If you need to fly somewhere, but you don’t want to spend a load of cash, or if you need to find a good deal, then ‘Hidden City Ticketing’ can be a massive help. It’s a way of skirting around what can often be considered a convoluted system. However, no rules are saying you can’t take advantage of the information given to you.
What is it?
Hidden City Ticketing sounds way more exciting than what it really is. It kind of sounds like buying a mystery ticket to a secret city, but in fact it’s a way of cheating the system fair and square. You basically purchase a ticket with a layover destination, and the layover destination is the real destination. For example, if you want to go to Atlanta, you would choose to buy a flight to New York with a layover stop in Atlanta. Essentially, you don’t take the flight from Atlanta to New York.
Why would you do that?
It’s a much cheaper option. It might seem crazy, but often buying a layover ticket as opposed to a direct ticket is going to be considerably cheaper. Most people assume that the distance of the journey is what dictates the price of the ticket, however there are other factors in play. These factors include popular routes and supply and demand. You will need to find a destination that has a layover stop in your intended destination before looking into the ticket prices. Often, you will make some incredible savings.
Be careful of the consequences
There’s nothing that is explicitly against hidden city ticketing. However, there are a few things you will need to be aware of when booking your flight. If you intend to use your ticket to go the rest of the journey, you won’t be able to do that. If your layover point is Chicago and that’s where you depart, you can’t suddenly use the rest of the ticket for a whim trip to wherever your destination was.
Choosing wisely
Of course, you can’t do that wherever you go, and it’s easier if you’re trying to visit a large city with a wide hub of airlines. This way, more flights will be likely to use the point as a layover stop, rather than a smaller city or town. If you book a trip to central France, then your layover is likely going to be Paris, which is likely where your final destination will be. What you’re less likely to be able to do is find a rural destination, because it’s less likely to be a layover spot.
How to find the routes
There are two options open to you. One of them is using the website ‘Skiplagged,’ which will show you a comparison between standard tickets and your hidden-city tickets. Alternatively, you can choose to figure it out for yourself by comparing prices of layover tickets with their conventional counterparts. It might be a bit of a laborious task, but it will potentially save you a ton of cash.
Keeping in the know
Other things you will need to take into account is that you shouldn’t let the airline know you intend on skipping out on the last leg of your trip. If your ticket is from one country to another, then you will need to be prepared with visas for your intended country. Keep your passport on you, as you might be getting off in the U.S.A, but if your ticket says Canada, then you will need to keep that handy. You must travel hand luggage only, or you might not see it again, as it will be in your final destination.
Otherwise, happy hidden city ticketing!
