Some travel strategists believe this works.įrom my own experiment comparing search results for international flights using a VPN and an internet address in Chicago, I got mixed results. Users can mask that address by subscribing to a VPN or Virtual Private Network, which allows you to search anonymously (plans at NordVPN, one provider, start at $2.99 a month). That’s because airlines price their flights based on competitive factors in local markets, including the wealth of consumers and their willingness to fly.Īirline search engines can tell where you reside based on your computer’s internet Protocol or I.P. Sometimes a ticket purchased from within a foreign country costs less than the same airfare in the United States. Round-trip prices for the same itinerary turned up fares of $372 on Delta and $312 on American, both more expensive than that $275 combination of two one-way fares. Many flight hacks are termed hacker fares, but Kayak popularized the term used in its search results on round-trip queries to show two one-way tickets, often on competing airlines, at rock-bottom prices.įor example, a recent search for fares from Chicago to Los Angeles turned up nonstop round trips on United from $321, versus $275 with an outbound on Delta and a return on American. The airline’s conditions of carriage stipulate that a fare is only valid if flown in the booked order (the order of flights listed in the itinerary), according to a spokeswoman for Lufthansa. In the recent Lufthansa litigation, the airline sued a passenger, claiming a contract violation when he skipped the last leg of his flight on a one-stop ticket from Seattle to Oslo via Frankfurt.
“We make flying more accessible, so we’re fighting against price discrimination and the way airlines try to take advantage of everybody.” “Our mission is to make it easier to experience the world,” Mr.
He notes that is for the average American flier - who flies two times a year, according to the trade association Airlines for America - not for someone who intends to book hidden city routes often. “When you go to the store and buy a bag of chips, is it unethical to finish only half of it?” Mr. Its founder, Aktarer Zaman, was sued for deception by United Airlines and the online travel agency Orbitz in 2015, but that lawsuit was dismissed based on jurisdiction, and the website is still going strong. The practice is known as skiplagging.įinding these fares required a lot of scattershot searching and knowledge of airline competition until the website automated it in 2013. For example, a flier from New York City to San Francisco may find it cheaper to book a one-stop flight to Seattle connecting through San Francisco, disembark there and not take the last leg to Seattle. Hidden city fares are one-way tickets through a connecting city where passengers intentionally stay in the layover city. Other booking ploys, surveyed below, may or may not get you into trouble with the airlines. The app HitList allows users to track a route with unspecified dates or lengths of travel. Many search engines, including Kayak and Hopper, allow users to register for price-alert tracking that recommends whether to buy now or wait for future price drops. Having flexibility in travel is one sure way to get the best fare.
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