Pros and Cons of Airglitch Booking Strategies

Airglitch strategies are designed to save you money on flights. In most cases using them doesn't create any issues, but they might come with trade-offs you need to understand before booking. Because some strategies require you to skip parts of your itinerary or issue multiple tickets, it can affect baggage allowance, flight disruptions, or compliance with airline policies. Here are the key drivers to consider:

For a reminder on how each strategy works, refer to our Guide to Airglitch Booking Strategies.

Checked bags

Strategies like layover exit rely on skipping the final segment(s) of your itinerary. If you check a bag, it will likely continue to the final destination listed on your ticket. Travel with a carry-on and make sure it won't get checked at the gate. Other strategies like spare return or back-to-back don’t interfere with baggage handling since you complete all the required segments of a given journey.

Flight disruptions

Strategies involving missed segments also come with risks if your flight gets rescheduled. Since you are relying on the layover to be your finale destination, the airline may rebook you on a different route in case of delay or cancellation. This can lead to unexpected changes in your travel plans, and the airline won't accept to issue a new ticket for your desired destination.

Airline reaction

It is technically against airline policies to skip parts of your itinerary. Unless you do it frequently, it is highly unlikely that the airline will pursue any action against you. Some cases of passengers losing their frequent flyer status or being charged extra fees have been reported, and rare cases of gate agents refusing to board passengers have been documented. These anecdotal cases are more likely when dropping a segment (e.g., layover exit) than when dropping a journey (e.g., spare return). In the latter case, it is a no-show and you won't even check in for the flight, which is common.

Comparison

✔️ All good
⚠️ Some risks
❌ Not possible
1. Extremely unlikely to be penalised for a no-show if done occasionally
2. In case of delay or cancellation, rescheduling or refund is not possible for separate tickets

Additionally, remember that skipping any part of a trip cancels all the remaining segments. When you drop parts of your itinerary, you cannot have a return flight or any other segment on the same booking.

Take these differences into account when booking a flight. When available, Airglitch will show you multiple strategies for a flight, so you can pick the one that suits you best.

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