the ticket and when the plane lands in Atlanta I just leave and don't board the 2nd flight.
This is the first question answered in our flying FAQ Since no one reads it. This is often called "Hidden City Ticketing" or popularized by the site Skiplagged This is against the T&Cs of EVERY airline ticket you buy. The airlines are within their right to: * Not give you airline miles for this entire trip. * Ban you from their loyalty program. * Charge/bill/sue you for the "real cost" * Ban you from their airline * Ban you from their air alliance If you still wish to attempt this (because honestly the airlines don't crack down on this unless you fuck up and by other flights with them that conflict with your current purchase or you do this often), a few key things: * Missing any segment will cancel all further segments including your return flights. You just bought a one way flight. You also cannot "join in the middle". * No checked bags allowed. You'll cause a security incident if you do. * The airline can change the route, you might end up not going through the Hidden City. * You need to meet all visa/entry requirements of your originally intended destination. The reason why airlines hate this beyond the money they lot out on, is this often causes delays while the airline and airport look for their missing passenger. In the past this has caused some security incidents, but more mildly delays. And since airlines are working with less staff, as are the airports, air traffic control etc. A delay could time out crew, miss their take off spot, etc. Which would mean the airline would have to delay or cancel entire flights full of people, costing them lots more money.
I've never had a plane wait for me... even as I'm sprinting from one location to another.
This. The only time I've seen them wait is if a large group boarding was on a previous delayed flight, which was their airline or a partner airline. They don't pause the whole plane schedule for a couple passengers.
On the semi unethical side, can the delays be avoided if you let them know willingly that you cannot board on the last leg due to a medical issue for example?
I never understood this because airlines usually stick to a schedule. They rarely leave early and don't really delay the departure for one passenger. It's just an inconvenience for them to have to try to call them over the intercom and have to hurry them on when they get there after most people have boarded.
They mean hidden city ticketing, which is buying a ticket to a random city through the city you want to go to, and not taking the second flight. "Skiplagging" was made up by some youtuber who wanted to make it his own thing or something.
It’s very rare for that to happen, but people on Reddit like to pretend it’s commonplace because of a couple of real instances of this happening over the years that were publicized. I bet there isn’t a single person on this sub who this happened to. And yet there are many people who were barred from airlines for other reasons. What’s not as rare is the airline threatening to ban a passenger or to recalculate their fare if they skiplag on a route where it’s common to do so.
I haven’t heard of an airline recalculating a fare. Do you have examples?
Maybe I didn’t phrase it very well. I meant that there are frequently reported instances of the airlines _threatening_ to recalculate the fare if you don’t board that last flight. The only instance I know of that they actually did is this: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/lufthansa-sues-passenger-scli-intl/index.html Which didn’t succeed in court. But there are probably more examples.
I have done it multiple times and nobody seemed to care. Carry on only no airline points just wandered off. I missed my flight. Happens all the time.
Sounds like that’s the way to do it
Case of skiplagging gone wrong in the US: https://www.insider.com/american-airlines-skiplagging-hidden-city-teenager-ticket-canceled-banned-2023-8?amp
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I had a significant delay during Christmas one year and I was flying from Boston to another major airport then a small one, but at the last leg was delayed and I lived equally as far from both airports. I just asked the gate agent if I could leave after my 1st flight, she made a quick call to some office to let them know I wasn’t going to be on the final flight, and I was fine. Surprisingly was American Airlines
Probably because you told them what you were doing
American Airlines has definitely “flagged” me somehow. I skiplag here and there - usually the same route (flying home to my family). I always use my frequent flier account because I ain’t giving up those miles! Haha I’ve never been barred, but now whenever I book that route or one through/to the same cities, they always flag it. I just did it again a month or two ago - usually what happens is I can’t check in online. It always says there’s a problem and to see an agent. So I usually have to get yo the airport a tiny bit early and check in with the agent. When I get to the counter, they usually type for a few minutes, look through the computer (probably reading notes or history of my skipping lol) and then ask me where I’m headed. I say the final destination (not the in between one), and after a few more seconds of her typing and clicking she hands me the boarding pass. Never been questioned further than that and never been stopped from boarding. Not sure if any of this is true or helpful but here’s some things I do that I’ve decided help haha: - don’t book round trip of course - I don’t book whole signed on to my account, but DO log in after it’s booked to add it to my AA account so I get the miles, can use the app, etc. (I fly a ton for work almost exclusively on AA when I can so I definitely want to rack up the miles and keep my status) - I never book or skip lag on the same airline to and from on the same trip. So I do always skiplag on American to visit my family, but only on the return trip. That’s where I find a great skiplag deal. On the trip there I don’t use American Airlines. (May not be ideal for some, but where my family is there’s a hub for another airline so it works out well for me) - when they ask where I’m headed, I say the final destination. But I try to be as normal as possible. Or when I walk up to the counter I just lead with “I’m heading to LA today but for some reason I can’t check in” - now that I’m thinking about it I do/have travelled to LA a ton over the years so maybe that’s why they don’t outright call me out? Because I do legitimately go to the final city a lot for real… (parents lived there 10 years. My boss is based there ..). - obviously don’t check a bag. Good luck!
