Finding a cheap flight can be a gamble, prices fluctuate based on the season, destination or even the day of the week. But what if there was a way to cut through the uncertainty and save money on flights every time? Enter Skiplagged, also known as hidden city ticketing—a travel hack that could change how you book your next flight.
Skiplagging is buying a flight that has a layover in your desired destination but instead of continuing on to the final city on your ticket you exit the journey at the layover city. It sounds like a clever trick but it’s not without its complexities. This guide covers everything you need to know about skiplagging, how it works, the legal implications and is it good for your next trip.
What Is Skiplagging?
At its core skiplagging is about paying less for airfare. When you book a flight, airlines price multi-leg flights lower than direct flights to attract budget-conscious travelers. Skiplagging takes advantage of this by letting the passenger “skip” the final leg of the trip, often resulting in a cheaper flight. You end your journey at the layover city, which is your actual destination.
To illustrate, let’s go through an example.
Let’s say you live in New York and want to fly to Chicago, but the direct flight is $350.
A skiplagger would instead book a $250 ticket from New York to Denver that has a layover in Chicago.
When their flight from New York arrives in Chicago the skiplagger simply gets off the plane, and leaves the airport.
This works because indirect routes are sometimes cheaper due to airline pricing algorithms and competition. Powerful search engine pulls help identify these cheaper flights through skiplagging, allowing users to discover hidden fare savings and unique travel options.
But skiplagging raises eyebrows in the travel industry. Airlines hate it; they see it as a threat to their business model because because they can no longer charge monopolistic pricing into their main airports.
Why The Airlines Hate Skiplagging
It’s important to be clear: airlines don’t like Skiplagging because you (the traveler) are saving money they want to go into their pockets instead.
Airlines use complex algorithms to optimize revenue by dynamically pricing flights based on a multitude of factors. Things like number of stops, time of day, when you book, and much more all affect the price that a given ticket might be at a given moment in time.
From the airlines perspective, they would rather have you pay $350 to get to Chicago than $250 (of course they would). But, obviously, travelers would rather pay $250.
Skiplagging gives travelers the power to be able to book the flight they want, at the actual best price available.
Why Don’t the Airlines Shut Skiplagging Down?
If the airlines don’t like Skiplagging, and they set their own prices, why do they let Skiplagging happen?
They’ve tried, but we’ve won multiple court cases to be able to show skiplagging flights.
Fundamentally, Skiplagging is a great way to save money. Over the years, we’ve saved our customers millions of dollars on flights resulting in money going back into their pocket instead of the airlines.
Why is Skiplagged the Only Travel Site that Offers Hidden City Flights?
In short, money. Just about every travel site out there makes their money from the airlines. For instance, if you book a United flight on Kayak, United would pay Kayak through commissions or advertising.
But that finder’s fee comes with strings attached. It means that United gets to dictate to Kayak (or any other travel site) what they are, and are not, allowed to show to travelers.
And one of the things that United forbids travel sites from showing is skiplagging flights.
Then Why Can Skiplagged Show Hidden City Flights?
We aren’t paid by the airlines. In fact, the airlines kinda hate us.
Instead, we’re directly paid by travelers for the savings we offer them. If you book a Skiplagged flight on our site, you may see a service fee attached. It’s usually about $5-10.
In general, that fee is dwarfed by the savings you are getting by flying hidden city. We’ve had customers saves thousands on a single trip (in 2024, a family of 5 flew Atlanta to Hawaii and saved almost $2,000).
Every other travel site answers to the airlines. They are the ones who pay them.
Not us though. We answer to travelers. Because travelers are our real customers, we get to do what’s best for travelers
And we always will.
We need to charge a fee in order to keep our lights on. And we do it so that we can keep travelers flying at the best prices. And yes, we do a little bit enjoy sticking it to the airlines.
What are the downsides of Skiplagging?
While the savings from Skiplagging can be big, there are some downsides to consider and we want to be up front about them.
Canceled Flights or Return Segments: If an airline finds out you didn’t complete the last leg of your flight they will cancel the rest of your ticket including return flights. This is particularly problematic for round trip travelers who want to use skiplagging to save on a round trip ticket. Fortunately, if you book round trip through Skiplagged, we book two one-ways for you, so you’re taken of.
