It is common for airfare prices to appear somewhat complicated. It is not uncommon for people to find that a cheaper alternative for traveling to their desired location involves taking a connecting flight as opposed to a direct flight. This phenomenon has led to the emergence of an unconventional form of travel booking referred to as hidden city ticketing. Although this is widely used by travelers looking for ways to book cheaper flights, airlines view this practice negatively.
Have you searched for the flight ticket price of Lufthansa airline before? Maybe you have considered comparing Delta Airlines and British Airways prices and booking the cheapest flights to Europe from Lufthansa. Did you know that such flights could be an example of where hidden city ticketing will pay off? However, there is one major question you need to ask. Is it illegal? But is it worthwhile? Let’s see!
This blog is written by Abhijeet Sharma, who is a talented content writer and researcher specializing in travel, aviation, personal finance, and technology. Abhijeet is passionate about writing with the objective of providing informative content to his audience. While working on this article, he conducted extensive research related to airline pricing policy and hidden city tickets.
How Does the Hidden City Booking Work?
The hidden city trick is one of the best-known and highly debated travel hacks used by those who often fly around. In a nutshell, what happens here is that you do not buy an airline ticket that lands you directly at your point of interest; rather, you purchase a connecting flight where your destination is actually a transit point, where you simply leave the aircraft.
Thus, let us consider a case when a connecting Lufthansa flight to Portland (Oregon) via Seattle costs you less than a direct Lufthansa cheap flight to nearby Oregon. So, in this case, you choose a connecting itinerary and leave the airplane in Seattle, where you get off and end your journey.
The main reason for the existence of this travel hack is the sophisticated pricing algorithm employed by airlines such as Delta, Southwest, Emirates, British Airways, and Lufthansa. Sometimes, a non-stop flight may be more expensive than a connection even for the same route, all due to market dynamics.
How Pricing Works to Create this Airlines Route Scheme (Why There Is a Loophole)
To understand why this kind of loophole exists, one needs to understand how the pricing system works in airlines. Pricing does not necessarily involve determining costs solely based on distance. Instead, there are a number of other factors that affect pricing, like competition, yield management, and network strategy. For instance, Delta AirLines might set a relatively cheap ticket for an itinerary from Atlanta to Denver via Chicago since there is a lot of competition from Southwest Airlines on the Atlanta-to-Chicago segment and Delta is desperate to sell tickets for its Atlanta-to-Denver service.
The same logic applies internationally. Lufthansa might offer cheaper rates in a travel route from New York JFK airport to Berlin with a stopover in London compared to the fare provided by British Airways going from New York JFK airport to London, since Lufthansa is interested in generating more business traffic in Frankfurt. All this information is taken from the Daily flight deals website.
Is Hidden City Ticketing Legal?
Well, hidden city ticketing is technically not against any criminal laws, which means you will not be put behind bars for using this trick. The reason being, however, it virtually always breaches airline Conditions of Carriage, which are the legal agreements you enter into when buying your plane tickets. Airlines such as Delta, Southwest, Emirates, British Airways, and Lufthansa all clearly prohibit hidden city ticketing in their Terms of Service.
What actions airlines can take against you for breaking the contract are: revoking your right to board the return or onward flights upon getting off the plane earlier than scheduled, canceling all your accrued mileage points for the same trip, closing or banning your loyalty membership (SkyMiles Delta, Skywards Emirates, Lufthansa Miles & More, BA Executive Club), and even charging you extra money for the difference between the fare you paid and what it would cost if you were to go to your real destination.
Skiplagged.com, which assists travelers with identifying hidden city routes, faced a lawsuit from Orbitz in 2014, although the suit was eventually dismissed. Skiplagged has also faced legal suits from United Airlines and American Airlines. This shows that although the traveler is not breaking any laws by using hidden cities, the loophole is very genuine.
