American Airlines canceled ‘skiplagging’ ticket teen planned to skip a flight after discovering he was not going to board his connecting flight to New York City, his family was forced to purchase a direct ticket to Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to local television station Queen City News, the adolescent was supposed to fly from Gainesville, Florida, to New York City. But he planned to exit during the layover in Charlotte.
Hunter Parsons, his father, told the newspaper that he purchased the ticket using Skiplagged. A service that displays flights with layovers that are less expensive than direct routes.
He planned to disembark at his layover in Charlotte, North Carolina, instead of New York City.
“We’ve used Skiplagged almost exclusively for the last five to eight years.” Parsons told Queen City News, adding that it was the first time his son traveled alone on a plane.
But Parsons said the gate agent in Florida was doubtful of his son’s final destination after seeing his North Carolina driver’s license. The agent suspected the teenager wouldn’t continue flying to New York City, per the report.
“They kind of got out of him that he was planning to discord in Charlotte and not going to make the connecting flight.” Parsons said in the report, adding that his son was taken to a security room to be questioned.
According to Queen City News, an airline agent subsequently canceled the teenager’s ticket. His family immediately purchased him a fresh direct flight to Charlotte.
The family claimed they were unaware that skiplagging, or booking a ticket with a layover. And skipping the second leg, was prohibited by American Airlines and many other airlines. Skiplagging is a practice that allows consumers to save money on plane tickets, however, it frequently results in revenue loss for airlines.
The airline told Queen City News that skiplagging was a violation of its terms and conditions.
“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.” Furthermore, the airline told Queen City News in a statement, adding that it was in contact with Parsons.
In the report, Parsons expressed concern about his kid being detained and questioned by gate officials in Florida.
According to Parsons, his son should not have been detained because he was a juvenile. And gate agents should have given him “a stern warning, ‘hey this is frowned upon, if you do it again, there would be consequences, financial penalties.”
American Airlines declared in a memo in January 2021 that it would begin cracking down on skiplagging. And in recent years, it hasn’t shied away from punishing travelers caught skipping their final destinations.
In August 2020, a traveler reported being charged $2,500 for skipping 52 trips on American Airlines. Another customer claimed he was thrown out of the airline’s frequent-flyer program four months before for skipping 95 flights.
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