Carry-On Only: A common downside of skiplagging is you can’t check in any luggage, so we recommend you travel with something that can fit under your seat. Since the final destination on your ticket is different from where you plan to exit any checked bags would be sent to that final city so you can’t retrieve them at the layover city. There is a slight caveat here for international travel, and car seats/strollers.
Itinerary Changes: Bad weather, mechanical issues or other disruptions can cause airlines to change your itinerary. If you’re on a skiplagged ticket and your layover city changes or the flight is rerouted you might end up stuck traveling to the ticketed final destination.
If airlines find out what you’re doing they can take action against you and there are logistical challenges that can arise. On an international flight, customs procedures and checked luggage policies can also complicate the skiplagging strategy.
Is Skiplagging Legal?
Yes. Skiplagging is 100% legal.
In fact, it’s so legal that every time we get taken to court, we win.
We won against United.
We won against American.
Impact on Frequent Flyer Programs
Skiplagging can significantly impact frequent flyer programs. If a passenger skips a flight, they may not earn miles or credit towards their frequent flyer program. Additionally, airlines may cancel a passenger’s frequent flyer account if they discover them to be skiplagging frequently.
However, some frequent flyer programs may not be as big of a deal. For instance, if a passenger books a flight with a layover and skips the second leg, they might still earn miles for the first leg. It’s also worth noting that skiplagging can affect a passenger’s ability to upgrade or change their flight. If a passenger skips a flight, they may not be able to upgrade or change their flight, even if they have enough miles or credit.
No round trip flights
For most airlines, when you skip any leg of your itinerary, they will cancel the rest of your trip. Let’s work through an example:
You are flying from Denver to Chicago as a round trip.
You book a hidden city Skiplagged flights from Denver to New York with a stop in Chicago.
Your return flight is Chicago to Denver direct.
When you arrive in Chicago, you skip your New York leg and simply walk out of the airport in Chicago.
By skipping your Chicago to New York flight, your return trip from Chicago to Denver is likely to be canceled.
However, there is an easy workaround. Simply book two one-way tickets.
If you book a hidden city flight using Skiplagged.com, you can actually book round trip and we will handle booking two one-ways for you.
That means if you search for a round trip flight on our site and book a Skiplagged Fare, we will take care of making two bookings for you to ensure that you are able to take your round trip easily.
How Skiplagging Works: Booking Hidden City Ticketing
For a long time, Skiplagging was a secret trick known only by the savviest travelers. But then we built Skiplagged.com to make the process more accessible.
Unlike any other online travel site, Skiplagged pulls together hidden city flights and other exclusive offers that are not available elsewhere, helping users discover extraordinary travel deals. Skiplagged is a website and mobile app designed to help travelers find the cheapest fares, often using hidden city ticketing.
How to Search Flights: When you visit Skiplagged, enter your destination as you would on any other flight booking website. However, instead of showing only direct flights, Skiplagged also shows options where your destination is a layover point on the way to a different final destination.
Filtering Results: You can sort results by price, layover time, and total trip duration to find the best deal. This is especially useful for travelers who want to minimize layover durations or who need a flight with flexible timing.
Booking Hidden City Flights: Once you find a hidden city fare that suits your budget and schedule, you can book directly through Skiplagged. But be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully and understand the risks involved with skiplagging as airlines have been known to penalize travelers who use this tactic.
How to Use Skiplagged
Skiplagged offers extraordinary travel deals on flights and hotels, allowing travelers to find amazing prices. To use Skiplagged follow these steps:
Search for Flights: Start by entering your destination into Skiplagged’s search engine. This will help you find cheap flights by filtering options based on duration, number of layovers, takeoff/landing times and more.
Find Hidden City Flights: Skiplagged’s search engine will show hidden city flights, flights with a layover in your intended destination. These flights are often cheaper than nonstop flights, a cost effective alternative.
Book Your Flight: Once you’ve found a hidden city flight that suits your budget and schedule you can book it through Skiplagged. Be sure to read the fine print and understand the airline’s policy on hidden city ticketing to avoid any surprises.
