Traveling is becoming more and more expensive. But some smart people have found a solution to save on plane tickets. To the point of annoying the airlines…
After the dark years linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline sector has never been better off. With some 5.2 billion passengers expected this year, 2025 will break records. But flying remains a significant expense. And even if you buy your ticket with a low-cost airline, some trips remain unaffordable.
There are of course ways to save money, in particular by reserving your ticket well in advance, ideally as soon as sales open. You can also, when possible, go outside the high tourist season and in particular school holidays. So, going to New York in March, outside of school holidays, will always be cheaper than going there around July 4 or during the end-of-year holidays. But families with children obviously don’t always have a choice…
Another option, skip-lagging! You may have already noticed when looking for a plane ticket that flights with a stopover are cheaper than direct flights. There’s nothing illegal about choosing a Paris-Orlando flight with a stopover in Miami… as long as you make the trip all the way. Because fans of skip-lagging, literally “skipping the stopover”, do not go as far as Orlando. They get off in Miami and their place on the next flight remains vacant. A real loss of income for the airlines, which could have sold these flights to other passengers and have been annoyed by this practice for several years. As for the ecological impact, it is not negligible.
So is this good plan really one? Airlines have a keen eye and quickly spot fraudsters. Some of them, notably the majority of American companies, have completely integrated the ban on skip-lagging into their contracts, while others blacklist passengers. But United Airlines, Southwest and Lufthansa went further, and took the matter to court. It is therefore better to think twice, otherwise you will not be able to board, neither for Miami nor for Orlando.
