It’s called skiplagging. It’s a true phenomenon in aviation, but the airlines frown upon it.
And with airfares rising this summer, it’s back again with a vengeance.
Skiplagging is something of an art form, but it’s also fairly easy. Let’s say you want to go from Boston to Washington, but the cheapest airfare is $250. But then you find a flight that goes from Boston to New Orleans with a stop in Washington in between for $175. Skiplagging is when you get off at your desired location, in this case, Washington, when the plane stops for the connection. And you save $75 along the way.
But there are two important things to remember.
The first is that you can’t travel with luggage or it will be checked through all the way to New Orleans in this hypothetical scenario. Fly to a destination where you either don’t need luggage or you can get away with a carry-on.
The second thing is to fly a different airline back home; the first airline might catch on to what you’re trying to do.
Skiplagging is also known as hidden city ticketing or throwaway ticketing. It gained notoriety in the early 2000s but has since come roaring back to life with rising airfares.
Dan Gellert, Skiplagged.com’s COO, sees the trend growing. He told The New York Post on Friday that there’s such a stark price difference because “we exist to help the travelers save money. We don’t exist to help the airlines sell tickets, which is what the other travel sites do.”
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