What Happens If You Skip Your Connecting Flight?

In an age of soaring airfares, travelers often get inventive in their search for lower ticket prices—though this cleverness can come with its own risks. A prime example is the practice of “skiplagging,” which gained attention recently when a teenager flying American Airlines from Florida to New York attempted to disembark in Charlotte, North Carolina, only to be denied boarding and instructed to book a direct flight instead.

At the Florida airport, when Logan Parsons showed his North Carolina driver’s license, an American Airlines agent figured out that he intended to get off in Charlotte and not complete the connecting flight. As a result, the agent canceled the ticket, forcing the family to purchase a direct flight to Charlotte, as reported by local news outlet Queen City News.

Here’s what travelers need to understand about skiplagging, including the potential risks and airlines' official stances on the practice.

What is skiplagging?

Skiplagging involves booking a connecting flight that is cheaper than a nonstop flight and skipping the final leg(s) of the journey. This practice is also referred to as hidden city ticketing.

“In simple terms, hidden city ticketing is a method to secure a direct flight without the associated direct flight costs. Finding a more affordable connecting flight that happens to stop in your desired destination allows you to reach your goal for significantly less,” says Katy Nastro, a spokesperson and travel expert with the flight deals newsletter Going.com.

Nastro provided this illustration: If you want to fly from New York to Los Angeles, and the direct flight is priced at $114, but there’s a flight to Dallas with a layover in Los Angeles costing only $84, you’ve stumbled upon a hidden city ticket. This means you can convert a connecting flight to Dallas into a direct flight to Los Angeles, getting off at your layover and saving 26 percent compared to the direct fare.

How can you find skiplag or hidden city ticket flights?

You can certainly explore travel booking platforms like Google Flights or Kayak for skiplag options, but it can be a bit tricky since you’re searching for a destination that doesn’t align with your actual end point. Using Nastro’s example, you would need to look for flights from New York to various destinations other than Los Angeles to find potentially cheaper options that go through Los Angeles. The more you search, the more adept you’ll become at spotting routes with specific layovers.

A key resource for easily locating these flights is a website called Skiplagged, which simplifies the process for you.

Founded in 2013, Skiplagged aims to disrupt traditional airfare models by automating the search for affordable hidden city tickets. This was the site that Hunter Parsons utilized to book his son’s American Airlines flight from Gainesville to New York via Charlotte.

“For the past five to eight years, we’ve relied on Skiplagged almost exclusively,” Hunter Parsons shared with Queen City News.

What do airlines say about skiplagging?

All major U.S. airlines have policies against skiplagging, or what they term hidden city ticketing, clearly outlined in their contract of carriage statements.

As stated in American Airlines’ conditions of carriage, “Reservations intended to exploit or bypass fare and ticket regulations are not allowed,” which includes “purchasing a ticket without the intention of flying all segments to obtain lower fares,” commonly referred to as hidden city ticketing.

American Airlines asserts that “if we discover evidence that you or your agent are engaging in a prohibited practice,” the airline holds the right to cancel any unused portions of the ticket; deny boarding to the passenger; not refund a ticket that would otherwise be refundable; or charge for the actual fare of the ticket.

Is it possible to be banned from flying?

While American Airlines does not explicitly mention banning passengers for this practice, United Airlines does.

In United’s contract of carriage document, hidden city ticketing is classified as a prohibited activity. If passengers breach this rule, United reserves the right to void the ticket(s); cancel any remaining segments of the passenger’s itinerary; impose a fee for “seat blocking,” remove miles, points, or credits from a passenger’s frequent flyer account; and/or “permanently ban or refuse to board the passenger.”

Delta Air Lines also prohibits hidden city ticketing, but does not provide the extensive list of potential penalties that American and United do. Southwest has a clearly defined policy against hidden city bookings, while JetBlue states in its contract of carriage that “fares are valid only between the specified points and via the routing as indicated in the carrier’s current schedule, and are not applicable to intermediate locations.” It offers no further comments on the matter.

What are the risks associated with skiplagging?

“Engaging in throwaway ticketing is not illegal,” Gary Leff, founder of the View from the Wing blog, wrote in a post last week regarding skiplagging, in light of the American Airlines incident.

Although it may not be illegal, there are significant risks tied to skiplagging, in addition to any consequences passengers might face for breaching airline policies.

“If your flight is delayed or canceled, the airline might attempt to reroute you through a different hub than your intended destination,” Leff explains. “You cannot check bags, as they will be sent to your final ticketed destination instead of where you're actually traveling. If you need to gate check a bag when the overhead bins are full, you could find yourself in a difficult situation. Additionally, you can only book these as one-way flights; if you discard any segment other than the final leg of your itinerary, the rest of your trip will be canceled.” In essence, if you skiplag on the outbound portion of a round-trip ticket, you risk invalidating the return flight. This is why Leff suggests that this should primarily be done with one-way flights.

Even Skiplagged acknowledges on its website that there are several risks associated with booking a hidden city ticket, such as the chance of being rerouted, especially when airlines make weather-related itinerary adjustments.

Additionally, Skiplagged suggests “only bringing a backpack that can fit under the seat in front of you. Any larger item risks being checked at the gate,” noting that all checked baggage will be sent to the passenger’s final destination.

It's also unwise to link a hidden city ticket to your frequent flyer account, as the airline might choose to nullify any miles you've accrued with them.

“Some airlines may ask for proof of a return ticket during check-in. If you encounter this, simply purchase a refundable return ticket directly from the airline and cancel it ASAP after boarding,” advises Skiplagged. Furthermore, “Avoid overusing hidden-city itineraries. Do not repeatedly fly hidden city on the same route with the same airline in a short period… This could irritate the airline, so it’s best not to do this frequently.”

Ultimately, as Going.com’s Nastro states, “This is definitely not a strategy for novice travelers. Occasionally using this method might help you land a cheaper flight, particularly last-minute, but it’s crucial to understand the nuances and risks involved. For instance, a traveler who flies twice a year may not realize that using this tactic on a round-trip ticket could lead to the airline canceling the rest of your itinerary once you are marked as a no-show. The cost of such a mistake would far exceed the savings of initially buying a hidden city ticket.”