United Airlines and Orbitz are suing a 22-year-old computer genius from New York City who has figured out a way for people to get really cheap flights. Through his website called Skiplagged , he’s figured out an entirely legal way for travelers to get cheaper flights through using the “hidden city” method.
According to The Washington Times , 22-year-old Aktarer Zaman says he is doing nothing wrong, and he’s not even profiting off of his site. He said he is just helping travelers get the best prices on flights by exposing an “inefficiency” in airline prices that many have known about for years.
That “inefficiency” is the “hidden city” technique that Zaman explains is one that is simple, and he says it isn’t illegal. WGNO reveals that it’s just a strategy that his website makes simpler for everyone.
“The idea is that you buy an airline ticket that has a layover at your actual destination. Say you want to fly from New York to San Francisco — you actually book a flight from New York to Lake Tahoe with a layover in San Francisco and get off there, without bothering to take the last leg of the flight.
This travel strategy only works if you book a one-way flight with no checked bags (they would have landed in Lake Tahoe).”
United Airlines and Orbitz state in the lawsuit that Skiplagged is “unfair competition,” and they also state it is promoting “strictly prohibited” travel. In the lawsuit, they look to get back $75,000 in lost revenue that they blame on Zaman.
Zaman knew that a lawsuit would eventually come his way, but he still says that they don’t have anything to go on.
“[Hidden city ticketing] have been around for a while, it just hasn’t been very accessible to consumers.”
Even though Zaman believes the lawsuit from United and Orbitz has no legs to stand on, one could still end up being very expensive for him and Skiplagged in the long run.
Michael Boyd, President of Boy Group International, worked 30 years ago as a ticket agent for American Airlines. Now, running his aviation consulting firm in Colorado, he says that he was trained to help travelers find the fares through “hidden city” travel.
“I don’t think it’s illegal what he’s doing.”
Zaman considers Skiplagged a “side project” and knows it may eventually be shut down, but he wouldn’t publicly discuss the lawsuit. The same can be said for United Airlines. Orbitz did release a statement saying it is obligated to uphold fare rules of airlines.
It is believed that if Skiplagged does get shut down by United Airlines and Orbitz, copycats sites will eventually pop up. People now know about it and will figure out how to do it so they’ll simply start it up again.
[Image via Ricky Shine – CNN]
