Whether You Call it ‘Skiplagging’ or ‘Hidden-City Travel,’ It’s Contentious

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On the last day of June, American Airlines agents at Gainesville Regional Airport in Florida canceled a North Carolina teenager’s flight after realizing that he had used a booking tactic called “skiplagging” or “hidden-city travel,” forbidden by airlines but used by some travelers to net flight bargains. The teen’s father, Hunter Parsons, said it was his 17 year old’s first time flying unaccompanied and that both the timing and price of the booking made it appealing — for $150, his son was to fly from Gainesville to Charlotte, and not continue on the second flight to New York, a cost savings of roughly $300 if the family had simply purchased a direct flight to Charlotte. But Mr. Parsons’ son didn’t even make it past the check-in counter in Gainesville, where the airline agents questioned why the teen would fly to New York when his layover was in his hometown, Charlotte. He was forced to pay for a direct flight. Skiplagging is buying a ticket for a connecting flight, with a layover in the city that’s the real destination for the traveler. Flyers disembark after the first leg and simply fail to board the second. Often the fare is cheaper than if they’d actually bought a direct flight to their desired destination. At least two websites now help unearth these deals for consumers. Though it is not illegal, the practice is strictly prohibited by airlines in their contracts of carriage. And carriers have shown an erratic but heavy hand in administering punishment for those caught, eliminating a skiplagger’s frequent flier miles in one instance and suing a passenger in another. Mr. Parsons said that American banned his son from traveling with the carrier for three years.