A teenager was detained at an airport in the USA after trying to execute a travel hack called ‘skiplagging’.
If you don’t know what skiplagging is, it involves a bit of trickery involving layover destinations and is a little bit naughty, it turns out.
Anyway, we’ll explain it to you now.
The idea stems from the realization that sometimes direct flights are more expensive than a flight to somewhere else that goes via your destination.
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So, you book the cheaper flight and then just simply don’t get on the connecting flight.
For example - this one, seeing as that’s what we’re talking about - a flight between Gainesville in Florida and Charlotte in North Carolina might be quite expensive, whereas one to New York via Charlotte might be a bit cheaper.
That’s exactly the situation that teenager Logan Parsons found himself in when he was trying to get home.
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So, he decided that he’d book the New York flight with American Airlines, then simply leave the airport at Charlotte.
However, he didn’t count on his North Carolina ID raising some eyebrows at the first airport in Florida, which led to him being taken to a security room and interrogated, his dad says.
Then, his ticket was allegedly cancelled and he was made to buy the direct flight.
His dad Hunter said that this was the first time he’s flown on his own, but said that the method is one that the family has used in the past to save a bit of cash on flights.
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Referring to a website set up for the purpose, he said: "We've used Skiplagged almost exclusively for the last five to eight years."
On his son’s predicament, he said: "They kind of got out of him that he was planning to disboard [sic] in Charlotte and not going to make the connecting flight."
Hunter then said that his family isn’t even aware that skiplagging is a problem.
Of course it’s a problem - it’s a method for people to save money.
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Speaking to Queen City News, Hunter added: "Our concerns are he is a minor and was kind of left to fend for himself several states away."
Over the years, airlines have tried to fight skiplagging.
Airline Lufthansa sued a passenger who tried to skiplag on their airline, but later dropped it.
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United Airlines and Orbitz sued the aforementioned Skiplagged site in 2014, claiming that the site ‘intentionally and maliciously’ interfered with their businesses.
In response to this specific incident, American Airlines said: "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."
An investigation is taking place as to why Logan was detained.
Logan’s dad concluded: "I think a stern warning, 'Hey this is frowned upon, if you do it again there would be consequences, financial penalties’."
Tom Wood