A woman is going viral after sharing what might be the travel hack of the year: skiplagging.
Catherine Slack (@catherineslack) says she was looking to book a flight to Atlanta but hit a snag—direct flights were just too pricey and barely worth the trip. That’s when she stumbled onto the cheaper workaround.
“Why is skiplagging so much cheaper??!!?!!?” Slack asks in the on-screen caption of her TikTok, which has more than 133,400 views.
What is skiplagging?
Skiplagging, also known as hidden-city ticketing, is when travelers book a flight with a layover but don’t plan to complete the full trip. In Slack’s case, that meant finding a cheaper flight through Atlanta rather than to it and simply getting off the plane at the layover.
Here’s how it works: instead of booking a pricey nonstop flight to your actual destination, you book a flight where your desired city is just a stopover. Then, when the plane lands at the layover city, you exit the airport and skip the final leg.
It can often save travelers a significant amount of money, especially since airlines sometimes offer lower prices on longer routes with connections compared to direct ones.
But while skiplagging has gained popularity among budget-conscious fliers, airlines aren’t thrilled. In fact, some explicitly ban the practice. According to a 2023 report from NPR, major carriers like American, Delta, Southwest, and United all prohibit it.
Experts told NPR that skiplagging can mess with an airline’s pricing algorithms and capacity planning. In other words, flights can appear emptier than they really are. And it throws off logistics for flight crews, especially if passengers are listed as no-shows. Airlines have even penalized some travelers for skiplagging, including canceling return flights or banning repeat offenders.
And if you plan to check a bag, skiplagging probably isn’t the move. Airlines tag checked luggage to the final destination on your ticket—not your intended stop—so your bag will keep flying even if you don’t. That means unless you’re traveling light with just a carry-on, you’re likely out of luck.
So while it might be a clever workaround for now, skiplagging definitely comes with risks.
Flier says skiplagging was too risky for Atlanta trip
In some ways, Slack could’ve seriously benefited from skiplagging on her trip to Atlanta.
In her video, she shared that a direct flight from her city to the Peach State would’ve cost her $500—while a “skiplagged” route came in at just $100.
Slack was baffled by the drastic price difference.
“How is that legal? Explain,” she asks viewers.
But in the end, she didn’t go through with the hack. The deal-breaker, she says, was she needed to check a bag. “I would so book it, but I have to check a bag,” she says, clearly disappointed.
@catherineslack @delta explain!!!! I have the @American Express Reserve card I don’t deserve this (jk) #fyp #airport #airplane #airline #skiplagged @Skiplagged | Travel hacks ♬ original sound – Catherine
Viewers say they prefer to skiplag flights when possible
In the comment section of Slack’s video, many viewers chimed in with their own theories about why skiplagged flights are often much cheaper.
“Airline price by demand, not distance,” one man said. “You’re welcome.”
“The action reason is that airlines have to pay airports to keep routes in use,” another explained. “They’re essentially subsidizing less-used routes so that they can keep them in use.”
“Because there is no demand for the final destination in [the] 2nd option,” a third viewer added.
Others, however, said that despite the cost-saving benefits, skiplagging is dangerous and could get fliers in trouble with certain airlines.
“Never do this on an airline where you have status,” one commenter advised.
“If you book the flight with the layover and don’t get it on the second leg, they [will] cancel your return ticket,” another warned.
“You can do it. But not often,” a third TikToker said. “Once a year? That’s fine.”
“Do not skiplag! You will get put on the no-fly list if you get caught,” a fourth user warned. “I promise. It is not worth it.”
Update 4:21pm CT, April 8: A Delta spokesperson pointed the Daily Dot to its prohibited practices:
“While not an exclusive list, the following ticketing practices are prohibited:
Point-beyond ticketing – use of a fare published for travel to a point beyond your actual intended destination or from a point before your actual intended origin
Back-to-back ticketing – combining multiple overlapping round-trip tickets to circumvent Saturday or other overnight stay requirements
Throw-away ticketing – use of discounted round-trip excursion fares for one-way travel”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Slack via TikTok comment.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
