 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(January 2015) |
Airline booking ploys are used by travelers in commercial aviation to lower the price of flying by circumventing airlines' rules about how tickets may be used. They are generally a breach of the contract of carriage between the passenger and the airline, which airlines may try to enforce in various ways.
Throwaway ticketing is purchasing a ticket with the intent to use only a portion of the included travel. This situation may arise when a passenger wants to travel only one way, but where the discounted round-trip excursion fare is cheaper than a one-way ticket. This can happen on mainline carriers where all one-way tickets are full price. For instance, a passenger intending to fly only from Los Angeles to New York may find the one-way ticket costs $800, but that the round-trip fare is $500. The passenger, therefore, purchases the round trip from Los Angeles to New York and back to Los Angeles and boards the flight to New York but stays in New York and "throws away" the second half of the ticket by not showing up for the return flight. It is possible to "throw away" only the final segments of a ticket because throwing away a segment by not showing up for the outbound trip often leads to the airline's canceling the entire reservation. [1]
Hidden-city ticketing or skiplagging is a variant of throwaway ticketing. The passenger books a ticket to a flight with a connection at the intended destination, sets forth at the connection node, and discards the remaining segment. Flight fares are subject to market forces and so do not necessarily correlate to the distance flown. [2] [3] As a result, a flight between point A and point C, with a connection node at point B, might be cheaper than a flight between point A and point B. It is then possible to purchase an airline ticket from point A to point C, disembark at the connection node (B), and discard the remaining segment (B to C).
Using the hidden-city tactic is usually practical only for one-way trips, as airlines cancel the subsequent parts of the trip once a traveler has disembarked. Thus, round-trip itineraries need to be created by piecing two one-way flights together. This tactic also requires that the traveler have carry-on luggage only, as typically, any checked baggage items will be unloaded only at the flight's ticketed final destination. [4] Exceptions to this requirement only occur when re-entering a country where luggage must be processed by customs agents, when changing airports, or when train travel is involved in the flight ticket. This allows a traveler to reclaim their luggage before checking in for their final destination, and simply leave the airport. [5] Hidden-city ticketing carries the risk of the initial flight being overbooked or cancelled, and the airline transferring the passenger to a different route that bypasses the connection node. [6]
Hidden-city ticketing violates most airlines' contract of carriage. [7] Someone doing it infrequently is unlikely, however, to be pursued by the airline, but some frequent fliers have reported either losing their frequent flier accounts or being threatened with such a loss.[ citation needed ] Experienced fliers recommend that if doing it more than very occasionally, passengers should not associate their frequent flier numbers with reservations using the hidden-city trick or should instead credit the miles to a partner airline. [8] In 2014, United Airlines and Orbitz filed a lawsuit against Skiplagged, a flight search website focused on finding hidden-city tickets, alleging damages from lost revenues. The lawsuit was dismissed. [9] [10]
Hidden-city ticketing was used by New Zealand citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. All travellers entering New Zealand were required to have a voucher for Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ). MIQ rooms were allocated initially on a "first come, first served" basis and later by lottery, meaning there were not enough rooms available for all travellers. However, some New Zealand citizens discovered a loophole – they would book a flight that transited through New Zealand and then disembark at the airport in New Zealand (typically Auckland International Airport), discarding the final leg of their journey. Being New Zealand citizens, they could not legally be refused entry to New Zealand, and so they were admitted to MIQ despite not having vouchers. [11] [12] The New Zealand Government considered imprisoning or fining individuals who used this loophole. [13]
This technique may also be used on other forms of transport where the fare charged for a longer distance is not always greater than for a shorter distance. For example, in the National Rail network in Great Britain, it is possible to buy a cheaper ticket to a further destination where a traveler has no intention to travel to, and as long as the ticket permits a break of journey, or to end the journey short legally.
