An American Airlines passenger got called out for throwaway ticketing, or what some people call ‘Skiplagging’ (I hate this name tbh).
They checked in at the ticket counter and showed their ID. The agent saw that it was an ID issued in the state they were connecting in – suggesting they might be stopping their journey there. The agent said they suspected the passenger planned to skip the final flight segment and warned them they would be banned from American Airlines if they did not take the connection.
And – in fact – they were doing this! They explained they were a ‘poor college student’ trying to get home. And now they didn’t know what to do. Do they tell an agent in their connecting city they felt sick? Just leave the airport and risk the ban?
Their first flight landed late, and they could easily have missed their connection! But that flight delayed. They eventually decided just to leave the airport, figuring that a ban from American Airlines was actually ok.
Throwaway ticketing is a practice that’s gone on for many decades. Airlines often charge more money for non-stops than they do for connecting itineraries. So people book a flight with a connection through the city they want to travel to, and just don’t take that second connecting flight. As a result, they can often save money.
For instance, you:
- Want to fly DC to Chicago, but it’s cheaper to book DC to Chicago to Milwaukee – so you buy that, and only use the first segment to Chicago.
- Want to fly DC to Phoenix, but it’s cheaper to fly DC to Phoenix to Tucson – so you buy that, and only use the first segment to Phoenix.
It’s not illegal. It violates airline rules. It’s not unethical according to the New York Times ‘Ethicist’. But there are risks.
- Re-routing during irregular operations. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, your airline may want to re-route you through a different hub than the city you actually wanted to fly to (and get off in).
Maybe your connection would go through Denver instead of Chicago – and you wouldn’t be able to get off in the city you’d planned to! I’ve never had a problem asking to be kept on my original routing during irregular operations, but it may not be automatic.
- No checked bags. Airlines don’t generally allow you to ‘short-check’ bags, where they only send your luggage to your connecting city, although there are exceptions. If you book DC to Chicago to Milwaukee, and you get off in Chicago, you don’t want your luggage sent to Milwaukee (and your bags can fly without you).
- Gate checking bags. If you aren’t among the first to board your flight, overhead bins may be full (or employees might fear that the bins are filling up) and you might be required to gate check your carry-on bag instead of bringing it onto the aircraft.
Then your carry on will go to your final ticketed destination, not the city you’re flying to. Now, you might talk your way out of it (try having a story ready – like that you are connecting on a separate ticket to another airline, especially one that the carrier doesn’t interline with) or if they’re collecting bags on the jet bridge instead of at the gate you might get away with bringing your bag on anyway but this is a real risk.
- Can only book one-way. If you book a roundtrip, and throw away a segment on your outbound, the rest of your itinerary will get cancelled by the airline. And sometimes roundtrips are still cheaper, so there are tradeoffs. You might need to book that DC – Chicago – Milwaukee and then a one-way back to DC on the return (potentially with a throwaway segment beyond DC as well).
- Does the airline catch you? As a one-off there’s historically little risk to this. Doing it a lot could catch an airline’s attention. There have even been stories of airlines meeting passengers at the airport over their ticketing practices. United Airlines threatened to trash the credit of customers who skip flights by sending them to collections. Lufthansa sued a passenger over it.
An airline could shut down your frequent flyer account or even ban you from flying them in the future. It’s something to consider occasionally, not something to do every week. If you’re going to do throwaway ticketing, consider at least crediting miles to a partner airline frequent flyer account, though that may not protect you, but why make it easy for them to track you?
When you’re doing something against the rules, it’s a good idea to involve as few people in the transaction as possible. Why not use the airline’s mobile app? Or check in at a kiosk? Why put eyes on your reservation? They wouldn’t even have had to show their drivers license! (Incidentally, American asks you what your state of residence is when booking tickets from them online, I suppose they could run data with this but as I understand it the reason for the question has to do with the insurance products they sell during checkout.)
We don’t know whether an agent flagging that someone’s ID matches the state of their connecting city would actually mean putting eyes back on the reservation later to see if all segments were flown. Agents can report their suspicions, which should trigger a follow up. Then again, we don’t know if the agent actually even submitted this!
Though sometimes an agent’s suspicions are elevated further – like the teenager taken to a security room and interrogated over their throwaway ticket (they confessed). They’ve also been confronting passengers at the airport over suspected ‘ticketing abuse’ and billing them although there the ban only applies if the customer doesn’t pay.
