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What are hacker fares on kayak.com?

I was looking at the filters and couldn't find either in the FAQ or anywhere as to what hacker fares are all about.

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  • "Hacker fares"... youtube.com/watch?v=fQGbXmkSArs Nov 6, 2016 at 11:55
  • I recently read that some airlines are identifying these types of hacks and not honoring a leg of the flight. The hack hemorrhages their huge profits. I am not sure of the country this referred to. Jun 1, 2019 at 15:57

1 Answer 1

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It's not a guess, here is the official explanation:

these itineraries require purchasing two or more one-way tickets on separate airlines, so we want to make sure everyone understands that these aren’t just regular flight options.

Edit: I am very surprised this attracted this many upvotes. Try googling kayak hacker fare, it's literally the first in the result list (not counting the top highlight box, that's not the result list): Trivial googling

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    I agree that the name is dramatic. But "boring" technique? You can be sure that people miss flights regularly for using this "boring technique". The times I did it and had delays with the flights in the first ticket, it was anything but "boring". Nov 6, 2016 at 22:58
  • That's why contingency is a good idea. Would normally associate "hacker" with industry insider methods such as breaking a multi-leg route for a cheaper one way.
    – mckenzm
    Nov 7, 2016 at 1:48
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    When they show you one of these with a great price, but an uncomfortably short layover, you can check whether the same route is available at different times.
    – WGroleau
    Nov 7, 2016 at 5:22
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    To sum up the potential pitfalls for the novice reader: First, if you miss or are delayed on the first leg of the flight, you get no help or compensation for rebooking the second one, which will often cost you money. Beware of short connections on two one-way tickets. Second, it's possible that you'll have to pick up and recheck your bag, potentially paying an additional checked bag fee depending on the airline.
    – ColeS
    Nov 8, 2016 at 4:50

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