“You might be one of the unlucky ones who doesn’t snag overhead bin space, in which case flight attendants might force you to check your bags, upon which your bag will be shipped to a destination you never intended to go to,” she says.Īnd what might be a wrinkle in an original flight plan could turn into being totally sidetracked, especially with last-minute schedule changes.

Even those traveling with just a carry-on can run into issues. Skiplaggers can't check luggage since they're usually routed directly to the final destination on the ticket. ”If you’ve booked a roundtrip flight and you skipped on the second leg of your outbound flight, there’s a chance the airline could cancel your reservation for the return trip home,” French says. While those cases might be extreme, the more likely scenario is a monetary penalty. “Some airline terms and conditions state that passengers could be permanently banned from flying in the future with that airline, or that the airline might take legal action against the passenger,' she says. Those repercussions can come in a variety of forms. “Someone who flies once a year might try this tactic, but be unaware of the risks or nuances,” NerdWallet travel expert Sally French says. Technically speaking, the practice isn’t breaking any federal laws, but it is violating the airlines’ policies, so flying hidden-city fares comes with an inherent risk. And now we're in this world where these things make no sense, like the traveling teenager who bought the ticket for the flight-doesn't he have the right to use it or not use it?” 'They recognize how illogical the pricing is.

“The reality is the airlines have written the rules upon which they can play,' he says. “Intentionally creating an empty seat that could have been used by another customer or team member is an all-around bad outcome.”īut Gellert said it’s less about operations and more about the monopoly that the airlines have on the market. “If a customer knowingly or unknowingly purchases a ticket and doesn’t fly all of the segments in their itinerary, it can lead to operational issues with checked bags and prevent other customers from booking a seat when they may have an urgent need to travel,” American Airlines says. From the airlines’ point of view, empty seats can be problematic. Recent crack downs like this by airlines have made the practice more controversial than ever.

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