Back-to-back ticketing is a type of nested ticketing whereby a traveler tries to circumvent minimum stay requirements. For example, a traveler may want to make two round trips midweek in two different weeks. At one time, airlines typically charged more for midweek round trips than for trips that involved a Saturday-night stay. The back-to-back ticketing ploy allows the traveler to book two round-trip tickets with Saturday stays even though the actual travel is all midweek. If a business traveler wanted to make two round trips from New York to Los Angeles in two consecutive weeks, instead of booking two round-trips in separate weeks in the following way:
The traveler could rearrange the itinerary, nesting a round-trip home within the round-trip to Los Angeles such that the outbound trips on both tickets are in the first week and the return trips are on second week.
In such case, the traveler appears to stay at the destination on the weekend for both tickets (staying at Los Angeles for ticket A, and at New York for ticket B), thus taking advantage of the Saturday-night requirement for both tickets.
Within North America, the usefulness of the strategy has diminished materially, as most airlines have abandoned the discount for a Saturday-night stay-over for these types of trips. However, many intercontinental round-trip tickets still have minimum length of stay requirements. Back-to-back ticketing is useful with tickets if there is a minimum length of stay on the discount (such as 7 days), and the traveler needs to stay in the destination only for a shorter period of time.
This is in contrast to end-on-end ticketing where a traveller combines two different round trip fares, joining together at the connection point, onto a single ticket, for example, an A–B fare and a B–C fare issued on a single ticket allowing travel from A via B to C and back.
Airlines are strongly opposed to booking ploys because they subvert their revenue management techniques and thus reduce profits. Airlines sometimes also mention unspecified "public safety" concerns. [14] Many airlines have established means of identifying and penalizing travelers who take advantage of such tactics, most notably through their frequent flier programs. [15]
Booking ploys are generally a breach of the contract of carriage between the passenger and the airline. Violating the contract is generally a civil matter. [4] When a traveler is shown to have practiced such methods, airlines may respond by confiscating tickets, canceling frequent flier status (and possible confiscation of mileage), and billing travel agents for the fare difference. Airlines may also try to claim reimbursement from passengers, or even ban the passenger from flying with them.
In 2019, Lufthansa filed a lawsuit against a passenger for hidden-city ticketing. [16] The court dismissed the case and the passenger's lawyer claimed that it showed that Lufthansa's "conditions of carriage [are] incompatible with German law". [17]
The Italian Competition Authority mandates that passengers on flights booked in Italy can skip segments at no additional cost if they notify the airline; this possibility is now incorporated in some airlines' conditions of carriage, although other airlines have not accepted the ruling. [18] In Spain, the Supreme Court ruled that skiplagging is legal. [19]
A frequent-flyer programme (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
A passenger name record (PNR) is a record in the database of a computer reservation system (CRS) that contains the itinerary for a passenger or a group of passengers travelling together. The concept of a PNR was first introduced by airlines that needed to exchange reservation information in case passengers required flights of multiple airlines to reach their destination ("interlining"). For this purpose, IATA and ATA have defined standards for interline messaging of PNR and other data through the "ATA/IATA Reservations Interline Message Procedures - Passenger" (AIRIMP). There is no general industry standard for the layout and content of a PNR. In practice, each CRS or hosting system has its own proprietary standards, although common industry needs, including the need to map PNR data easily to AIRIMP messages, has resulted in many general similarities in data content and format between all of the major systems.
Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary, by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now offer business class as the highest level of service, having eliminated first class seating. Business class is distinguished from other travel classes by the quality of seating, food, drinks, ground service and other amenities. In commercial aviation, full business class is usually denoted 'J' or 'C' with schedule flexibility, but can be many other letters depending on circumstances.
An open-jaw ticket is an airline return ticket where the destination and/or the origin are not the same in both directions. The name is derived from how it looks when drawn on a map.