American asked for my state of residence and I told them it was: Confusion
They actually ACCEPTED this.
A good example of why not everyone, poor or otherwise, should go to college.
No reason in the world to show the drones and dronettes on the ground at an airport anything other than a U.S. passport, passport card, Global Entry card, etc. Not their concern where one is resident or domiciled and they REALLY don’t need to see one’s home address, veteran’s or organ donation status, etc.
The college student should have simply said he/she was going to visit grandma and grandpa in another state for the college break. Now was this person trying to check a bag and skip the last segment? That’s really dumb.
The biggest risk of course if you’re in one of the last boarding groups (AA groups eight and nine) and forced to gate check a bag. Then you have a bad decision to make.
If you have to hate check a bag, there is a potential excuse…. meeting your cousin at DFW (or whatever hub the flight is going) and she is taking your bag to wash the laundry and bringing you clean clothes.
Or keep your stuff in a plastic bag inside the rollaboard and gate check the bag, not the plastic bag inside. Then let them gate check the empty luggage.
If confronted, do not confess.
I just don’t get what the big deal is over this. The airline got their money. Its a lighter load for the plane, less fuel consumption. If there are stsndby’s then it works for everyone. Just corporate greed for not being able to squeeze every living drop of blood out of the consumer. Corporate greed!
Why on EARTH would you use as an example booking into Milwaukee to actually fly to Chicago? MKE’s status as a hub has been absolutely GUTTED in the past couple of decades, to the point where even with the additional cost and hassle of a coach bus to the Chicago it’s often cheaper for us to use ORD rather than get a connecting flight to/from MKE. A two-second reality check on ticket prices would have shown you that, for almost all flights, tickets are at least comparable going D.C. to ORD vs. D.C. to MKE, and often cheaper.
As I recall, the student was actually a 17 year old high school boy traveling alone from GNV to CLT, but the ticket continued to another destination. The counter agent noticed the kid’s address was Charlotte and they started asking questions. The ticket was bought by the boy’s dad and neither knew that the airline would care. The airline made dad pay the difference and they still banned the kid after the flight. American was the airline. Nasty people. Evil policy.
What a bunch of nonsense. Compared to what airlines do to us, skipping the last segment of your flight to save a couple of bucks is a most minor issue. But, being banned from American Airlines is probably a good thing. Unless they’re the only game in town where you live. I have friends who are forced to fly on American to get anywhere, and they are often tempted to move to a city where they can fly on a real airline.
Planted “story” to keep fanning the flames on this issue.
In reality, there is zero consequence for one-offs. And there has never been.
Plausible deniability… enjoy a martini at the airport bar and lose track of time, show up after your connecting flight has closed.
Corporations are allowed to hide behind every legal loophole to limit their liability and duties of care, protect their monopolies, wring every dollar they can from people …. But as soon people find a way to turn the tables even slightly in the other direction, it’s all threats and playing billion dollar victim.
Holding someone against their will triggers a General Liability policy under the personal injury hazard. I would recommend asking for the name of their liability insurer if anyone wants to take you into a separate room for non-safety related issues. I would also record the conversation.
Should have made up a reason to go to the ticketed final destination and added that AA has such a great product and CLT is such a fantastic experience they did not want to miss out.
How is having an address near the connecting point suspicious anyway? I have connected at my home airport numerous times when going between job sites or going directly between visiting family and a job site.
As Maggie B indicated, MKE is a terrible example to use. I actually live right between ORD and MKE and do check fares from both. In nearly all cases, flying out of ORD saves money – even with the more expensive parking. Not to mention that you get a nonstop on UA versus a connection (often stupidly via ORD). Example: a recent flight I took to SAV cost $380 r/t on the UA nonstop from ORD versus a good $500+ from MKE….with an ORD connection. The whole skiplagging (and I hate that word too) thing has long seemed to be hype to me.
It’s inexperienced flyers who get jammed up on this. They don’t even realize that they’re violating the CoC and need to keep a low profile.
As stated above, if for some reason you must check in with an agent, show them your passport or global entry card. Not your DL/state issued ID. And travel very light.
I feel bad for the 17 year old kid flying home from GNV. Papa bear either didn’t have a strategy session with his son, or son didn’t listen. Getting banned from AA for someone living in CLT is tough.
