With the holiday season approaching, many of us may be thinking about our next vacation. Our generally inexhaustible desire to travel is only limited by the ever-burning hole in our finances. Money is important in all situations. And conserving it may make your holiday experience a little more enjoyable. Here comes skiplagging.
This may appear to be another coinage created by our typical need to name things in an interesting way, but the growing habit of skiplagging has airlines all over the world frowning, and many of them are penalizing travelers who use this tactic because skiplagging saves them a lot of money.
So, what exactly is Skiplagging?
It is a money-saving method that gets you to your destination yet bypasses the airline’s pricing structure.
For example, if someone wishes to go from Boston to Houston but ticket costs are prohibitively expensive, the traveler looks for a trip to a different city with a layover in Houston.
When the passenger arrives in Houston, he or she exits the airport without taking the flight to the third location. Because the traveler wanted to go to Houston in the first place.
Travelers from around the world’s experiences, as recorded in numerous media publications, have proven that this kind of ‘hidden city’ ticket saves money.
However, this can get you in hot water!
It is not that airlines are blissfully clueless and snoozing. Commercial aviation, by definition, is a low-margin business, and any reduction in potential revenue is taken seriously by the airlines.
There have been cases of airlines suing skiplagged passengers. They can even prevent the traveler from leaving the airport in the layover city.
According to the BBC, Lufthansa sued a passenger who attempted to avoid delays. And if this happens, you may end up paying more than you were attempting to save.
This, however, presents various questions. Is a traveler obligated to complete the entire journey even if the airline has already received full cash for the ticket sold? Although it is not advisable to skiplag because of possible complications, experts quoted in various media reports have expressed opinions from both sides.