American Airlines Begins $94 Million Trial Against Skiplagging

As a website is gaining popularity by allowing travelers to locate easy airfare exploits that help them save money, one major airline isn't too pleased. Now the situation has escalated to federal court, in which the airline wants every ticket sold on the website to be canceled.

Skiplagged Sued

American Airlines has filed a lawsuit in a Fort Worth, Texas federal court against Skiplagged Inc. The travel website is being accused of deception and faces a site-wide cancellation of flights as a result. American Airlines is also seeking $94 million in damages.

Skiplagging, also known as "hidden city ticketing" is a practice in which travelers book a flight involving at least one layover, but then abandon the following flight in favor of purchasing a cheaper ticket elsewhere. 

While there are no laws against skiplagging currently, American Airlines explains how the travel hack violates company policies and that the airline isn't able to sell the seat the skiplagger just canceled.

Skiplagged has this text displayed on its landing page to entice customers to book flights:

"Find flights the airlines don’t want you to see. We’re exposing loopholes in airfare pricing to save you money."
 

The lawsuit suggests that Skiplagged has deceived customers into thinking that "some kind of secret loophole" exists. In the lawsuit, American representatives state that Skiplagged isn't authorized to resell the airline's tickets, and that the American Airlines website is the primary hub for a customer to order tickets.

“Skiplagged deceives the public into believing that, even though it has no authority to form and issue a contract on American’s behalf, somehow it can still issue a completely valid ticket. It cannot. Every ‘ticket’ issued by Skiplagged is at risk of being invalidated.”
 

Attorneys Clash In Court

American Airlines attorney Peter Yetter told jurors that Skiplagged impersonates an "authorized agent of the airline" by using American's trademarks and deceiving customers into thinking tickets they purchase are 100% authentic.

Yetter states that Skiplagged purchases the real American Airlines tickets on the customer's behalf, and wants the customer to hide the fact from the airline. The attorney then claims that Skiplagged doesn't even have their own customer service, as the website directs customers to American's customer service numbers instead.

"Skiplagged says it is like Expedia, but it offers no real service...If a customer complains, Skiplagged shrugs its shoulders," explained Yetter.

The 37-page lawsuit goes on to state that Skiplagged exercises a "classic bait and switch" in which the website advertises lower fares but the customer ends up spending more with hidden fees than if they just ordered fares with American.

According to American, Skiplagged has made over $90 million by impersonating as an affiliate, while the airline itself has lost money due to the website's existence.

Skiplagged attorney Aaron Tobin made its defense to jurors, stating that the website charges up to $35 for its services. Tobin also argues that the information on Skiplagged is free to the public, in which customers can use it to make informed decisions on ticket purchases with or without Skiplagged.

Tobin also recalled both United Airlines and Orbitz suing the website ten years ago over the website "creating unfair competition" and promoting "strictly prohibited travel". He claims the lawsuit backfired as it helped the website gain recognition and increase its web traffic. United's claims were dismissed from the lawsuit, while Skiplagged reached a settlement with Orbitz.

The defense attorney claims that American only waited this long to take action over concerns about "hidden fares":

"This case is simply about freedom of choice...Even choices that big powerful airlines don't want you to see, choices that they created."

Skiplagged was founded in 2014 by former Amazon software engineer Aktarer Zaman in his early 20s. When hit with the 2014 lawsuit, Zaman launched a GoFundMe page, asking for $10,000 in attorney and court fees, with donors pledging over $80,000.

A trial regarding the American-Skiplagged lawsuit is scheduled to last one to two weeks, presided by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.