@derek, @Amt, @jsn55, @Joseph, @George N Romey, @JS — You guys get it (on this topic at least). If you’re going ‘skip-lag,’ do not check a bag or use your frequent flyer info. Never confess. Maintain plausible deniability. Don’t allow a private company to ‘arrest’ you. And always be ‘nice’ to the workers (do compliment them and treat them well). We do need to on the side of passengers, consumers, and workers, not these major companies who frequently scam us.
@AngryFlier — It’s not hype–it’s just not ‘wise’ or ‘worth it’ for most of us who travel frequently and actually enjoy accumulating status, miles, and other benefits.
@Gentleman Jack Darby — You are needlessly distracting us–this has nothing to do with whether or not to attend college–the passenger’s identity as a student is not the controlling issue here.
@Bob — C’mon man, stop complaining about Gary. Be grateful to our host.
IN some instances it’s not too diffciult to avoid detection. For example, if you are in the NYC/PHL/IAD area. Or like myself, I live between TPA and MCO, and many times I will “train it” or do a cheap on-way rental to/from MIA or FLL. So it’s possible to work the system in these types of areas.
Anything i buy should be at my discretion how to use it.
@Kirk — Right on, brother!
If it were on AA, I’d be ok with the ban because they’re a trash airline…..but then again I’d never buy a ticket on AA to begin with. But if you think about it, the airlines that have connecting flights where this is common has created this problem yet want to get upset with fliers who take advantage of what the airline created to begin with. Can’t say I condone travelers that do this, but if the airlines don’t want it to happen, then don’t offer travelers the opportunity to ‘break the rules’
The airlines have their own fare management software. If they’re so put off by hidden city ticketing/skiplagging, why don’t they program their software to never allow a two-segment flight to be cheaper than the first segment on its own?
I agree with @Gentleman Jack Darby and @LARS.
Avoid using your DL as an ID, if possible. At one NC bar I frequented, the bouncers would “card you” by inserting your DL into a computing device. They claimed the device was NOT saving your info but what would they know.
Next time I update my passport, will get the accompanying US Passport Card.
Some airlines get this right. SWA’s fare structure doesn’t cause this situation.
Being banned from flying on American Airlines? That’s what I’d call the “silver lining.”
I believe that AAL has lost all of their case in court when they’ve tried to take legal action against travelers.
So, let ‘er rip.
For an Earth-centric, elevated travel experience, choose Delta.
The gall of airlines, WHINING that consumers are simply buying a product as using as much of it as they see fit.
Imagine being forced to eat your entire meal if you ordered a dinner portion instead of a lunch portion at a restaurant.
And what illiterate is calling this “skiplagging,” BTW? If anything it should be skipLEGGING. They’re skipping a LEG, not a “lag.” Duh.
I had to skip a trip, and its against the rules by their standard. If airline is at fault they can’t be expected to punish the customer. I had a flight to Milwaukee, for a funeral in Green Bay. Flight was delayed by 4 hours. And layover was two. Landed in Chicago and got a rental and drove it. I see their point , since a half empty plane is over fueled , overstaffed, and connecting baggage will be misrouted.
ok
i don’t understand , just get off the plane and leave the airport! who would know ?
Happened to me last August. I couldn’t even check-in online. I didn’t use my FF, had no bags, never skip lagged before. When I went to the check-in desk, I even used my global entry card as Id. The check-in desk agent had to call reservation who relayed to me that since my address was in the state I was connecting in, I would be “banned” if I didn’t connect to the final destination. This was on American Airlines who seems to be the most aggressive airline in terms of threatening to ban travelers for skip lagging. I haven’t flown AA since to test my “ban”. I rarely fly them anyway and only did so because it was a last minute emergency and this was the best way for me to get back home. So if I am indeed banned it would be no big deal to me.
Who goes to the counter anymore? If I was forced to, I wouldn’t fly. TSA, gates, airports and airplanes are enough.
People have to do these tricks to save money. Because airlines are milking their power and connections in congress to extract money from their passengers.
How come one flight from DC to Chicago cost $800 and DC to Chicago to Milwaukee cost $400. This is extortion. Your cost should be directly related to the cost of flight + expenses + profit. And why does the price of the ticket change depending on how close the flight date is and how many seats left. This is price gaging. So in a restaurant. If there is one table left should you pay double the amount for the same plate of food compared to the next table? Or should walmart increase the price of milk, if their stocks in that store is running low?
