Hidden-City Ticketing

Hidden-city ticketing (skiplagging) is booking a connecting flight to a cheaper destination and exiting at the layover city, which is the traveler's real destination. The final leg to the ticketed endpoint is simply abandoned. It works because a one-stop fare through a hub, like City A to City C via City B, is sometimes priced lower than a nonstop City A to City B ticket.

A traveler books a one-way itinerary where the layover city is their true destination and the onward leg is deliberately never boarded. This only works one-way, since a round-trip requires completing the outbound flight or the airline cancels the return segment. Checked bags must be avoided because luggage routes automatically to the final ticketed city, not the layover stop.

Yes, skiplagging itself is legal in most jurisdictions, but it violates nearly every major airline's contract of carriage. Lufthansa took a passenger to court over a skiplagged itinerary, though airlines more commonly respond by billing the fare difference or suspending frequent-flyer accounts rather than suing. No U.S. law criminalizes the practice.

Airlines can cancel your remaining ticket segments, charge you the difference between the through-fare and the actual point-to-point fare, or void and suspend frequent-flyer miles tied to the account. Major U.S. carriers explicitly reserve these rights in their contracts of carriage. Repeated skiplagging can trigger permanent loyalty-program termination.

Hidden-city ticketing exits at a layover and skips the final leg, while throwaway ticketing books a full round-trip but only uses the outbound (or one direction) because it's cheaper than a one-way fare alone. Both exploit fare-pricing quirks rather than route logic. Split ticketing, by contrast, combines separate one-way tickets on different airlines to beat a single carrier's through-fare.

No — checked luggage is routed automatically to the final ticketed destination, not the layover city where you actually plan to exit. This means your bag would continue on the flight you're skipping, leaving you without it. Skiplagging only works reliably with carry-on-only travel.

It can save real money on specific hub routes where nonstop demand pricing runs high, but the account-suspension risk and one-way-only limitation make it impractical for frequent flyers or anyone checking bags. Business travelers generally get more reliable savings through negotiated corporate fares or premium-cabin deals than through skiplagging workarounds. CEOFLIGHTS specialists can help find discounted business class fares — call (888) 851-6897.