Skip lagging
As I was scrolling through the news today, a certain term caught my attention – “skiplagging”. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s a practice some travellers use to get cheaper flights by booking a flight with a layover in their actual destination, then skipping the second leg of the trip. This often arises due to the perplexing pricing model of airlines where strangely, direct flights can sometimes be more expensive than flights with one or more stops.
What struck me wasn’t the practice itself, but the vehement criticism of consumers who use it. Airlines and critics have a tendency to point the finger at travellers, blaming them for gaming the system. But isn’t it the system itself that’s flawed?
The current pricing model of airlines, one that often defies logic, invites such workarounds. If direct flights were priced reasonably and affordably, would travellers feel the need to resort to such tactics? As consumers, we’re constantly seeking the best value for our money, especially in a world where the cost of living seems to be on a perpetual upward trajectory.
Interestingly, this blame game extends beyond airlines. Many companies have a propensity to fault consumers for exploiting loopholes in their systems. Instead of reflecting on their own policies and pricing structures, they choose to cast aspersions on the very consumers they should be striving to serve.
This scapegoating of consumers deflects attention from the real issue – the inherent flaws in the companies’ systems and policies. If these were designed with fairness and transparency at their core, the need for consumers to find workarounds would greatly diminish.
So, before we rush to vilify consumers who are simply trying to navigate a complex, often illogical system, let’s ask ourselves: Shouldn’t the onus be on the companies to ensure their practices are fair, transparent and logical? Shouldn’t they be held accountable for creating a system that doesn’t push consumers to find such loopholes in the first place?
As we progress into an era of increased consumer awareness and power, it’s high time companies started introspecting, reassessing their strategies, and aligning their practices with the expectations and needs of the modern consumer. Let’s shift the blame from the consumer to where it rightly belongs – to flawed systems and policies. That, I believe, is the first step towards building a more fair and consumer-friendly business landscape.
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