For most missionaries working in remote areas of the world, the cost of airplane tickets can be the most expensive part of a mission trip. That is why some price-conscious missionaries, including myself, have used a controversial travel hack called “Hidden City” tickets.
But be warned, this hack is not for everyone.
‘Hidden City’ tickets is also called “skiplagging” and airlines hate it when you do it, but it has saved me thousands of dollars in travel expenses over the years.
Hidden City travel saves money by exploiting a known loophole in the airline’s marketing prices. Airlines know that customers do not like layovers and they will often charge more for direct flights while at the same time offer their tickets to customers for discounted prices to use their hub as a layover to compete with a competitor.
This means that an indirect flight to another destination by using their hub can be a fraction of the price they are charging for direct flights.
Let me explain.
For instance, a direct flight between Bangkok and Hong Kong might be $800 dollars on Cathay Pacific, but what you might not know is that your flight to Hong Kong might be cheaper if you buy a ticket – not to Hong Kong – but to Manila.
You see, Cathay Pacific is trying to compete with Philippine Airlines and Thai Airways on their direct flight routes between Bangkok and Manila, so they often offer cheaper flights to their own hub in Hong Kong for those passengers who are willing to do a layover on their way to Manila from Bangkok (or vice versa), so they might offer a special for customers for a flight between Bangkok to Manila via Hong Kong for only $500 dollars.
This means that a customer can buy a ticket for the same exact direct flight to Hong Kong for $500 instead of the $800 and save $300 by simply purchasing a ticket from Cathay Pacific to Manila and forfeiting the final leg of their trip.
The “Hidden City” ticket is simply the act of booking a multi-city flight with a layover in your desired destination, and skipping the second leg of the trip.
If it is confusing, there are actually websites that are dedicated to helping you to do this. Some of these websites advertise that they can help travelers save as much as 75% on the price of their tickets!
One of the best websites for Hidden-City tickets is called Skiplagged.com
Missionaries need to beware that airlines do not like when travelers learn about this loophole and they have been suing websites that help customers save money by booking a plane ticket with a layover, then bailing on the flight to the final destination. It drives airlines nuts.
Airlines like United and Southwest have tried to fight the computer wiz whose website Skiplagged helped popularize the idea. However, the airlines’ lawsuits against Skiplagged CEO Aktarer Zaman have been either thrown out or settled.
Buying a Hidden City ticket is not illegal and there is no way to really stop it, so airlines have sued websites that offer it. In 2024, American Airlines won a $9.4 million dollar case against Skiplagged for loss of money.
These days I do not buy “Hidden-City” tickets as often as I have in the past, but there are things to be aware of if you decide to use a Hidden-City ticket.
Personally, if I buy a “Hidden City” ticket, I know that there are risks and every missionary needs to be aware of the risks.
First, I cannot check-in any luggage. Since your luggage is going to the final destination and you are not, you cannot travel with check-in. I never have anything more than a hand carry luggage anyway, so it is not a problem for me.
Secondly, it can only be a one way ticket. A “hidden-city” ticket cannot be roundtrip ticket, so I need to book a separate ticket for any onward flights after my destination.
Thirdly, I need to be willing to risk possibly being banned by an airline, so I rarely buy a “hidden-city” ticket with an airline that I have loyalty programs with.
Also, I personally never buy my tickets on websites like skiplagged. I do my own research and purchase my own hidden-city tickets on the official website or on Expedia.com – a website that does not offer purposeful hidden-city tickets.
It is almost impossible for an airline to ban first-time offenders because travelers miss their connections all the time because of delays, long lines at security, and last minute gate changes. Travel disruptions because of shopping or illnesses are also common.
Lastly, as a common practice, I do not repeatedly buy hidden-city tickets on the same airline to the same destination, making it virtually impossible to create a profile on me as a habitual offender. Buying hidden-city tickets while using frequent flyer numbers, credit card information, or creating profiles on booking websites can flag data-tracking systems, easily leading to formal warnings or even account closures and bans from airlines.
Hidden-city tickets are not for everyone, but they might be for some who are looking to save a few extra dollars on their next mission trip.
