Travelers have all kinds of hacks for saving money on flights—from joining airline loyalty programs to flying on certain days and packing light to avoid extra baggage fees. But one of the more controversial money-saving travel hacks that’s gained notoriety recently is a practice known as skiplagging. Skiplagging (also known as the hidden city flying) is where you skip out on the last leg of your flight, getting off at the layover city rather than the final destination, Aktarer Zaman, CEO of Skiplagged ,a search engine that uses an algorithm to reveal hidden-city flights, explained to Forbes .
He gives this example: A flight from New York to Orlando might be $350, but a similar flight from New York to Dallas with a layover in Orlando might be $170. His platform shows travelers both of those routes, and those who choose the cheaper option then get off at the layover destination, which, in this scenario would be Orlando. Skiplagged, Zaman says, was built to empower travelers by giving them different flight options so they can save some money when booking flights.
About half of the flights booked through the site are purchased within a week of travel, which is when last-minute airfare is more costly, Zaman explains. But skiplagging requires some extra strategies and you could get in trouble with airlines if they find out that you’re using the hidden city trick. Ahead, Zaman and other travel experts answer popular questions about skiplagging.
Why Don’t Airlines Like Skipla.
