CEO SKIPLAGGED: How to use travel hacking without getting caught

Young people are turning more and more towards popular travel hacking to fly cheaper this year, and the chances that you get caught are practically zero – assuming that you follow simple rules.

It is according to the CEO of Skiplagged.com, a website that helps travelers find “Hidden City” tickets. The practice usually consists of buying a ticket with a stopover, but using this stopover city as a destination without boarding the connection flight.

It is often cheaper than a non -stop flight is delivered with serious warnings and makes airlines absolutely furious.

The CEO Aktarer Zaman says that the risk of discovering your plane is in fact very low, even if some have threatened to ban passengers who are taken to deliberately jump the second legs of their trips.

And as the fears of an economic slowdown increase, he says that more generation Zers and younger millennials are turning to the trip to save money.

Zaman told Business Insider in an interview that Skiplagged saw hidden tickets increase by 30% in March and April compared to February.

“I think this is due to the economic problems where money is uncertain,” he said, noting that average jump-sigh savings are $ 180. “People always want to travel, and some must for reasons that they cannot avoid, so they are inclined to find discounts.”

Despite at least three legal proceedings of airlines accusing the company to facilitate what they consider as a prohibited practice and a copyright violation for the use of their logos without authorization, Zaman said that there was not only little carrier could not do for the affairs of his website and sworn to stay there.

For future skiplaggers, he offered advice on how to remain incognito, like taking only one backpack, one -way reserving and paying attention to the visa requirements for international routes.

Why the airlines hate skiplaging so much

Airline websites are not designed to show you all possible flights from A to B. They want to sell you a ticket at a price you are ready to pay that also works for their operation. They consider the leap to relive lost and disrupt their schedules.

Of course, you can use a method of assuming and verifying the airline website to find a cheaper hidden rate, but Skiplagged says that it includes flights from various sources to generate options that specifically indicate a hidden city route and related tariff savings.

For example, Skiplagged shows a flight of Delta Air Lines Non Stop with Los Angeles in Atlanta in July for $ 299. A hidden ticket for Baltimore with a stopover in Atlanta costs only $ 139, which saves $ 160. You just didn’t do on the second flight for Baltimore.

Zaman said most of the 10 million monthly skiplagged users are between 18 and 34 years old. Most use the website as a search engine, then reserve the desired flight directly via the airline or a third party as a kayak.

Only 30% of customers who reserve via skiplagged buy tickets for the hidden city, he said, or around 300,000 people in 2024.

The data shared with BI show that Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Dallas are the five best destination cities reserved via Skiplagged.

“It is controversial, but this is a reason why we are as important as we are today because consumers have achieved how the value (skiplagged) has their offer,” said Zaman. He added that the site reports more than $ 20 million in annual income for user and bribes of suppliers.

The company is currently fighting a trial of American Airlines, which has had particularly severe words on the practice of skiplaging.

In 2023, the carrier allegedly alleged a copyright violation, a brand infringement, a breach of contract and a tort interference. The latter means intentionally damaging the contract of another party and causing damage.

Skiplagged lost the copyright violation file and was ordered to pay $ 4.7 million in damages and an additional $ 4.7 million for reimbursement of “poorly acquired” income in October. However, SKIPLAGGED can continue to display hidden prices on its website.

Zaman said that American revealed in trial that he did not maintain a black list of leap passengers. The American did not respond to a request for comments.

United and Southwest also continued the company for deceptive practices and violated their service conditions. The united trial was rejected for jurisdictional reasons and the other settled outside the court. Skiplagged refused to reveal the terms of the regulation.

Getting caught is rare, but pay attention to the rules

Airlines like Alaska and United specifically say that they can punish travelers for skiplagging, in particular to take legal action or revoke miles or elite status.

However, Zaman said skiplagging is actually “not as risky” overall, with 99.7% of hidden cities reservations by jumping by jumping without hook in 2024.

“The miles are dismissed and people prohibited by airlines is so rare, and no one last year told us that it had happened to them,” he said.

He said that the tiny percentage of people who got caught were usually something that revealed their plans. Skiplagged describes some tips on the website to help people know their backs and not to do before flying.

For example, Zaman said that some people had reserved a skiplag rate with an international destination but a national stopover and cannot fly because they have not brought passports. The same goes for people who forget the requirements of visa.

Other practices to reduce the risk of getting a leap or ending somewhere that you do not intend to include:

• Do not skiplag often because it will create a reason, and an airline can report you
• Bring only a backpack. A recorded bag will go to your final destination, and hand baggage can be checked at the door
• Book one -way because if you skiplag on the outgoing, the return will probably be canceled
• Do not associate your frequent leaflet account to avoid the risk of revocation of the kilometers
• Be careful of changes in route to make sure your stopover city has not changed before flying
• Have proof of a return trip already reserved if you skiplag internationally; Make it refundable if you do not plan to use it really

These tips are not 100% infallible (although they are close), and you could always face the airline repercussions if you find that you have raped their transport contract.

“There are some airlines where you are free from skiplag whatever you want; this is not against the rules to miss an express flight,” he said. “But, for some airlines, expressly missing is against their policy, but the figures show how rare it is to be in trouble.”