Plan Your Whole Trip: Skiplagged has a trip planner, you can book flights, hotels and activities all in one place. This makes the travel planning process seamless.
Monitor Prices: Use Skiplagged’s price monitoring feature. You can set alerts for your trip and get notified when the best deals become available, so you can save money.
Book Activities: Use Skiplagged’s “Stories” feature to book activities for your trip, brewery tours, kayak rentals, museum tickets etc. So you have a well rounded travel experience.
Tips for Skiplagging
Despite the risks, many travelers have successfully used hidden city ticketing to save on airfare. Search engines can be very useful in finding these hidden deals that traditional platforms miss. To minimize your chances of problems, follow these tips for safe and savvy skiplagging.
Don’t Check Luggage: As mentioned, you can’t check in luggage when skiplagging, since your bags will be sent to the final destination on your ticket. Stick to carry-on only.
Book One-Way Flights: Round trip bookings are more likely to be cancelled if an airline finds out you skipped a flight segment. If you plan to skiplag, you should book one-way flights to avoid your return ticket being voided.
Travel Light and Flexible: Since itinerary changes can happen unexpectedly, it’s important to be flexible. If a layover city changes or a flight is delayed, you’ll need to be prepared to adjust your plans or complete the last leg of the journey.
Monitor Airline Policies: Airlines are constantly updating their policies to fight skiplagging. Before booking a hidden city ticket, make sure you know of any new rules or penalties that may affect you.
Just walk out: Once you get to your intended destination (the layover city) simply leave the airport. Do not go to the gate agent.
Skiplagging FAQs
Is “Skiplagging” the same as “Hidden City travel”?
Yes! Skiplagging is another term for Hidden City. You may also hear it referred to as “Point Beyond” ticketing or “Throwaway” flights, although those are less common. In general, we use “hidden city” and “skiplagging” interchangably.
What is skiplagging and how does it work?
Skiplagging is a travel hack where you book a flight with a layover in your destination but skip the last leg to save money.
Can airlines penalize passengers for skiplagging?
Yes, airlines can cancel your return flight, ban you from future travel or try to charge you extra fees.
Is skiplagging legal?
Yes, skiplagging is 100% legal.
What is Skiplagged?
Skiplagged is a website that finds hidden city fares by searching for flights with cheaper layover destinations.
Did Skiplagged the company invent the term “Skiplagged”?
Yes we did!
Can I check in luggage when skiplagging?
No, checked luggage will be sent to the final destination on your ticket. To skiplag successfully you must only travel with carry-on.
How can I minimize the risks of skiplagging?
Don’t check in luggage, book one way flights and be flexible in case of unexpected itinerary changes.
Will I get banned if I use Skiplagged?
Most likely no. To our knowledge the number of travelers that have ever been banned is a very small number (we know of only one case). Airlines have been threatening to do this for years but we’ve never really heard them follow through.
Summary
Skiplagging can save you a lot of money if you’re willing to take the risks. It’s a good option for those who want to book cheaper flights by exploiting the airline pricing loopholes. By using Skiplagged.com, travelers can discover extraordinary travel deals, accessing hidden deals and fare alerts that offer unique savings compared to traditional travel sites. Plan carefully and manage the risks, and you’ll save money and avoid most of the downsides. But always weigh the pros and cons and ask yourself if the short term savings is worth the long term consequences.
4 responses to “Skiplagged: The Ultimate Guide to Hidden City Travel”
[…] you’ve ever used Skiplagged to find jaw-dropping flight deals — like those clever “hidden city” fares that can save you hundreds — you already know we’re all about helping travelers […]
[…] is a travel booking website that specializes in hidden city ticketing, a technique that involves booking a flight with a layover, but getting off at the layover city […]
[…] Hidden-city ticketing takes advantage of that. For example, a last-minute flight from Miami to New York might cost $250, but a flight from Miami to Portland, Maine with a layover in New York might only be $70. When Skiplagging, you book the cheaper ticket, get off in New York, and skip the Portland leg. […]
[…] ticketing, also called skiplagging, is the single most effective strategy for finding cheap flights, especially when booking […]