American Airlines Disapproves of Teen’s Inclination Toward Skiplagging

• The teenager’s ticket was canceled by American Airlines because he didn’t realize skiplagging was against the rules.
• Lisa Parsons, the mother of the teenager, told Insider that it was his first time flying alone.
• “The intention was not to shoplift or harm the airline’s profits,” Parsons said.

The teenager’s ticket was canceled by American Airlines after they discovered he had no plans to take his connecting flight, but he was unaware that skiplagging was not allowed.

Lisa Parsons, the teenager’s mother, revealed to Insider that neither she nor her son knew that skiplagging violated American Airlines’ conditions of carriage, which are the guidelines passengers must follow when flying with the airline.

According to a previous report by Insider, the teenager was scheduled to fly from Gainesville, Florida, to New York City. However, his parents intended for him to disembark during his layover in Charlotte, where he resides with his family. Skipping the final leg of the journey to New York City is a practice prohibited by American Airlines.

“My son was easily intimidated since it was his first time flying alone,” Parsons stated, noting that she had booked the ticket for him. “He did not believe that it was something disapproved of,” she added.

Parsons recounted that her son was approached by several American Airlines employees at the check-in area, and he was denied his boarding pass. According to Parsons, his ticket was immediately canceled, and the staff informed him that his ticket had been flagged in the system.

“They essentially left him sitting at the airport for a while. Numerous flights departed for Charlotte, but they did not offer him the chance to board any of them,” Parsons added. She had to purchase a new direct ticket for her son to fly to Charlotte, which cost over $400.

Skiplagging, also known as “hidden city” or “throwaway ticketing,” is a cost-saving tactic that involves booking tickets with layovers and then skipping the final flight segment. Many airlines prohibit this practice.

According to American Airlines’ conditions of carriage, purchasing a ticket with the intention of not flying all segments to obtain lower fares is prohibited as it exploits and circumvents the ticket pricing system.

Parsons mentioned that she only uses Skiplagged, the controversial website that reveals hidden city tickets, to find affordable flights. She emphasized that her family, in the past ten years, has only taken three flights and has never engaged in skiplagging.

“The intention was not to steal or harm the airline’s profits. The intention was to find a good flight at the right price,” Parsons continued, expressing her view that American Airlines appeared to be a reputable carrier.

American Airlines previously announced in a memo that it would crack down on skiplagging, and the teenager is not the only one who has faced repercussions for attempting to skip the final leg of a flight. In 2020, a passenger was removed from the airline’s frequent-flyer program and asked to pay over $10,000 for skiplagging 95 times. Similarly, in 2021, another passenger was billed $1,000 for skiplagging.