Hidden city ticketing occurs when a passenger disembarks an indirect flight at the connection node. Flight fares are subject to market forces, and therefore do not necessarily correlate to the distance flown. As a result, a flight between point A to point C, with a connection node at point B, might be cheaper than a flight between point A and point B. It is then possible to purchase a flight ticket from point A to point C, disembark at the connection node and discard the remaining coupons.
Using the hidden city tactic is usually possible only for one-way trips, as the airlines often cancel the subsequent parts of the trip once a traveller has disembarked. Also, it requires that the traveler have carry-on luggage only, as any checked baggage items will be unloaded only at the flight's final destination. Exceptions to this requirement are when re-entering a country where luggage must be processed by customs agents or when changing airports or train travel is involved in the flight ticket. This allows for a traveler to reclaim their luggage but before rechecking for their final destination, the traveler can simply leave the airport.
This strategy violated the airlines' fare rules. Someone doing it infrequently is unlikely to be pursued by the airline, but in the frequent flier community there are reports of passengers who do it repeatedly being contacted by the airlines and either threatened with, or actually losing, their frequent flier accounts. Experienced fliers recommend that if doing it more than very occasionally, passengers not associate their frequent flier numbers with reservations using the hidden city trick.
Read more about this topic: Airline Booking Ploys
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