American Airlines is suing skiplagging site that allows flyers to save money by booking a cheaper indirect flight and then exiting the airport on a layover — even though it’s legal
- American Airlines sued Skiplagged Inc. this week in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, accusing them of cheating and threatening to cancel tickets they issued
- Skip-lagging isn’t illegal, but airlines claim it’s against their policies
- A 17-year-old was booted from an American Airlines flight and given a three-year suspension for taking advantage of the cheaper indirect flights
American Airlines is suing a travel website that sells tickets that help people save money by using cheaper indirect flights than leaving the airport on layovers.
The aviation giant sued Skiplagged Inc. in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, accusing the website of cheating and threatening to cancel every ticket Skiplagged has sold.
In a practice called skip-plagging and hidden-city ticketing, travelers book an indirect flight whose stopover is actually their destination.
They leave the airport at this stop. These flights are often cheaper than direct flights to the intended destination, despite being longer.
Skip-lagging is not illegal. It’s against airline policy, but many fliers have continued to do it, accusing travel agencies like American of being greedy — especially as their profits have skyrocketed in the wake of COVID.
Last month, AA released a 17-year-old from a flight and suspended him for three years when he attempted to use the tactic to fly from Gainesville, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina on a ticket that listed New York City as his final destination.
For Logan Parsons, it was cheaper than booking a direct flight to Charlotte.
American Airlines (AA) is suing a travel website that sells tickets that help people save money by using cheaper indirect flights than leaving the airport on layovers
According to the American Airlines website, a one-way direct flight from Gainesville, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina, in July can cost between $255 and $547, depending on the departure time.
Skiplagged.com offers options for $159 and since Charlotte is the layover before the plane continues its journey, passengers can still get there in the 1 hour and 37 minutes it would take with a direct flight.
In the current lawsuit, AA accused Skiplagged of tricking consumers into believing they can tap into “some sort of secret loophole.”
The company said the website is posing as a regular consumer to buy tickets and is warning its customers not to tip the airline about the scheme.
AA said Skiplagged has never been allowed to resell the airline’s tickets.
“Skiplagged’s behavior is misleading and abusive,” the airline said in the lawsuit.
Skiplagged misleads the public into believing that while it is not authorized to create and issue a contract on American’s behalf, it can somehow still issue a fully valid ticket.
‘It’s not possible. Every ‘ticket’ issued by Skiplagged runs the risk of being voided.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to AA and Skiplagged for comment.
Last month, AA kicked 17-year-old Logan (left) off a flight and banned him for three years when he tried to use the tactic of flying from Gainesville, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina on a ticket that said New York. City as its destination. He’s here with his family
Skip-lagging is possible because of the way airlines compete on price. Long flights usually cost more than short ones, but the reverse can be the case if many airlines compete on the longer route while only one or two fly on the shorter route.
Travelers using this tactic avoid checking a bag because it ends up at the ticket destination, not the layover airport.
They often book a one-way ticket or only try this strategy on the return trip – if the airline notices someone is skipping, it can cancel the rest of their itinerary.
Skiplagged, based in New York, has been sued before.
United Airlines and online travel agency Orbitz accused Aktarer Zaman, who was in his early 20s when he started Skiplagged around 2014, of promoting “prohibited forms of travel.”
Zaman started a GoFundMe to pay for his legal fees. He settled with Orbitz and the United Airlines lawsuit was dismissed.