Hidden-City Ticketing

Airline pricing doesn’t always follow distance. A ticket from Los Angeles through a hub to a smaller city can cost less than a ticket to the hub itself, so some travelers book the longer trip and walk away at the connection. The practice violates most airlines’ contracts of carriage, which prohibit buying a ticket without intending to fly every segment.

The practical risks are significant. Skip a segment and the airline typically cancels the rest of the itinerary, including any return flight, so it only works one way. Checked bags travel to the ticketed destination, and during a delay the airline may reroute you through a different hub. Airlines have closed loyalty accounts, sought payment of the fare difference, and taken legal action against sites that promote the practice.

For companies, it also undermines duty of care, since records show the traveler somewhere they are not. Travel agencies generally avoid these itineraries because airlines can bill the agency for the fare difference. Legitimate savings come from fare rules and smart routing; see reduce corporate travel costs.