Teen detained, tickets cancelled by airline over Skiplagging airfare travel hack

American Airlines refused the passenger travel and cancelled tickets after he admitted to using the Skiplagging hack. Photo / Joshua Hanson, Unsplash

A teenager was reportedly held at a US airport for using a controversial ‘travel hack’ to avoid paying full airfares.

Logan Parsons from Charlotte, North Carolina was accused of “Skiplagging” after turning up for his flight from Gainesville to New York JFK.

On turning up for his flight he had his tickets cancelled and was held for questioning, with the airline claiming he intended to miss his connecting flight. Issue was taken by American Airlines after it was noted the traveller was stopping to transit through his home town, with a connection in Charlotte Douglas Airport.

The American Airlines gate agent grew suspicious of Logan’s intended final destination, after he presented his North Carolina driver’s licence as ID in departures. When questioned, the boy later admitted he was on a “Skiplagging” fare.

The boy’s father, Hunter Parsons, said he had bought the fare for his son with instructions not to use the flight on to JFK.

“We’ve used Skip Lagged almost exclusively for the last five to eight years,” Hunter Parsons told local outlet Queen City News.

Hunter Parsons said he bought fares for son Logan using the Skiplag loophole. Photo / Facebook, Lisa Cain Parsons

The fare was eventually cancelled after Logan admitted his intended final destination and was told to buy a new, direct fare. However, the Parsons claim that they weren’t aware that skiplagging was disapproved of by the airline and have hit back at the airline for treatment of their son.

“Our concerns are, he is a minor and was kind of left to fend for himself several states away,” says Hunter Parsons.

He said it was the first time his son had flown alone.

A statement from the airline said that they reserved the right to cancel passengers’ travel if they were suspected of using the hack, as it violated their terms of carriage.

“Purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to gain lower fares (hidden city ticketing) is a violation of American Airlines terms and conditions and is outlined in our Conditions of Carriage online. Our Customer Relations team has been in touch with the customer to learn more about their experience,” read a statement to QC News.

What is Skiplagging or the hidden city travel hack?

“Skiplagging” or “hidden city” is a travel hack where travellers buy a cheaper fare which transits their intended destination and simply never turn up for their connecting flight. The trick exploits the fact that airfares with connections onwards to larger travel hubs, such as JFK, can work out cheaper than a direct airfare. Especially to smaller, regional airports with fewer scheduled flights like Charlotte Douglas Airport.

It has become popular online with some websites offering airfare comparisons exploiting the loophole.

In recent years, Airlines have tried to take legal action against websites promoting the practice. In 2014 United Airlines launched a lawsuit against the website Skiplagged.com, claiming “intentional and malicious” interference with their business.

The case was thrown out.

In 2019 German carrier Lufthansa sued one of its customers for “skiplagging” a fare to Frankfurt from Seattle, after discovering a cheaper fare connecting to Oslo. The claim for $3600 against the passenger was later dropped.

Similarly, in 2021 Southwest Airlines took out a lawsuit against Skiplagged and Kiwi.com for displaying airfares with the intention of helping passengers plan “hidden city routes”.

United Airlines has begun training its employees to detect passengers intentionally skipping connecting flights.

In a statement to aviation blog God Save the Points, the airline said it was “taking appropriate action” to make sure customers are following their terms of carriage.

“Our priority is to safely get our customers and their baggage to their final destinations, so always try to understand the customer’s situation and avoid confrontation when handling hidden city ticketing instances,” they said.

However, it was pointed out that, unless passengers admit their intention not to catch connecting flights, it is hard to penalise travellers who have legitimately missed their connection.