This week, we discovered airlines have quietly made a massive change to how they're pricing long-haul international flights – namely, they've begun selling many one-way fares abroad for half (or less) the roundtrip price.
If this news feels a little wonky or complicated, I don't blame you. Who, after all, wants a one-way flight to Europe or Asia? We all book roundtrip, right?
For starters, this is a massive change. For decades, airlines have forced travelers to book roundtrip to get the lowest price – so-called “roundtrip requirements” meant that a one-way flight would cost just as much (or sometimes even more) than a trip with a return segment.
Those days are over … at least for now. There's no telling how long this will last: It could be a fluke or a temporary pricing tactic that could disappear in a matter of weeks, if not days.
But there are a few great ways to take advantage ASAP – including one tactic we'd almost never recommend.
Book a One-Way with Cash & A Return with Miles
Unfortunately, it's not as easy as booking two one-way flights separately to come out ahead.
As of publication, this new pricing quirk is only working for departures from North America – with few exceptions, one-way flights departing from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere back to the States or Canada are almost always far more expensive.
Much like booking a multi-city or open-jaw itinerary, this opens the door to mixing and matching several cities into one trip. The best way to get home? Using your points and miles to book your return flight: Award ticket rates for a one-way flight are almost always half the roundtrip cost.
So maybe you start with this dirt-cheap one-way to London-Heathrow (LHR)…
And then book your return flight home to Calgary (YYC) or wherever using American AAdvantage miles, Alaska Atmos Rewards, British Airways Avios, or another airline program. You could use some of our favorite award search tools like point.me, PointsYeah, or seats.aero to pinpoint the best options.
Just be sure to avoid departing from airports like Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), throughout Germany, and especially London-Heathrow (LHR), which all charge notoriously high taxes and fees on award tickets.
With just a few exceptions – like that Calgary-to-London example above – this one-way pricing rarely works for nonstop flights. Those coveted routes to Europe or Asia with no connection are still too precious for the airlines to give you a big discount on a one-way.
But there's a sneaky solution for that, too …
Skiplagging to the Rescue?
I'll be honest: We rarely recommend resorting to hidden-city or throwaway ticketing – better known as “skiplagging,” thanks to the website that popularized the practice. It's a simple but controversial idea: You book a multi-stop flight but don't take the entire itinerary – i.e. throw away your ticket – in order to save money.
It's often put forward as a go-to method for saving on flights when it's best used as a last resort. And more importantly, it comes with risk:
- You can't check a bag – carry-ons only, folks
- It only works with one-way flights – a plus in this case
- Airlines hate this tactic and can punish customers who use it by freezing frequent mileage accounts, revoking miles, or even demanding payment for the full ticket price
But this is a case where it can be well worth it, because the savings can be enormous. Here's just one of many examples.
Let's say you want to take the coveted nonstop flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to London-Heathrow (LHR) this spring. It's going to cost you $500 or more per ticket. Not fun.
But if you tack on a connection and search for flights from Minneapolis to Oslo (OSL) – first flying that Delta nonstop to London – you get this price:
Remember how we said these new cheap one-ways were most prevalent on international flights with connections? This is what we mean: It's less than half the cost of that nonstop.
You may be thinking: “Great, but I don't want to go to Oslo. I want to go to London.”
Well, it's time to put the “skip” in Skiplagging, because you wouldn't get on that SAS flight to Oslo – you're getting on the tube heading to London instead … for $210 instead of $500.
That's not an isolated example, either – there are tons of them. Let's try a flight across the Pacific.
This super-long-haul from New York City (JFK) to Seoul (ICN) is going to cost you a pretty penny at $824. But what if you added a connection to, say, Vietnam?
More than half-off, and guess who's not getting on that last flight down to SGN? You!
Risks & What to Watch For
Hidden city ticketing can help you save big on flights, but there are a few important caveats before proceeding:
- You cannot check baggage: Your luggage will be checked to your final destination, so you have to pack in a carry-on bag only for this to work.
- No loyalty: The airlines don't condone this practice, so it's wise to keep your loyalty number off your reservation. Regardless, you won't earn any miles or credits toward status.
- Have a plan B: If your flights are delayed or canceled, the airline might re-book you on a different routing to your ticketed destination, meaning you might not get a flight to your desired destination after all. Make sure you have a plan B or can back out of the trip altogether.
Google Flights has a filter for this.
Let's say, for example, that you want to book a one-way on the nonstop flight from San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR). Here's how to find the cheapest hidden city ticket:
- Step 1: Enter “SFO” as your departure city and any European city (other than London) as your destination city. Then, enter any date and hit “Search”
- Step 2: In the search results, find the “Connecting Airports” tab and click the down arrow
- Step 3: In the Connecting Airports tab, find your desired destination – in this case, London (LHR) – and click the “only” button next to it.
- Step 4: Type in the name of the continent you're aiming for – I'd recommend just doing “Europe” or “Asia” – in order to bring up the Google Flights Explore map with your new filter attached.
- Step 5: Find the lowest fares on your new map. Inverness, Aberdeen, and Newcastle look pretty good at just $179 each way!
- Step 6: Book that lowest fare, fly to your desired destination skip your connection!
As always, the lowest fares you'll find through Google Flights will be basic economy fares … and unfortunately, the search engine's new basic economy filter doesn't work outside of the U.S. and Canada. But these lower one-way prices are also available on standard main cabin fares, typically for $100 or so more than the basic price.
Sadly, you won't find cheap one-way business class fares to Europe, Asia, or Australia … at least not as of publication. Fingers crossed that changes.
Bottom Line
The new (and maybe limited time) practice of pricing one-way flights overseas at half the price of the roundtrip has opened the door to some major opportunities … and a rare instance where hidden-city ticketing (or “skiplagging”) could be a no-brainer.
