Woman reveals sneaky trick to find cheap flights – but it comes with a huge risk

A WOMAN has revealed the sneaky trick she uses to bag cheap flights – but the hack comes with a risk.

Brits looking to save money on their next holiday abroad will be familiar with money-saving hacks like Google Flights, and using incognito mode on browsers to reduce the cost of their ticket.

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But one woman has saved hundreds by booking her plane tickets using a very sneaky hack called skiplagging.

Skiplagging, also known as “hidden-city” or “throwaway” ticketing, involves booking a cheaper flight with the option to layover in another city.

The practice includes booking the stopover flight, and not flying the entire route as the traveller’s desired destination is the layover city.

Sophie Partlow is just one traveller who has been using the hack to save money on her holidays for several years.

She told Business Insider: “Ultimately I have no remorse and no angst about using hidden-city tickets.”

“I feel like because of the fact that airlines have had a chokehold on prices and availability for as long as they have, then more power to Skiplagged for giving some of that control back to the travelers.” 

While the hack is perfectly legal, some airlines have been clamping down on the practice in recent years.

American Airlines announced in January 2021 that they were cracking down on skiplagging and introducing tools to flag skiplag bookings to agents.

The popular airline called it “unethical” and threatened to deny boarding, cancel the return flight, or charge the price difference to those who are caught.

In 2019, Lufthansa tried suing a passenger for skiplagging, with the airline claiming the passenger exploited the ticketing system, Daily Mail reported.

The German company took a stand as they made it clear on their website that skiplagging is strictly not allowed, but technically, the money-saving practice is not illegal.

Partlow added: “They really try to get you if you’re getting a hidden-city ticket, so you need to know what you’re facing when you do it.”

Sun Online Travel put Skipplagged to the test and it revealed hidden-city flights from São Paulo to Lisbon for £343.

While the end destination is intended to be Frankfurt, holidaymakers could save nearly £100 if they wanted to travel to Lisbon instead.

Even though most of the savings were for routes in America, there were some international deals between Europe and the US.

Meanwhile, a money expert revealed how the day you book and the day you fly can impact how expensive your flights are.

And airline workers explained the best way to get cheap flights – and even revealed that the day you book makes a difference.

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