A viral hack claims it’s cheaper to buy airplane tickets at the airport counter. This TikTok user put it to the test and was surprised by the results.
Flights in the U.S. can be pretty expensive. While it’s not uncommon for flights in the E.U. to cost less than $100—“Minimum rates for a single ticket one-way including all taxes usually hover around €40 and €50,” notes EuroNews—a flight of similar length in the United States could run one hundreds of dollars.
Given just how expensive flights can be, it’s understandable that travelers are looking for any way they can to save money on their vacation.
The hack
One tip that’s sparked discussion in recent memory is buying tickets at the airport from a gate agent. In one case, an internet user claimed that she was able to secure round-trip tickets for just $32 each. Another TikToker, who stated they were an ex-airline worker, affirmed that the cheapest way to buy flights was buying from the counter itself.
Now, another user has attempted to do just that. It didn’t go quite as expected.
Why you might not want to buy flights at the counter
In a video with over 166,000 views, TikTok user Jasmine (@jasminenicolebeauty) recounts her experience trying to buy tickets at the airport, as she heard that it would be cheaper than buying them online.
“I go up there, and I tell a little lady that I’m trying to buy some plane tickets because I heard it’s cheaper here vs. online,” Jasmine says. “That lady was like, ‘That’s not true.’”
Despite this, the woman decided to search for the tickets Jasmine wanted. As it turns out, it would have been significantly more expensive to buy them through the agent than it would have been to just order the tickets online.
“She told me the price and it’s $500 more—$500 more!” Jasmine exclaims. “I was like, ‘It’s way cheaper online!’ That lady laughed at me so hard. Like, I literally made that lady’s week, and I’m just like, ‘It’s not funny, Susan.’”
Jasmine concludes by simply advising viewers to buy their flights online.
@jasminenicolebeauty #fyp #vacation #makeup ♬ original sound – user7153812309181
Commenters have caveats
According to commenters, this may only be the case with certain airlines.
“Lol it’s only spirit and frontier. So much cheaper, every time,” wrote a user.
“They say it’s for the budget airlines like frontier and spirit. Delta is not cheaper. Also has to be over a month out. This is what I heard. I don’t fly spirit or frontier,” stated another.
“It worked for me at spirit,” declared a third. “might be only certain airlines.”
That said, many commenters admitted that they’ve done something similar to Jasmine.
“Girl, the same thing happened to me,” said a commenter. “It was more at the airport and I wasted my time driving there spending my gas and parking. Lol.”
“Yaasssss I did it to…and stood in line for a hour,” shared a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jasmine via TikTok comment.
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