The term “hacking” has traveled, to quote the Beatles, the long and winding road.
“Hackers” have been around since the 1950s and 1960s, when MIT students used the word as a slang for programming shortcuts that would make programs work better and/or faster. By the early 1970s, phone systems were being hacked (although at that time, the word was “phreaked”) for free calls by utilizing a using a toy whistle from Cap’t Crunch cereal boxes.
The word “hack” first hit the mainstream in 1983, when the movie War Games was released. Starring a 21-year-old Matthew Broderick, the movie is about a high school kid who finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III (thank-you IMDb).
For years, “hacking” generally had to do with computers and communication. It was just like War Games: breaking into computer systems, telephone networks, and other vulnerable technology. But over time the term has grown, and now includes, “a clever tip or technique for doing or improving something.”
There are plenty of hacks in the travel world. We’ve gone over some of them in the past:
- How to override hotel thermostat settings
- Easy hack to gain more storage space in your hotel room
- How to get around the 3-1-1 rule & bring more shampoo, soap, etc.
- 42 favorite travel hacks of ordinary people
- How to pack so your clothes won’t wrinkle
Of course, hacking always has its risks; sometimes, a hack can go terribly wrong:
- The thermostat override gone bad
- Man banned from airline after posting hack to get free carry-on bag
- Travel hack scored a guy business class plane tickets…then he got caught
And then there are the hacks that aren’t really hacks. They’re just things that are already established by the airlines that someone discovers and claims they’re a hack.
Except they’re not.
Case in point. Jake Peterson is a self-proclaimed travel hacker who has a TikTok account (are Joe and I the only travel social media people who don’t have TikTok accounts?). He’s not a big-time influencer; he only has not-quite 1,000 followers. But he did post one video that, to date, has gotten over 336,000 views. It goes into how you can, “Get on the next flight for free.”
“Earlier today, I was running late for my flight because I had a flat tire. So I knew I wasn’t gonna make it,” he said in the 37-second clip.
“But fortunately, most airlines have a flat tire policy —American, Delta, United. The agent, there’s actually a button on their computer that says ‘flat tire policy,’ and they will, for free of charge, move you to the next flight,” he continued.
“So next time you’re delayed because of a flat tire, use this trick. It could help you save you save you some money,” Peterson concluded.
Here’s the clip:
@jakepeterson114 What to do when you’re late for flight #plane #traveltok #traveltiktok #fyp #airlinenews #travelers #airline #travelessentials #plantsoftiktok #planespotting #vacation #luxurytravel
And yes, he’s partially right; if you tell the airline in question that you had a flat tire (or got stuck in traffic, or were stuck in a huge weather issue; anything that delayed you from being there on time), they can try to get you onto the next flight. Note the word “can.” Not “will.” Can. Might. Maybe.
But unlike how Petersen presented it, it’s not a rule or a hack. It’s not even 100% guaranteed. It’s more a situation that if you call the airline’s customer service representatives (here’s how to call the airline and speak to an actual person) or speak to one at the airport, the so-called “flat tire rule” can be applied on a case-by-case basis. If the airline gods smile upon you, you may automatically get a seat on your next flight. Or you may fly standby. Or they might say, “Flights are all full. Too bad, so sad.”
Good luck!
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2 comments
There is indeed a generational aspect to how the word “hacking” is understood and used.
You great-grandfather would perhaps hear “hacking” as something done to chop a tree/wood/plant. And the way pre-teen kids nowadays use the word “hack” is different than the way you and/or your parents grew up using/understanding the word.
Hacking nowadays no longer refers to just use of technical bypasses to access a system or information and then does who knows what with that access and/or info. There are also social exploitation means to develop sources and methods, and that can be referred to as hacking by some.
Thanks for trying to balance out the “specialists” who pass out dubious information that some poor people will likely take at face value.