Airlines may not be fans of skiplagging, but travelers who use it to save money on flights sure are.

The practice consists of purchasing a connecting flight, without the intention of making the second leg of the trip. Travelers do this when they find a connecting flight (that stops at their intended destination) that is cheaper than flying directly.

Skiplagged.com, a website that helps travelers find these flights, said its customers saved about $180 on average, which together amounted to $54 million in the last year alone.

But there are risks. Most airlines prohibit skipplagging, or “hidden city tickets.”

“Purchasing a ticket without intending to fly on all flights to obtain lower fares” is a prohibited booking practice under American Airlines’ conditions of carriage. Violators may have their tickets cancelled, may be prevented from flying, or the airline may “fail to refund an otherwise refundable ticket,” it says.

But the company’s founder, Aktarer Zaman, said he doesn’t think skipping baggage will result in a passenger being banned for life on an airline.

“In our 11 years of existence, I have never heard of anyone being banned for skipping check-in. Everything you read online about someone being banned is just a rumor,” Zaman said.

Why longer flights can be cheaper

Zaman explained why some connecting — and thus longer — flights are cheaper than flying direct. He said, for example, that flying from London to Boston, with a stop in New York, can be cheaper than flying direct to New York. 

London to New York is a more popular route so it’s priced higher, creating the deals that Skiplagged finds, he said.

I recommend people don’t abuse this.

But its website isn’t the only way to find deals in “hidden cities,” Zaman said. Some travelers find these flights through travel agents or by spending hours searching for flights on their own.

Zaman said about 300,000 customers booked flights through its website last year. It is this success that puts it in the spotlight of major airlines, he said.

A trio of lawsuits

American Airlines sued the company in August 2023, but voluntarily dropped its unfair competition lawsuit before the lawsuit went to trial, Zaman said. In October 2024, Skiplagged was ordered to pay American Airlines $9.4 million for copyright infringement for unauthorized use of the American Airlines logo on its website.

Zaman called this a victory for his company.

“This was a big win for us (as it showed) that we are free to show opportunities to skip,” Zaman said. “It will probably deter all other airlines from challenging us. “Now we have laid the foundation to move forward.”

Skiplagged has also previously been sued by United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Those lawsuits were dismissed or settled out of court, Zaman said. There are three demands from some 800 airlines that appear on the Skiplagged platform, he said.

During the trial, evidence showed that American Airlines does not have a no-fly list for missing customers, Zaman added.

Clearer guidance on skiplagging

After the American Airlines test ended, Skiplagged published clearer guidance on how to safely skip your flight, with Zaman’s key message to travelers being: do it in moderation and vary the companies you fly with.

“I recommend people not to abuse this. Be thankful you saved some money, but don’t try to do it constantly,” he said.

According to company data, more than 340 Skiplagged.com customers last year had to pay a higher rate for a direct trip.

Airlines can also revoke passengers’ frequent flyer points, so Skiplagged also recommends people not associate their frequent flyer account with their reservation.

On top of that, Skiplagged.com only books one-way tickets, Zaman said, to prevent customers from canceling their return trips after not completing their outbound flight.

Skiplagged also recommends traveling with your passport for international flights, even if your planned departure is within your home country. This was an issue for 198 Skiplagged customers in the past 12 months, Zaman said.

The same applies to visas. In the last 12 months, 22 Skiplagged.com customers made the mistake of not presenting a visa for their flight.

Lastly, the website advises travelers to fly with a small bag that fits under the seat. Checked luggage is sent to the final destination indicated on the ticket, an oversight that affected 67 Skiplagged customers last year, according to company data.

However, these types of problems affected only 0.3% of Skiplagged customers, Zaman said.

Skiplagged data comes from users who report problems to the company.

“They are more likely to report any problems they encounter to us; people with travel problems tend to complain at a high rate,” a company representative told CNBC Travel. “Even if we assume that 50% of those who find a problem don’t report it, that would only reduce the success rate from 99.7% to 99.4%.”

‘Whether it makes sense’

As for Zaman, he said he doesn’t “jump” very often. But the reason is not because his name is on airline blacklists, he said.

“I’ve done it several times and it’s just a question of whether it makes sense,” he said. “Everyone has to evaluate it on their own. Nowadays, I can’t travel as lightly as I used to, so it probably won’t make sense to do it as much in the future.”

Even though the $9.4 million damage award to American Airlines represents a large portion of the website’s $20 million in annual revenue, Zaman remains committed to helping travelers save money, he said.

“Even if we face challenges with these losses, I am motivated to win because I know we are doing well here. One of the things that keeps me alive is hearing about Skiplagged’s impact on people’s lives, like…helping people in long-distance relationships,” Zaman said.

“It’s not just American Airlines versus Skiplagged,” he said. “It’s American Airlines versus Skiplagged and real people.”