- Skiplagged will still offer hidden-city fares despite a $9.4 million ruling for American Airlines.
- American was awarded damages for copyright infringement and “ill-gotten” revenue.
- Hidden-city ticketing saves money for customers, but they risk being barred by airlines.
Skiplagged.com said it will still offer customers a way to book a popular travel hack despite a court partly siding with an airline in a lawsuit against the company.
On October 15, a jury awarded American Airlines $9.4 million in damages from an August 2023 lawsuit filed against Skiplagged — a website airlines hate because it makes it easier for customers to book “hidden-city” fares, also known as “throwaway ticketing,” to save money. The practice is not illegal but directly contradicts airlines’ terms of service.
Specifically, the company was ordered to pay American $4.7 million for a copyright infringement for using American’s logo on its website and another $4.7 million for repayment of “ill-gotten” revenue.
While the payment is a hit to Skiplagged, which has 20 employees, the website can still conduct business as usual, minus American’s logo, CEO Aktarer Zaman told Business Insider.
“Skiplagged will continue to provide consumers with information on all available routes and fares, including the least expensive airfares available,” he said. “American lost on three of its four claims, and Skiplagged remains free to continue its business of showing consumers all flights to help them save money.”
American told BI it was happy with the copyright verdict, calling it “an important next step in protecting American’s intellectual property and valuable brand.” However, it could still appeal the court’s decision.
It’s the first US airline to score a victory in court against the website, though others have tried. United Airlines’ lawsuit against Skiplagged in 2014 was dismissed, while the one from Southwest Airlines in 2021 was settled out of court.
Skiplagged’s business will remain largely unaffected
Skiplagged makes money by finding one-way, hidden-city itineraries and charging a service fee so customers don’t have to manually search for and book the route on an airline’s website.
Nonstop itineraries are usually priced higher than a one-stop. So, customers use the money-saving “travel hack” by booking a flight beyond their intended destination and getting off in the layover city.
Travelers simply don’t show up for the secondary legs of a journey, but risk their return flight being canceled and potentially being barred outright from the airline.
Skiplagged’s website even warns of the possible consequences of getting caught and flyers to not associate a frequent flyer number with their ticket and to only bring a backpack. Larger carry-ons may be gate-checked, and checked luggage goes to the final destination.
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