- The House on Thursday passed a bill meant to improve air travel. It now heads to the Senate.
- There are a number of consumer protection measures being proposed.
- But the bill doesn’t address the confusing pricing models that lead to skiplagging.
The House easily passed a bill on Thursday that could improve Americans’ experiences when it comes to flying — but it doesn’t address the issues that have led to the buzzy practice of “skiplagging.”
Skiplagging, or “hidden-city booking,” refers to booking a multi-destination trip but taking only one leg of the booked itinerary and simply skipping the other. Counterintuitively, it can save money for the passenger, but airlines hate it. American Airlines recently banned a teenager who engaged in the practice.
The legislation being considered in Congress is the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. After airline delays and cancellations caused travel chaos this winter, the bill seeks to address some of the contributing issues.
To address a pilot shortage it would raise the required retirement age from 65 to 67, and would increase the hiring of air traffic controllers. Lawmakers from both parties have said the bill will make air travel safer and more efficient.
The version of the bill under consideration in the Democratic-controlled Senate would require airlines to improve communications with passengers during travel disruptions and simplify the refund and reimbursement process, but it’s unclear if some of those consumer protection measures will ultimately pass.
Even if they do, they do not address the reasons skiplagging is so appealing to consumers in the first place: dynamic pricing models that result in unpredictable airfares that can feel opaque to the customer.
Not knowing what’s the best, or cheapest, time to book a flight is one of the more annoying aspects of air travel. But it looks like for now passengers will have to wait for airlines to fix price transparency on their own — perhaps when they get so sick of skiplagging they don’t have another choice.