26 September 2023 , 14:30
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A woman's entire holiday was cancelled after she tried 'skiplagging' in an attempt to save money on flights. Theresa McKinney decided she wanted to keep costs down as much as possible during her first solo trip to Europe. The American woman booked herself onto a $439 (£360) United flight from Cleveland to Madrid, which included a short layover in Newark, New Jersey.
When her husband was asked to go to Boston for a business trip the same week, she looked to change her departure city from Cleveland to Boston. Unfortunately she would be charged $900 (£739) by United to change the booking, Theresa told Insider.
In a bid to avoid the extra cost, she decided to book another United flight from Boston to Newark, where she'd catch the second half of her original journey to Madrid. The new flight would cost her just £49.
Theresa tried to book two separate flights with United (Getty Images)However, Theresa fell foul of rules around 'skiplagging'. The controversial money-saving tactic sees passengers book flights with a stopover, but then skip one of the legs of their flights, in a bid to get cheaper fares. Most airlines ban the practice. As she'd booked a different flight, she received an email from United warning her that the second leg would be cancelled as it was a duplicate booking.
Admitting she was "feeling crafty", Theresa booked a similar flight from Boston to Newark, and headed off to join her husband. Unfortunately on the day she was due to fly towards Newark, Theresa said she felt "uneasy" as she was unable to check-in for her Madrid journey online.
Airline staff questioned why she hadn't been on her first flight from Cleveland, which she tried to dismiss by simply saying her plans had changed.
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She explained: "They told me because I didn't get on my first flight from Cleveland, my entire itinerary would be cancelled, and my only option was to rebook my ticket for the (apparently unavoidable) fare difference of $900."
Due to the hefty costs involved, Theresa decided to cancel the trip. A week after she got home she received a a $439 (£360) flight voucher from United. Theresa says she rues the attempt and will not be trying to skip-lag again, not to mention she is trying to warn other people not to make the same mistake.
Earlier this year, a teenager was detained at the airport for attempting to use skiplagging. Logan Parsons was trying to fly home to North Carolina from Florida, but the cheapest option was to fly to New York, and simply leave at the North Carolina airport. However when he arrived in Florida for the first half of the journey, his North Carolina ID raised red flags and the teen was taken to a security room and interrogated, his dad said.