A teenager was flying from Gainesville to Charlotte. The price of a nonstop ticket was $255 one-way. But he found that the price of a ticket from Gainesville to New York with a change of planes in Charlotte was just $121. So he bought a ticket to New York and planned to get off at Charlotte and “miss” the connecting flight to New York. But not completing a ticketed trip violates the rules of most airlines, so when airline agents at check-in noted ID documents showing he lived in Charlotte, they confiscated his original ticket and made him buy a new one at a much higher fare. That story has been making the rounds of the air travel blogosphere, and it’s an example of a practice typically called “hidden city” or “point beyond” ticketing. I’m repeating it here as either a “clever hack” or a no-no, depending on how you look at the practice.
Why It Works
Airlines set fares based on what they think the market is willing to pay, not cost. And that results in some anomalies:
- They set fares high on flights to/from their fortress hubs, where they offer far more nonstop flights than competitors. In effect, they have near-monopolies in those markets, so they set fares at monopolistic levels.
- They match competitors and set ticket prices at generally low competitive levels on routes between two non-hubs. Often, those competitive fares are lower than fares to/from an intermediary hub but incorporate a change of planes at the intermediary hub.
Risks and Limitations
The risk is basic: Point-beyond ticketing specifically violates airline rules and the contract you accept when you buy a ticket. In addition to making you buy a new ticket, an airline can kick you out of its frequent-flyer program, confiscate your miles, and even put you on its no-fly list. But there are other risks:
- Obviously, you can’t check baggage—an airline will not check a bag to a connecting point. You can’t even risk having to gate-check your carry-on bag.
- It does not work on a round-trip ticket. If you don’t take the first flight on your return itinerary, the second flight—the one you want—will be canceled.
- Obviously, the hack is largely confined to one-way flights to/from fortress hubs. It works for round-trips only if you can use two one-way tickets between two fortress hubs. I know a traveler who lives in Charlotte and frequently goes to the Mayo Clinic using a Charlotte-Minneapolis-Somewhere ticket on Delta to get there and a Minneapolis-Charlotte-somewhere ticket on American to return.
The Legality and Ethics
Point-beyond ticketing is not illegal: Airline rules do not have any status in law other than contract issues. But you do violate a contract you legally accepted and an airline is within its legal rights to enforce its contract.
The ethics are not so clear-cut. Airlines say the ethical issue is straightforward—entering a contract you intend to violate is unethical. Period. Travelers respond that airlines do not bring ethically clean hands to the issue:
- A fare structure system not based on cost that instead facilitates monopoly price gouging is inherently unethical.
- Airlines force you into their system, and you have a right to game any system you’re forced to accept.
- Contracts of adhesion that you have no alternative but to accept when you buy a ticket are also inherently unethical.
What to Do
I’m not taking sides here. But if you are willing to accept the risks, opportunities to cut airfare costs are easy to identify. The best place to find them is Skiplagged (https://skiplagged.com/). Keep in mind that point-beyond isn’t always the lowest cost option. Skiplagged also shows where circuitous routing can sometimes undercut even a point-beyond rate—without any of the risks and limitations. But the point-beyond routing almost always has the best schedule.
The recent case is unusual—it’s the first time I’ve seen an airline act against an occasional traveler rather than repeat offenders. Maybe there’s a crackdown? Again, you decide.
Dear Readers: We would love to hear from you. What topics would you like to read about? Please send your feedback and tips to [email protected].
