hidden cities: the secret to low-cost airfare

Entertainment » Culture

Hidden Cities: The Secret to Low-Cost Airfareby Winnie McCroyEDGE EditorMonday Apr 25, 2016

Summer is around the corner and it's peak travel season, whichmeans it could take a toll on your budget. Fortunately, thefinancial experts at Money Under 30 have shared some travelhacks for getting to your destination at half the price. It's allabout sidestepping airlines' arbitrary rate hikes for major travelhubs by getting out at the 'hidden city' halfway through yourtrip.

"The general gist is this: I live in Portland, Maine. If I wanted tobook a direct flight to Chicago, it would be extremely expensive.But if I book a one-way ticket to Denver and it goes throughChicago for a layover, it might be only half the cost. Chicago

would be the 'hidden city' in that case," said David Weliver, founding editor of Money Under 30.

Unfortunately, this strategy won't help if you're flying from one small city to another. And it only works forone-way tickets, because if you don't make it to your planned destination, the airline automatically cancelsthe return trip.

"I think before the airlines caught on, people could be savvy and make up some excuse to get the returnticket okayed," said Weliver. "But I don't think they do that anymore. Nowadays, the ticket's only good fromwhere you booked it."

Hard-core travelers have been flying to 'hidden cities' for years, but recently, airlines have begun to get windof the practice. Their entire pricing system is based on supply and demand of where people most want tovisit. Airlines know that nonstop flights are more valuable, so they are more expensive.

If Weliver's example above were calculated merely on distance, Denver should cost much more to get to thanChicago, as it's much farther away. However, more business travelers fly to Chicago than to Denver, so flightscan be twice as expensive. Especially when you're flying from a small airport with a limited number of dailyflights to a large national hub.

Chicago is a big hub for United Airlines. Detroit or Atlanta is a likely layover for Delta Air Lines. In any of thebig cities, most of the U.S. airlines will stop somewhere you'd want to visit. But in others, like Boston, thereare so many inexpensive trips to big hubs like Chicago, this might not be your best strategy.

"But if you're going from a small city to a big, in-demand route, this makes the most sense," said Weliver."You can find yourself getting 25 to 50 percent off the cost of the ticket."

Airlines don't want to lose money. In fact, United and Orbitz sued 24-year-old Aktarer Zaman ofSkiplagged.com two years ago for his company's 'hidden city' practices, calling the startup website "unfaircompetition." Orbitz eventually backed out, and a Chicago judge dismissed the United case as out of hisjurisdiction.

It's also very important to price out different options. Sometimes, two one-way tickets don't make sense,even with the 'hidden city' benefit. But other times, it can result in significant savings.

"For a direct route from Portland to Chicago, a non-stop ticket would be $800 or more," said Weliver. "Butthey have to connect there anyway during Denver flights, because it's such a popular route for business. Solet's say I could find a 'hidden city' route that is half the price. That's pretty good, even with the hassle of two

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one-way tickets."

This is also great if you are flying into a city with a one-way ticket, then driving to another city. It's ideal ifyou're visiting a place for an extended stay, and don't know when you'll be returning.

Go GlobalFor international flights, you can save money if you buy theticket from a retailer in the country you're planning to visit.Depending on currency exchange rates and ticket pricing, youcan save several hundred dollars on airfare. Weliver suggestsdoing a search via the simple pricing tool called Flight MatrixITA Software. But you may have to jump through some hoops.

"The trick is, you have to find a way to buy it locally, and youmay even have to have an address in that country," he said."You can best take advantage of this if you have a friend orfamily member in the country you want to visit, and get them tobuy it."

As Weliver noted earlier, airlines are beginning to get wise to this workaround. Claiming it is unfair to usetheir ticketing policy in this way, they have incorporated legal language into airfare contracts regardingcanceling. Unless you find a very nice agent, they are unlikely to rebook your return ticket in the case ofround-trip travel. And they may try to penalize you.

"One risk is if you happen to be a frequent flier, they could cancel or invalidate your frequent flier account ifthey catch you," said Weliver. "But that's about all they can do. And if you buy a new one-way ticket home, Idon't think they can refuse you, because you're not breaking any laws. But it's one of these things where youcould do it once or twice to save a little money, but I'd be careful not to make a habit of it."

Winnie McCroy is the Women on the EDGE Editor, HIV/Health Editor, and Assistant Entertainment Editor for EDGE MediaNetwork, handling all women's news, HIV health stories and theater reviews throughout the U.S. She has contributed toother publications, including The Village Voice, Gay City News, Chelsea Now and The Advocate, and lives in Brooklyn, NewYork.

Spring 2016This story is part of our special report titled "Spring 2016." Want to read more? Here's the full list.

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hidden cities: the secret to low-cost airfare

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