Stop this madness.
Getting banned from AA is a blessing. Robert Isom should be ashamed.
“‘Skiplagging’ (I hate this name tbh).” But I’ll defer my personal beliefs to get clicks.
I’ve flown 3 mm miles so I’ve had a gamut of experiences, including a “ hidden city “ ticket or two. (Wink, wink)
My favorite is to book a trip with a ridiculously tight connection through your intended destination city and refund the ticket to the “ final” destination when you miss the connection! D0 has been very helpful in these situations.
This site will censor comments that it disagrees with. Horrendous.
Not to lick the boots of airlines, but re: the comment about ethics; it really isn’t ethical to skiplag. The reason the tickets are cheaper to the smaller markets that you have to connect to is due to government subsidies and local economic incentives that cities offer airlines who provide service to their towns. They offer lowered rates to ensure their residents aren’t facing unreasonable prices to fly in and out of their home airports. Additionally, the municipalities hope to recoup some of their investment through increased economic activity as a result of increased tourism. I will agree that one or two people doing this isn’t likely to make a significant impact, but if the practice expands, it will hurt the locales that are targeted for skiplagging – subsidies and economic incentives will go away, and the local residents will ultimately pay more. That seems pretty unethical.
Then again, there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.
“Why on EARTH would you use as an example booking into Milwaukee to actually fly to Chicago?”
Jesus Christ get a life! He’s using the example to explain the concept of Skiplagging. Who cares if there are some flights that it doesn’t work. That’s not the point!
@Stop the Censor – if the system flags possible spam then the comment goes into a queue for manual review. And that doesn’t happen in real time, I’m just back from the dentist, I guess I could have been approving comments on my phone in the chair but I gotta be honest sometimes I just want a break from whining… 😉
I have done throwaway ticketing a plenty over the decades and it hasn’t been a problem at all for me on regular paid tickets and on mileage tickets. But when I do, it’s cabin baggage only and I likely have a priority boarding group that means I will get my bag on board the plane or tagged as a valet bag for gate delivery on landing. If you try to do this on the same route all the time with the same airline, do it very frequently and are chatty about this with or around airline employees, then the chances for a problem rise.
For me, I’ll eat the risk of landing with 8k-9k point mileage tickets with a throwaway element when that same trip would otherwise cost me $500+ in regular paid fare if not for the throwaway ticket game.
Did the dentist give you a nice smiley face sticker and ask you about frequent flyer program deals?
In response to Stop the Censor’s comments, our dear amigo Señor Leff actually does allow comments that disagree with his holy cows. But sometime some IP or MAC addresses, some words and URLs send posts into a wait system for approval. I sometimes found it a bit annoying — and I know the ways around the filters that do that — but he does get around to approving the contentious comments too unless there is something seriously wrong with them. Sometimes I trigger the filters just to keep him on his toes. 😀
Oh no Fatty has a sad…
@GUWonder – previous dentist learned about frequent flyer deals, current one is unaware of that context
I almost always use my passport so the agent wouldn’t be able to figure out anything like in this case. I would get to the gate late in this case and see how interested they are on having me on the flight. If not but they are willing to rebook the continuing leg in the future for a reasonable price, do that for a convenient date and immediate follow it by a trip from the destination city back to the original city to complete a round trip at a lower cost, if that is the intent.
The college student should have said it was none of their f-ing business why he was flying wherever he was flying, because that is none of their f-ing business.
If they want to fix this problem, stop doing the cheaper fees for connecting flights like that, and charge simply per flight. Actually charge the amounts that the flight cost. With whatever profit they need to get. Stop trying to maximize profits ways that are easily managed by current systems.
Basically, they’re trying to fleece a customer, and are being pleased by the customer through their own systems. If they stop trying to use those systems, and actually charge a fair price, then this would all go away instantly.
@Wanderer: “Some airlines get this right. SWA’s fare structure doesn’t cause this situation.”
It does from time to time – from my home airport, it’s often cheaper for me to book a one-stop connection through LAS than it is to book a nonstop to LAS. (For example, for random dates next month, the price is often double booking a ticket to southern California, connecting via LAS, than it is to get on that nonstop to LAS.)
This was irrelevant on WN for the longest time anyway, since they specifically allowed the practice; however, now that they too have banned it, there are instances where one could have benefited from the practice, but now technically cannot.