A FLIGHT attendant has warned passengers against a popular money-saving plane hack that could get them banned from flying.
With the cost of air fares as they are today, it’s understandable that holidaymakers might want to save a few quid on tickets.
However, what appears to be a crafty pricing loophole can actually have severe consequences.
That’s according to Tori, a professional flight attendant who documents her travels on TikTok.
In one of her latest videos, Tori claimed that a pal of hers was actually banned from a major US airline for trying to exploit a little-known price disparity.
The trick, known as “skiplagging” takes advantage of the way costs are set for connecting flights.
Toris used an example of a passenger booking a flight to New York, with a connection in Washington DC.
They can flag you
Because it wouldn’t be viable to charge customers full whack for a flight to the connecting airport and then a second from there to the final destination, connections often involve significant discounts overall.
So, as per Tori’s scenario, travellers looking to make it to DC might be able to get a cheaper ticket by also booking the connection to New York then deliberately missing the connecting flight.
SunTravels own research found that the same flight from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles in DC was around £200 cheaper when taken as part of a connection to LA.
However, the airline expert warned that bosses do not look kindly on this trick.
She claimed that operators will regularly check whether passengers have made their connecting flight.
Obviously, if it’s an honest mistake there is no issue, but if they suspect that it was missed deliberately, they can and will hand out bans.
Tori added: “You’re going to get banned from the airline.
“This is like a very serious thing.
“They flag you.”
It comes after a former cabin crew member revealed the “health hazard” passenger habit she hated the most.
Meanwhile etiquette experts explained whether the middle seat gets two armrests and what to do with hoggers.
