Skiplagged Website Claims To Find Cheap Airfare With 'Hidden City Ticketing'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you've been watching airfare to get the best price on your summer vacation plans, travel experts say there is a website you need to try.
Skiplagged says it exposes airline industry secrets to find airfares not found anywhere else. One airline even tried to sue the website's founder to stop the controversial practice.
In the last six months, University of Minnesota senior Alex Thorsen has taken five flights to visit friends across the country. She always checks one website first.
"I've used it a lot. I check it a lot," Thorsen said.
Skiplagged's airfare search engine looks like any other, but this site uses "hidden city ticketing." In his free time, a 22-year-old computer whiz Aktarer Zaman figured this out and designed Skiplagged to skirt the system.
"It's not confusing. It's super easy to use," Thorsen said.
The trick is booking flights with a layover, but using that layover city as your final stop.
"I just found a flight here from Minneapolis to Chicago for $34," Thorsen said.
The catch: It only works for one-way tickets and you can't check a bag.
For example, a non-stop fare from MSP to Los Angeles is $300 one-way. But a fare on the same airline from MSP to San Francisco with a stop in LA might be $150. You buy that cheaper flight and forgo the plane to San Francisco altogether.
When you go to buy your ticket, Skiplagged will take you directly to the travel website or airline where it found the cheapest fare. You don't buy anything from the site.
On "The Art of Being Cheap", Andy Prescott blogs about ways to save money.
"The idea here is that airlines set their prices based on supply and demand, not on what it costs them," Prescott said.
We asked him to test Skiplagged for Minnesota travelers. So, he looked up all 10 of the Vikings' away games for this season, comparing one-way plane fare with Orbitz.
Prices were the same for three of the flights, just $6 more expensive on one, but on the remaining six flights he found savings on Skiplagged, including a nearly $200 difference for a Charlotte flight and $60 savings on a flight to Seattle.
"I wouldn't even think about not checking Skiplag," Prescott said.
Prescott's findings only reinforce what Thorsen already knew: a website exposing a secret she's been anxious to share.
Airlines don't like Skiplagged, saying it violates their terms and conditions. They've threatened to freeze frequent-flier miles or not book a return flight if they catch you in the act.
Thorsen told us she's never had a problem.
Skiplagged has been sued by Orbitz and United Airlines. While Orbitz reached a settlement with the website, a judge dismissed the lawsuit brought by United.