Problems That Might Occur
- Check-In Luggage Renders Planes of No Use
Your checked-in bag would be transported all the way to your destination stated on your ticket, not your connecting city. Should you take advantage of the Lufthansa cheap flights near Washington opportunity where your tickets terminate in Denver but you are supposed to disembark in Portland, your luggage will be delivered to Denver without you aboard the plane. It’s important to know that hidden city ticketing involves carrying luggage with you on board at all times.
- One Way is All You Get
Since no-showing any part of a round-trip ticket voids other portions of the ticket, a single-leg departure means that the rest of the flights scheduled in the itinerary become invalid. This happens in cases where a traveler has booked his or her round trip with Delta Airlines and then disembarks from the flight in their hidden city on the first day of travel.
- Hidden City Booking Is No Game To Play
Loyalty membership is worth much more than a single bargain deal. For instance, achieving Platinum membership on Emirates Skywards, being a Senator member on Lufthansa Miles & More, or a Medallion member on Delta SkyMiles requires several years of effort. Airlines can check your loyalty account for suspicious activity and terminate any suspicious activity found. Booking numerous “hidden city” flights through one loyalty number is a sure way to get your account closed. Flying regularly for business purposes and depending on the miles will often give you more trouble than advantages.
- Changes in Flight Schedules Can Ruin Your Travel Plans
Lufthansa’s flight schedule now might be different from the one shown when making reservations. In case your “hidden city” stopover becomes shorter or even canceled because of technical or weather reasons, you can easily get re-booked on a new route that won’t even include your desired destination. In this case, you’ll receive only transportation to your final destination airport.
Airlines that are most vigilant and how they catch you
| Airline | Loyalty program | Known Enforcement action | Risk level |
| Delta Airlines | SkyMiles | Account audits for pattern bookings | High |
| Southwest Airlines | Rapid Rewards | Fare difference billing on flagged accounts | Medium |
| Emirates | Skywards | Terms violation = immediate tier suspension | high |
| British Airways | Executive club | Legal pursuit via conditions of carriage | High |
| Lufthansa | Miles and More | Account closure, Fare recovery | High |
Recommendations:
Instead of being a loyal passenger with Lufthansa or getting charged the cost recovery fee, as well as having your baggage seized while traveling from Portland via Denver, try using one of these strategies. Create fare alerts for cheap flights by Lufthansa that operate near Oregon and other cheap flights by Lufthansa near Washington state. These online search engines may show you the same fare discrepancies, but as valid tickets rather than hidden city ticketing scams. Open-jaw tickets can be obtained; they involve landing in one city and leaving from another city and are fully allowed.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Hidden City Ticketing illegal?
Hidden City Ticketing is neither criminal nor fraudulent. Nonetheless, it goes against almost all major airlines’ Terms of Carriage, such as Delta Airlines, Lufthansa, Emirates, British Airways, and Southwest Airlines. The legality of Hidden City Ticketing lies in the fact that civil consequences can be imposed, and these include suspension of one’s account, recovery of the fare, and restrictions on loyalty programs.
- Can airlines detect my attempt at hidden city ticketing even once?
There is a chance that this will happen if you have not used your loyalty member number. Nonetheless, there are several airlines that use reservation pattern analysis in order to detect Hidden City Ticketing, such as Delta and Lufthansa Airlines.
- Can I use a hidden city ticket for a suitcase?
No. Your suitcases will be taken to your final destination mentioned on the ticket, rather than the point where you plan to exit the itinerary. Hidden city tickets can work only with cabin baggage.
- What are other options to book cheap flights, like the hidden city trick?
Yes. There are fare finder programs, open jaws, position flights, and sales programs which offer the same deals as hidden city. Lufthansa low-cost flights to Europe, Lufthansa low-cost flight fares at off-peak times, or even BA or Emirates flash sale fares will help you save money.
Contact Us:
Do you want to find affordable flights, low-cost fares, budget flights booking, overseas flights, flights that have been booked using Lufthansa Airlines, and help with booking flights? Then you can reach out to Dailyflightdeals today! We will be well-informed about the latest trends in the flight sector, along with any possible discounts, so that we can assist you with making wise decisions while booking your flight.
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