A North Carolina teen was detained at an airport after being caught delaying a flight — purchasing an indirect ticket with the intent of leaving the airport on the layover.
Hunter Parsons of Charlotte said his son Logan had an American Airlines ticket from Gainesville, Florida, to New York JFK with a stopover in Charlotte.
Logan flew to Charlotte, but an indirect ticket that ended at JFK was cheaper than a direct trip to North Carolina, so he booked that fare with the intention of falling behind—not finishing the whole trip.
It was the teen’s first time flying alone, his father said, adding that the family has previously used the popular method of saving on flights.
At the gate, however, Logan’s North Carolina ID raised red flags at the officer, and the teen was then taken to a security room and questioned, Hunter said.
Logan’s ticket was canceled and the family had to buy him a direct flight.
While not illegal, skip lagging – also known as hidden city ticketing – is frowned upon in the industry and violates some airlines’ codes of conduct.
It was the first time Logan (pictured) flew alone, his father said, adding that the family has previously benefited from the popular method of saving on flights
Hunter Parsons (pictured) of Charlotte said his son Logan had an American Airlines ticket with a layover in Charlotte and intended to come without re-boarding
Logan’s American Airlines ticket was canceled and he had to buy a direct flight
Hunter Parsons said he wasn’t worried about letting the teenaged Logan fly alone, as the family has often used the popular but risky method.
“We’ve been using Skip Lagged almost exclusively for the past five to eight years,” said Hunter, who said they weren’t concerned about his flight.
However, when Logan got to the gate to check in, the agent caught his plan and Hunter said he was taken to a security room and questioned “a little bit.”
“They kind of got him to know that he was planning to disembark in Charlotte and not make the connecting flight,” the father said.
According to Hunter, the family was unaware that skip-behind is looked down upon.
He said his concern was not that the ticket was canceled by an American Airlines representative, but the way the situation was handled.
“Our concern is that he is a minor and has been left to fend for himself in a number of states,” Parsons told the Queen City News.
An aviation attorney who spoke to the outlet agreed, calling it “harsh.”
“It’s his first time flying and he really doesn’t know what he’s doing,” said Bruce Brandon. ‘It seems a bit harsh to me.
“I just don’t understand why they would do this,” the lawyer added.
The Parsons family in a photo posted to Facebook by Lisa Parsons
“Our concern is that he is a minor and has been left to his own devices several states away,” Parsons (left) told the Queen City News of his son Logan (right) who was alone
Brandon added that the whole situation didn’t make sense to him, despite the airlines’ recent crackdown on hidden city tickets.
“Was it a security issue or was it a contract issue,” the lawyer added. “Was he held against his will in that back room?”
In recent years, many major flight providers have taken action against outlets that connect passengers to cheaper flight options through the controversial method.
United Airlines and Orbitz sued Skiplagged in 2014, alleging that the company’s site “intentionally and maliciously” interfered with their operations.
More recently, Lufthansa filed a lawsuit against a passenger who had attempted to skip a delay on their airline. The company later dropped the suit.
In a statement following the incident involving Logan, American Airlines said the popular process violates their flying conditions.
“Purchasing a ticket without intent to fly all flights to obtain lower fares (hidden city ticketing) is a violation of American Airlines terms and conditions and is described in our online conditions of carriage,” the statement said.
They also said they had been in touch with the Parsons about the incident.
It was still too hard on the family and teen who said they understood the position of the company but thought there was a better way to go about it.
“I think it’s a stern warning, ‘hey, this is frowned upon, if you do it again there will be consequences, financial penalties,'” Hunter Parsons said.
“We’ve used Skip Lagged almost exclusively for the past five to eight years,” said Hunter (pictured), who said they weren’t concerned about his flight
In a statement following the incident involving Logan, American Airlines said the popular process violates their flying conditions
Speaking to Queen City News, an American Airlines representative said they spoke with the family about Logan’s time in Florida.
The spokesperson said they were not aware of that part until the outlet reached out.
An investigation is underway within the company.