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Hidden City Ticketing

Booking a ticket with a layover in your actual destination, then exiting the airport instead of continuing.

Full definition

Hidden city ticketing (a.k.a. "skiplagging") exploits the fact that a ticket with a connection through your desired destination can be cheaper than a direct flight to that destination. Example: JFK → DEN (direct) costs $400, but JFK → DEN → LAX costs $300. You book the latter, get off in Denver, and skip the DEN → LAX segment.

WARNING: Airlines prohibit this in their contracts of carriage. Getting caught can result in miles forfeiture, status loss, and potential legal action. Do not check bags (they'll go to the final destination), and do not do this on return portions of round-trips (the return gets cancelled if you miss the outbound continuation).

Related terms

Throwaway Ticket
A segment of a ticket you don't fly, either to save money or to bypass fare rules.Interline Agreement
A bilateral agreement between airlines to accept each other's tickets and baggage.

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