Teenager DETAINED at airport after trying to use ‘skiplagging’ trick

A North Carolina teenager was detained at an airport after he was caught using a ‘skiplagging’ hack – where travelers buy cheaper indirect flights and exit the airport at the layover stop.

Hunter Parsons of Charlotte said his son Logan had an American Airlines ticket from Gainesville in Florida to New York JFK with a stop in Charlotte. 

Logan was flying to Charlotte, but an indirect ticket terminating at JFK was cheaper than a direct trip to North Carolina, so he booked that fare with the intention of skiplagging – not completing the entire trip. 

It was the first time the teenager had flown by himself, his dad said, adding that the family has taken advantage of the popular method of saving on flights previously. 

At the gate, however, Logan’s North Carolina ID raised red flags with the agent and the teen was subsequently taken to a security room and interrogated, Hunter said. 

Logan’s ticket was canceled and the family was forced to buy him a direct flight. 

While not illegal, ‘skiplagging’ – also known as hidden city ticketing – is frowned upon in the industry and does violate some airlines’ codes of conduct. 

It was the first time Logan (pictured) had flown by himself, his dad said, adding that the family has taken advantage of the popular method of saving on flights previously

Hunter Parsons (pictured) of Charlotte said his son Logan had an American Airlines ticket with a stop in Charlotte and the intention of getting off without re-boarding 

Logan’s American Airlines ticket was canceled and he was forced to buy a direct flight

Hunter Parsons said he had no concerns allowing teenager Logan to fly alone as the family has utilized the popular but risky method many times. 

‘We’ve used Skiplagged almost exclusively for the last five to eight years,’ said Hunter, saying that they were not worried about his flight. 

When Logan got to the gate for check-in, though, the agent caught a whiff of his plan and Hunter said he was taken into a security room and interrogated ‘a little bit.’      

‘They kind of got out of him that he was planning to disboard (sic) in Charlotte and not going to make the connecting flight,’ the dad said. 

According to Hunter, the family was unaware that skiplagging is looked down upon.

He said his worry was not that the ticket was canceled by an American Airlines representative, but the way the situation was handled.  

‘Our concerns are he is a minor and was kind of left to fend for himself several states away,’ Parsons told Queen City News. 

An airline attorney who spoke with the outlet agreed, calling it ‘harsh.’ 

‘It’s the first time he’s flown, and he really doesn’t know what he is doing,’ said Bruce Brandon. ‘It seems to be a bit harsh to me. 

‘I just don’t understand why they would do this,’ the lawyer added. 

Hunter Parsons said he had no concerns allowing teenager Logan (second from right) to fly alone as the family has utilized the popular but risky method many times

The Parsons family in a photo posted to Facebook by Lisa Parsons  

‘Our concerns are he is a minor and was kind of left to fend for himself several states away,’ Parsons (left) told Queen City News 

Brandon added that the whole situation didn’t add up, despite recent crackdowns by airlines on hidden city ticketing. 

‘Was it a security issue or was it a contract issue?’ asked the attorney. ‘Was he held against his will in that back room?’

In recent years, many major flight providers have taken action against outlets that connect passengers with cheaper flight options via the controversial method.  

United Airlines and Orbitz sued the flight-search site Skiplagged in 2014, claiming the company ‘intentionally and maliciously’ interfered with their businesses. 

More recently,  Lufthansa brought a lawsuit against a passenger who had attempted to skiplag on its airline. The company later dropped the suit. 

And in 2021, Southwest sued Skiplagged in Texas for displaying the airline’s cheap fares and selling the tickets on its flights without permission – after it had already sued similar site Kiwi.com for the same reasons. 

In its lawsuit filed in July 2021, Southwest claimed the two travel sites appeared to be working together and said Skiplagged’s flight data came from Kiwi.com, Insider reported.

‘Neither Skiplagged nor Kiwi is authorized to display Southwest fares or sell Southwest flights,’ the airline’s lawyers wrote in the complaint. 

But Kiwi.com hit back at at the time, saying Southwest appeared to be ‘holding back freedom of choice’ from customers. 

‘We cannot comment on the latest lawsuit itself, but what is appearing here is a sense of panic from Southwest,’ a Kiwi.com spokesperson said. 

‘Trying to hold back freedom of choice brought about through tech innovation with aggressive legal action is a sad situation from an airline that was a disruptor themselves.’

Southwest won its case against Kiwi.com in fall 2021, when the court granted the airline an injunction to say Kiwi could no longer scrape its site for data. Kiwi settled the lawsuit – and in turn Skiplagged.com no longer offers Southwest tickets. 

In a statement following the incident involving Logan, American Airlines said the popular process is against its terms and conditions of flying. 

‘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,’ the statement read. 

The airline also said it had been in touch with the Parsons regarding the incident. 

The family said they understand the business’s position but thought there could have been a better way to go about it. 

‘I think a stern warning, “hey this is frowned upon, if you do it again there would be consequences, financial penalties,”‘ said Hunter Parsons.

According to the American Airlines website, a one-way direct flight from Gainesville, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina, in July can cost between $255 and $547 depending on the departure time. 

Skiplagged.com offers options for $159 and since Charlotte is the layover stop before the plane continues its journey, passengers can still get there in the 1hr 37minutes it would take on a direct flight. 

Talking to Queen City News, a representative for American Airlines said it was speaking with the family about Logan’s detention in Florida.

The spokesperson said they had been unaware he’d been held for questioning until the outlet reached out.

An investigation is underway within the company.