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What is a skipped segment (Skiplag) ticket?
We’ll start with a fairly long example:
For a traveler flying from Dallas (DFW) to Charlotte (CLT), this route has nonstop flights only on American Airlines, because both DFW and CLT are AA hubs. You can only buy nonstop service on AA. Other carriers like United (UA) and Delta (DL) have to route through a connection.
Because AA’s DFW-CLT nonstop "product" is more attractive to travelers, people are willing to pay more to avoid a connection. So AA can price it higher and capture every possible dollar. I did a quick search for fares at 9:00 a.m.:
By contrast, if a passenger is going from Dallas to Milwaukee (MKE), AA also sells a connecting option through CLT (DFW-CLT-MKE), and at the same time UA has a one-stop option (DFW-ORD-MKE), while DL offers DFW-DTW-MKE with one connection. Since all are one-stop itineraries, AA no longer has a big advantage, so it must lower fares to compete.
Because Milwaukee is a highly competitive market and Dallas is not, this can create the seemingly odd result where DFW-CLT-MKE is cheaper than DFW-CLT. I added one more fare to the same search results; note that DFW-CLT is the same flight number (AA2091), but the fare is only one-sixth of the direct fare.
Because all carriers require each segment on a through ticket to be flown in order, a so-called "hidden-city" ticket (Hidden-city booking) adds one or more extra segments at the end of an ordinary itinerary to make the ticket cheaper. In simple terms, you book A-B-C but only fly A-B. And A-B-C can still be cheaper than a direct A-B fare.
This kind of example is not uncommon. In the U.S., because airports are spread across a large country with sparse demand in many locations, major airlines generally follow a hub-and-spoke model: they funnel passengers to a few large hubs and then connect them onward. For AA domestic fares, if not nonstop, many itineraries connect through DFW, CLT, ORD, PHL, and PHX. For DL, it is often through DTW and ATL.
International routes follow the same logic. Airlines typically only operate flights from their own home country to another region; to move passengers between two non-home countries, routing usually passes through a home-country hub. For example, Japan Airlines (JL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA, NH) fares between China and the U.S. must connect through Japan.
In these situations, it is possible for a longer itinerary to be cheaper than a shorter one.
Ctrip’s clever booking trick
Ctrip has used this kind of tactic before, and one of the victims was Jiang Fangzhou, one of the more prominent Weibo accounts, who complained that she bought a ticket on Ctrip that was booked with an unnecessary segment, which meant she could not get reimbursed the full fare.
From this, it is easy to see why a travel agent might add an unnecessary segment and leave customers stuck, preventing full fare reimbursement. This kind of deception is wrong; customers have the right to clearly understand what they are purchasing. In China, this falls under fraud provisions in the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law:
- Article 55, where operators who commit fraud in the provision of goods or services should compensate consumers for losses as requested...
In the U.S., this is covered by the Federal Trade Commission Act as an "unfair or deceptive act or practice" (15 U.S.C 45):
- ..., and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful.
How do I search for a Skiplag ticket myself?
Back to the main question: if Ctrip can do this, why can’t we book hidden-city fares ourselves? As the example above shows, skiplagging can save a lot.
Now let me introduce Skiplagged. Skiplagged is a special flight search site. As you might expect, its unique value is that it automatically finds hidden-city fares and automatically highlights the cheapest options.
The process is very simple: just enter your origin, destination, and travel dates just like a normal fare search engine.
Open it and you’ll see the full itinerary details. Then paste this result on the airline’s website using the Multi-city search feature to pull it up.
Risks of skiplagging
Skiplagging has several risks:
Baggage
If you check bags, this should be your biggest concern. In general, airlines check bags through to your final destination. There are exceptions—if your connection is overnight or has a very long layover, you may be allowed not to check through—but most of the time the bag will still be routed to the destination listed on the ticket. So if your destination is Charlotte but your checked bag is sent on to Milwaukee, that’s a major problem.
So the main condition for buying hidden-city tickets is: do not check baggage.
Even if you do not check bags, your carry-on can still be forced into the hold if overhead bin space is unavailable. To reduce this risk, check in and board as early as possible. If you have priority boarding on an airline card (Chase UA, Citi AA, or AMEX Delta), it helps.
Flight delays/cancellations
If a delay or cancellation occurs, your ticket can be involuntarily rebooked. For example, if the DFW-CLT segment is canceled, AA might rebook you on DFW-ORD-MKE. That would mean you can’t get to CLT as intended. This is uncommon, and if there are open seats on DFW-CLT, you can often get an agent to change you to a later DFW-CLT flight. But if DFW-CLT is fully sold out, the ticket may become unusable.
Violation of the Contract of Carriage
Most airlines include hidden-city language in their Contract of Carriage, such as United’s Contract of Carriage Rule 6(J)(1):
Fares apply for travel only between the points for which they are published. Tickets may not be purchased and used at fare (s) from an initial departure point on the Ticket which is before the Passenger‘s actual point of origin of travel, or to a more distant point (s) than the Passenger‘s actual destination being traveled even when the purchase and use of such Tickets would produce a lower fare. This practice is known as "Hidden Cities Ticketing" or "Point Beyond Ticketing" and is prohibited by UA.
You may wonder what happens if you violate the contract. If you do it once or twice in a year with the same airline, there is usually no consequence, because it is hard for the airline to prove intent. If you do it regularly and form a pattern, however, you are more likely to be flagged. For example, someone who bought the same hidden-city fare every week was identified by UA. After suspicion arose, UA staff reportedly followed him after he landed and saw him exit the airport directly, which became clear evidence of rule violation.
That is a more extreme scenario. Usually, if you use hidden-city too often, the airline may first issue a warning email, and repeated violations can lead to penalties, including points being removed from your frequent flyer account. So when using this technique, we suggest you avoid earning miles in that airline’s loyalty account. (That said, this does not guarantee your account cannot still be linked by the airline.)
Should I buy a hidden-city ticket?
If the normal fare versus a hidden-city fare looks like $500 vs. $80, booking the skiplag is a very reasonable choice. If the difference is only $200 vs. $250, the value is debatable because there are risks involved.
In short, if it’s an occasional purchase and the standard fare is dramatically higher than the skiplag fare, I would consider buying it; otherwise, I usually wouldn’t. If you need to check a bag, don’t even consider it.
This trick should not be used too often. A practical rule is no more than one or two times per airline per year. That’s a relatively safe frequency.