Jesse Collier recently lost her job and decided to use a new viral sensation to save money on her travels. But it didn’t exactly go to plan and she was caught out in the middle of her money saving scheme
A woman’s attempt to save cash on airfare backfired spectacularly when she got caught up in a ‘skiplagging’ fiasco, which left her without her luggage. The cost-cutting trend involves booking a connecting flight that stops at your actual destination, as it can often be cheaper than a direct ticket.
Jesse Collier, who was recently made redundant, needed to get from Los Angeles to New York but balked at the $400 (£300) price tag for a direct flight. “That’s when I saw an ad for Skiplagged, which championed hidden-city ticketing. In my case, the trip was from Los Angeles to New York City to Buffalo,” she explained to Business Insider.
Opting for a flight that was a steal at just $146, Jesse planned to disembark in New York and skip the final leg to Buffalo. While ‘skiplagging’ isn’t against the law, airlines are clamping down on the practice, claiming it hits their profits hard.
READ MORE: Airline cancels woman’s flights after she tries ‘skiplagging’ on Spain holiday
However, Jesse’s savvy scheme turned sour when she found herself stranded in New York, unable to claim her bags which were en route to Buffalo.
She went on to say: “I found myself caught in this cycle of calling the customer-service line, being told that they would put my bag on a plane to New York City and that I could either have it delivered or go pick it up, only to be ghosted hours later and be told my bag never made it on that plane.”, reports the Daily Star.
She then had to shell out around £50 to retrieve her bags from Buffalo back to New York and was without luggage for two whole days. Jesse confessed she saved money, but didn’t believe it was worth the trouble in the future.
Katy Nastro, from going.com, discussed the emerging trend with National Desk. “For example, say you wanted to fly from Orlando to New York. You know, see the city, but the price tag is a little bit out of budget. Maybe it’s $150.”
“However, you found a flight from Orlando to Richmond via New York and that’s only $88, which is a pretty nice savings.”
She added: “However, you got off in New York and you paid a fraction of the price for that direct flight price, but you bought a connecting flight.”
“So, in essence, it’s basically like you bought a direct flight without the direct flight cost.”