On most modern airlines, flying standby is when a passenger without a seat assignment waits at the gate to see if there is an extra seat after all scheduled passengers have boarded. There are several common circumstances in which passengers fly standby:
Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreements allow passengers to change from one flight on one airline to another flight on another airline without having to gather their bags or check-in again. Airlines can also promise free rebooking if the connection is lost due to a delay.
Airline reservation systems (ARS) are systems that allow an airline to sell their inventory (seats). It contains information on schedules and fares and contains a database of reservations and of tickets issued. ARSs are part of passenger service systems (PSS), which are applications supporting the direct contact with the passenger.
Saturday-night stay is a rule used by airlines to separate business and leisure travelers.
In commercial aviation, buy on board (BoB) is a system in which in-flight food or beverages are not included in the ticket price but are purchased on board or ordered in advance as an optional extra during or after the booking process. Some airlines, including almost all low-cost carriers and a handful of flag-carriers, have buy-on-board food and beverages as part of their ancillary revenue generation.
A fare basis code is an alphabetic or alpha-numeric code used by airlines to identify a fare type and allow airline staff and travel agents to find the rules applicable to that fare. Although airlines now set their own fare basis codes, there are some patterns that have evolved over the years and may still be in use.
A fare is the fee paid by a passenger for use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used. Fare structure is the system set up to determine how much is to be paid by various passengers using a transit vehicle at any given time. A linked trip is a trip from the origin to the destination on the transit system. Even if a passenger must make several transfers during a journey, the trip is counted as one linked trip on the system.
In the United States and Canada, a bereavement flight is a flight purchased when a close relative has died or is dying. Bereavement fares used to be offered by many airlines, but as of 2015, most have stopped providing them.
One-way travel or one way is a travel paid by a fare purchased for a trip on an aircraft, a train, a bus, or some other mode of travel without a return trip. One-way tickets may be purchased for a variety of reasons, such as if one is planning to permanently relocate to the destination, is uncertain of one's return plans, has alternate arrangements for the return, or if the traveler is planning to return, but there is no need to pay the fare in advance. For some modes of travel, often for buses, trams or metros, return tickets may not be available at all.
Tripcombi, founded in 2012 as Tripdelta, was a travel metasearch engine that enabled travelers to find airfares globally from different online travel agencies and airlines. It did this by using hidden flight routing and hidden city ticketing techniques. Tripdelta's tactics included combining two separate ticket bookings, searching airfares on low-cost carriers, and booking passengers in the airports close to their place of departure and their intended destination. In March 2015, Tripdelta took part in the third batch of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Berlin. The company was based in Cologne, Germany and, in 2015, was voted as one of "Germany's Top 25 Hottest Young Companies" by Horizont.
A city ticket office (CTO), booking office, or city ticket counter is a retail office for an airline, essentially a travel agency specializing in that particular carrier's flights. Until the 1990s, many major airlines had storefronts in luxury shopping districts. Today, few remain.
Mystifly is an airfare distribution and payments settlement marketplace platform. It allows travel businesses to source airfares from global distribution systems (GDS), airlines and other airfare suppliers. Mystifly is headquartered in Singapore, with offices in the USA, UK (Middlesex) and India (Bangalore).
Basic economy class is a travel class offered by a number of airlines. The class has superseded economy class as the cheapest airfare option for passengers and generally comes with more restrictions when compared to standard economy fares. Restrictions vary between different airlines, but they generally include not allowing passengers to change or cancel tickets or select seats for free. They are seen as a strategy for market segmentation.
Skiplagged.com is an online travel agency and metasearch engine for booking flights and hotels. It popularized the tactic of hidden city ticketing.
An airfare is the fee paid by a passenger for air transport and is made up of the charge for a passenger to fly from an origin to destination and includes the conditions, rules and restrictions for travelling on the airfare.
In tourism, reconfirmation is a contractual requirement that the traveller must explicitly re-notify to the seller that they still intend to use their reservation. If the traveller fails to reconfirm, their reservation might be cancelled. The term is mostly used in commercial aviation.