What is skiplagging, the new air travel hack that airlines hate?

The post-pandemic travel bug has caused individuals to swarm to locations all over the world. But not all places are inexpensive. Travellers come up with a variety of travel tricks to solve these problems, from getting a whole plane row to yourself to gaining more space on a crowded flight. Airlines are more alarmed than ever before by a new, cost-effective travel hack than by the “skiplagging” strategy. Also read: Explained: How Indian travellers can now use UPI to make payments in Europe What is skiplagging? The practice of booking a less expensive flight option with a layover city without intending to travel the complete trip is known as skiplagging. Sometimes it is also referred as “hidden-city” or “throwaway” ticketing. According to the Independent, the stopover is actually a traveller’s intended destination. Business Insider explains the reason why so many individuals utilise this controversial hack is that they can save hundreds on tickets, which is especially alluring given the industry’s ongoing problems with high fares caused by inflation, rising fuel prices, and strong post-pandemic demand. For instance, a flight from New York to Orlando, for instance, might cost $250 (~Rs 20,670) nonstop, but one from New York to Dallas, with a layover in Orlando, might cost only $130 (~Rs 10,749). Instead of travelling all the way to Dallas, a person might use the “skiplagging” technique to fly to Orlando and disembark at the layover location in Orlando. Also read: How powerful is India's passport? How does it work? There is a travel company, Skiplagged.com, with a sole focus on this practice, which informs consumers about hidden-city discounts and “exposes loopholes in airfare pricing to save you money.” The only tickets accepted by the company are one-way tickets, which might be significantly more expensive than arranging a roundtrip plan directly with the airlines. In order for Skiplagged to function, travellers must choose a route that includes a hidden city as a destination. However, the website warns that specific routes are the only ones that offer flights to hidden cities. If these choices are offered, the last legs of the trip will be crossed out and the price will be displayed as a “skiplagged rate” in the flight search results. Also read: Get a US visa by travelling to other countries: The new rule to reduce wait time for Indians explained Why airlines are not happy? Although this strategy can appear to be a lifesaver in the wake of a pandemic, airlines despise it since it is not as innocent as it might seem. According to CNN Money, United Airlines and the online travel agency Orbitz sued the CEO of Skiplagged, Aktarer Zaman, in 2014. The airline asserted that hidden-city ticketing was “unfair” and “strictly prohibited,” claiming that the companies lost $75,000 (~Rs 6.2 lakh) due to the New Yorker’s website.

“We remain troubled that Mr. Zaman continues to openly encourage customers to violate our contract of carriage by purchasing hidden-city tickets,” United Airlines told CNN Money in 2015.

Although Zaman worked and lived in New York City, the complaint was dismissed because it was brought in Illinois, where the court lacked jurisdiction. Zaman said that the practice was “perfectly legal” as well. On their website today, Skiplagged brags about their legal victory over the airline, writing, “We’re so good, United Airlines actually sued us for it.” Five years later, Lufthansa filed a lawsuit against a traveller who skipped the last leg of their scheduled itinerary. The tourist spent almost £600 (~Rs 61,300) for a business-class round-trip ticket from Oslo to Seattle via Frankfurt using throwaway ticketing. He took a flight from Oslo to Frankfurt to Seattle to Frankfurt but missed the last flight back to the capital of Norway, reported the Independent. The German airline demanded payment for the difference between the trip’s actual cost of £2,769 (~Rs 2.8 lakh) and the customer’s paid fare. However, the passenger won the initial legal dispute. According to Business Insider, after that, in January 2021, American Airlines warned travel agents about the practice in a document. The airline stated that it will start monitoring skiplagging and that the discovery of such behaviours could have “unfavourable consequences.” What are the associated risks? While skipping flights could seem like a cheap way to travel, airlines have recently started to crack down on the practice, so there are many risks involved. The practice is risky for passengers because of the clear displeasure from airlines, especially since carriers have now inserted written provisions against skiplagging in their contracts of carriage. According to NerdWallet, airlines have the power to penalise passengers by cancelling the return leg of their trip, robbing them of loyalty miles and elite status, or even forbidding them from ever making another reservation with the airline. Additionally, skiplagging only functions when travellers don’t check their bags because checked bags will arrive at the final destination listed on the ticket rather than the city of the layover. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.