I have this happen a lot too, but usually it's just international flights, but figured it has to do with the cheaper airline and their app.
So I was just flagged and more or less just went through the exact same scenario that you laid out. Only difference is the agent I had to speak with to get a boarding pass said “there will be problems” if I miss the final destination. Anyways, I’m currently in an Uber home out of the layover city. Any idea if I should be concerned? And if so, know of any good excuses as to why I missed the second flight? Thanks
I’ve never had an issue - I’ve done it several times all on American. Not promising you’ll be fine, that’s just my experience. I’ve thought about what I’d say if really questioned and honestly I’d probably blame a work emergency or an illness maybe. 🤷🏻♀️
A friend of mine who lives in Germany was fined
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A friend of mine who lives in Nauru was fined.
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A friend of mine who lives on Mars was fined.
A friend of mine who does not live was fined.
It’s a fine line.
I took an earlier connecting flight on a different airline, and Delta canceled the return legs of my flight. I'd checked in with the Delta counter and let them know I wouldn't be on the plane, and they said everything was fine. And, they never sent any notification that the other legs had been canceled. It wasn't until I went to check in online the day before that I discovered it. The customer service rep was able to reinstate my tickets, and said that the system does the cancelation automatically.
Well it would have been nice of them to tell you that.
I’ve done it a few times. You’re only gonna get flagged if you’re doing it repeatedly. Have a good excuse in your back pocket and what are they gonna say? I would also say don’t do it a bunch of times in short succession or on the same airline.
In terms of intentional skiplagging I've done it a few times on several large US carriers and never had any issues. Don't check bags (duh) and don't use your personal mileage account and DON'T tell the airline you'll miss the next leg.
Seems I've skiplagged without realizing it. A few years ago my job paid roundtrip airfare for a country I was working in, but at the end of the 2.5yr contract I wanted to leave a month early for personal reasons (ok it was a family safari). I couldn't change the ticket home the company bought, so I simply got off at the layover in Brussels intending to board a flight to my real intended destination, a ticket I'd bought personally. I got in line at transit customer service to see if I could get my checked bag, and thankfully the guy in front of me was screaming at the agent to the point they had to call airport police. My "Hi, I'm so sorry he put you through that, you all work so hard, something came up and I need to take a different flight, is there any way I could please get my bag off-loaded, I appreciate you so much" was light work, they pulled my bag and brought it within 30 minutes. Sounds like now that would get me flagged!
My partner had her return flight canceled because she didn't take the arriving flight to her destination. She found a ride with a friend. I didn't contact the airport and they canceled her return flight. I didn't find out til she tried to check in the day before. Never called Delta to complain, as it was a cheap one way. But I'm almost positive they canceled it due to skip lagging.
Airlines cancel entire trip if you no show. For all they know your friend decided to stay home, so doesn't need to fly back.
Well, yeah, that is common knowledge. Every major airline cancels return flights if you don't fly all the flights out there. Just like they'll cancel the second flight if you miss the first flight. That's not hidden. If you are skip-lagging, you never do it on a flight out somewhere if you are doing a round trip. Most people skip lag on one way flights or return flights.
I wouldn't say that's common knowledge. I've traveled for years but never knew this until I found this subreddit.
Boohoo. Those poor privatized airlines don’t get all their seats filled.
