The hack that airlines hate#
In 2014, a 22-year-old named Aktarer Zaman launched Skiplagged — a site that found “hidden city” flights and showed them to travelers. United Airlines and Orbitz promptly sued him.
The lawsuit was eventually dropped. Skiplagged is still running. And hidden city ticketing is still technically legal — just contractually prohibited by most airlines.
Here’s what it is and why it matters for understanding how airline pricing actually works.
What is hidden city ticketing?#
Airlines often price connecting itineraries cheaper than direct flights to the same city.
Example: A direct flight from New York to Chicago costs $400. But a connecting flight from New York to Denver, with a layover in Chicago, costs $280.
If your actual destination is Chicago, you could book the Denver flight and simply get off in Chicago — never boarding the connecting leg.
That’s hidden city ticketing. You’re paying for a longer trip and using only part of it.
Why does this pricing anomaly exist?#
Airlines price routes based on competition, demand, and yield management — not geography. The New York to Denver corridor might have strong low-cost carrier competition, driving prices down. The New York to Chicago corridor might be dominated by one carrier with pricing power.
The result is a pricing paradox: the longer journey costs less than the shorter one.
The real risks#
This trick works — but comes with genuine downsides:
Checked bags: Your luggage is checked through to the final destination (Denver). You can’t reclaim it in Chicago. Hidden city ticketing only works if you’re traveling with carry-on luggage only.
Rebooking and cancellations: If your New York to Chicago leg is delayed and you’re rebooked on a direct flight to Chicago, the hidden city trick evaporates. Airlines may rebook you to your ticketed destination (Denver) on a different routing.
Frequent flyer accounts: Airlines monitor for this behavior. Repeat offenders can have their accounts suspended or miles forfeited.
Return legs: If you do this on a round-trip booking and don’t board the outbound connection, airlines will often cancel your return leg automatically as a “no-show.”
Terms of service: Most airline contracts explicitly prohibit hidden city ticketing. You won’t be arrested, but you can be denied boarding, have miles revoked, or be banned from the airline’s loyalty program.
The United Airlines lawsuit#
United sued Skiplagged alleging tortious interference with business contracts and unfair business practices. The core argument: Skiplagged was inducing travelers to breach their contracts with United.
The case was dismissed on procedural grounds (United filed in the wrong court), not on the merits. United refiled and eventually the case was settled.
The lesson: airlines take this seriously. For individual travelers the enforcement risk is low. For a business building around it, the legal exposure is significant.
LatAI’s position#
LatAI does not surface hidden city itineraries. The contractual risks to users and the legal complexity aren’t worth it when our other signals — regional pricing, historical patterns, news intelligence — find comparable savings through entirely above-board methods.
There are enough legitimate arbitrage opportunities in airline pricing without venturing into contractually prohibited territory.
What to use instead#
The savings from hidden city ticketing (typically 20–40%) are real but come with real risks. The same or better savings are often available through:
- VPN regional pricing — checking fares from other markets
- Flexible date optimization — shifting by one or two days
- Secondary airports — flying into a nearby airport with better-priced routes
- Booking at the right lead time — using historical patterns to time your purchase
LatAI combines all of these without the contractual headaches.