Skiplagged

Skiplagged

Skiplagged.com logo
Type of site	Metasearch engine
Available in	English
Founder(s)	Aktarer Zaman
URL	www.skiplagged.com
Launched	2013; 12 years ago (2013)
Current status	Active

Skiplagged.com is an online travel agency and metasearch engine for booking flights and hotels. It popularized the tactic of hidden city ticketing,[1][2] also known as skiplagging.

History

The website was started by Aktarer Zaman in 2013, when he was 20 years old.[3][4]

In November 2014, United Airlines and Orbitz filed a civil lawsuit for $75,000 in lost revenue, claiming that the website violated fare rules.[5] The Orbitz lawsuit was settled out of court, in which Skiplagged agreed not to redirect traffic to Orbitz sites or use Orbitz branding.[6] The United lawsuit was dismissed by the courts on procedural grounds.[7] United did not pursue further legal action.[8] Donors contributed for legal expenses via GoFundMe.[9]

In 2021, Southwest Airlines sued Skiplagged for displaying the airline's fares.[10] The lawsuit was settled out of court.[11]

In 2023, Skiplagged was sued by American Airlines.[12] In August 2024, a district court judge in Texas ruled that Skiplagged had not breached contract, but had violated American's copyrights.[13]

See also

• Expedia
• Trivago

• Webjet

References

1. Lieberman, Melanie (August 11, 2017). "Why Hidden City Ticketing Really Is Too Good to Be True (Video)". Travel + Leisure.
2. Hobica, George (January 6, 2015). "Why airlines hate hidden-city ticketing (and maybe you should too)". USA Today.
3. raymundo, oscar (January 9, 2015). "Meet the 22-Year-Old Who's Fighting the Airline Industry In Court to Save Travelers Money". Inc.
4. "Skiplagged site helps navigate cheaper airfare". CBS News. December 19, 2014.
5. Gillespie, Patrick (December 31, 2014). "Why is United Airlines suing a 22-year-old?". CNN.
6. Smith, Patrick Gillespie and Aaron (2015-02-13). "United Airlines doesn't back off suit against 22-year-old, even though Orbitz drops it". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
7. Gillespie, Patrick (May 1, 2015). "Judge throws out United Airlines lawsuit against 22-year-old". CNN.
8. Gillespie, Patrick (December 31, 2015). "How a 23-year-old beat United Airlines". CNN.
9. Smith, Aaron (2014-12-31). "22-year-old raises $33,000 in fight with United Airlines". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
10. Shalvey, Kevin. "Southwest sues Skiplagged in Texas, escalating its legal challenge against flight-search sites that display its fares". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
11. Musumeci, Natalie. "Airlines have tried to fight the computer whiz who popularized 'skiplagging' in court. Their lawsuits have been either thrown out or settled". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
12. "Airlines are cracking down on this travel hack and one website is in the crosshairs". ABC News. 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
13. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/american-airlines-gets-copyright-win-in-mixed-skiplagged-ruling