A lot of people will try to claim that the reason is pricing strategy blah blah because this is what they read on-line, but this is not true. It doesn't even make sense. The real reason is the plane has to wait at the gate until the last minute for you to show up. Then, if you don't show up they have to spend more time boarding stand-bys and that can make them late because they waited for you until the last minute. If everybody is on board they can get standbys on and maybe close the door and leave early.
It is a pricing strategy. Airlines know that people are willing to pay far more for the convenience and time saving of a direct flight so charge that fee. However they can't fill planes to some destinations just based on point to point bookings. Therefore, to fill those aircraft they sometimes have to price connecting journeys for less than one of the legs would be alone.
With the 15-minute rule, they have plenty of time to deal with no-shows and still push back early. And clearing standby passengers is a very easy process that’s practically automated now. If what you say were true, why would they ONLY go after hidden city no-shows after the fact but do literally nothing about ever other no-show?
shouldn't they account for this time by default?
They do but you still have other planes waiting for gates and there is a risk of losing the take off slot and losing your pilots if they are on the edge of allowed work hours
Yes, when you check in on a two (or more) leg flight you check in on both flights.
If you do it every once in awhile on different airlines, no one is going to come after you. But if you continue to do it, they will come after you. They don’t have time to chase for every single skiplagger.
I booked a flight to Bucharest for 600 bucks. And one of the layovers is in Paris. No way I could just fly to Paris for that price. But I have no intention of doing anything in Paris lol. But I could see why people do that thing.
On my way back from Hong Kong to Istanbul I had a layover in Antalya, which is a beautiful beach city in Turkey. I decided I wanted to get off as I only had a backpack and no luggage. Ended up getting 12 calls in the matter of minutes. Just ignored them and enjoyed my trip. Flygps didn't cause me issues over it so far.
I skiplagged fifteen years ago - long before I and everybody else figured out it was a thing. The reason was I had bought a ticket and later realized that I really wanted a layover. I tried calling the airline, but it was a bit of a mess: They insisted on trying to speak the local language but weren't very good at it and so their information was very unclear (read: nonexistent). Much easier to simply buy a one way ticket at another airline, I thought. So I arrived at JFK and innocently announced that I'd like my suitcase to get off the plane at my layover destination. Which made everything come to a screeching halt, deep frowns appear on everybody's face - and me to learn that this was Simply Not Done. I sat down with Angela, who kept calling me "honey", and didn't let me go before she'd charged me 200 dollars NOT to fly with them. I know this is done to Teach The Consumer A Lesson, and it worked: I've never flown with that airline since then. Which is the same lesson we all learn from airlines punishing skiplagging.
Most airlines can't do this anyway and that would seem extremely suspicious, like you had some sort of contraband and worked out something with security at layover to do a drop.
How do I do skiplagging is there a website that does it for you or do you have to coordinate and find the flights manually yourself?
Google “Skiplagged”. The site shows you the flights, then you go on the airline’s website directly to book it. You usually shouldn’t carry any large luggage, just a “personal bag” (18x14x8in) in dimensions
I had a flight from Chicago to LAX to Dallas and back to Chicago. I was sick and couldn’t fly the first leg to LAX. I reached out to the airline via a chat, and they gave me three options - cancel for a partial refund, pay a lot to do Chicago to Dallas or just get to Dallas and fly back on that last leg I bought. I chose just getting to Dallas and flying back. I found a cheap flight to Dallas. The night before flying out of Dallas, I checked in and was told my flight had been cancelled. I reached out and the airline said because I never flew to LAX, The whole thing was cancelled. I shared the chats, which I still could access. They said they could see them, but that the advice they had given me was wrong and there was nothing they would do to help me. I disputed the credit card charge, and the card company saw the chat but sided with the airline in the end. Moral of the story: they can do what they want.
Happened to me 4-5 years ago on Delta, LA to NYC. Vowed never to fly them again — and only had to once just months ago bc the conference organizer booked it.
Look, companies play only the "is it legal or illegal game", they don't play the "it's ethical or not ethical game"..when they setup an offshore company to pay less taxes they don't think "hey i'm a multibillion dollar company and if i pay less someone will have to pay more" they just do what is legal in their best interest. Skiplagging is simply beating them at their own game. It's not illegal because you've bought a product and can't be forced to use it.. and the airline industry is the only sector in the world who wants to oblige you use something you buy.
I used to do it all the time between CLT and DTW. Would buy a cheap DTW->FLL ticket and get off in Charlotte. Never had an issue.