Skylagging Could Be Your New Favorite Travel Hack, But Is it Legal?

I love to travel but the price of flights can really add up.

Sure, you can fly direct from Seattle but I prefer to use our local airports like Yakima's airport or even flying out of Tri-Cities just so I don't have to deal with Seattle as little as possible.

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I was recently clued in to the art of skylagging in an effort to save on flights.

It was an idea so brilliant I never thought about it, but is it legal?

What is Skylagging?

Skylagging is the art of booking a flight where you just leave during a connection.

For example, let's say you're trying to get to Dallas, Texas.

If you book a flight straight to Dallas that flight might cost you $400.

However, after you do some researching, you come to find out that if you book a flight to Arkansas and that flight has a layover in Dallas and it happens to be for less money (maybe $300) you book that flight to Arkansas instead.

So when it comes to your layover in Dallas, congratulations, you already made it to where you were trying to get to in the first place to you just grab your carry-on and walk out the front door.

There you go, that's skylagging.

Is Skylagging Legal?

If you skylag, it's not like they can arrest you. You paid for your flight so you're good.

However, there may be consequences.

For instance, if they find out you're not on your connecting flight, the remainder of your flight (including your return home) maybe cancelled.

I've also heard there's a chance you may forfeit flight miles earned from that trip as, again, the rest of the flight may be cancelled.

So, yes, skylagging is real, but just consider all options.