- An American Airlines teenager who attempted to skiplag on a flight to New York City has been banned from flying with the airline, according to his father.
- Hunter Parsons informed Insider that American has barred his son from flying for three years.
- “He didn’t violate any policies or breach any contracts. He simply went to the counter to get his boarding pass,” Parsons explained.
American Airlines has imposed a ban on a teenager who planned to disembark during his layover in Charlotte, North Carolina instead of continuing to New York City, his final destination.
The teenager’s father, Hunter Parsons, confirmed that American has prohibited his son from flying with the airline for three years due to his intention to use a skiplagging ticket. This practice is forbidden by many airlines, including American. Parsons mentioned, “His ticket was canceled and he was banned from AA for three years but never actually did anything wrong. He never even got his boarding pass.” The initial ticket price was $150.
Skiplagging, also known as “hidden city” or “throwaway” ticketing, is a controversial cost-saving strategy where a passenger books a ticket with a layover but intentionally skips the connecting flight to the final destination. While skiplagging offers financial benefits to passengers, it causes revenue loss for airlines.
Parsons revealed that his 17-year-old son was scheduled to fly from Gainesville, Florida, to New York City with a layover in Charlotte. Suspecting that the teenager wouldn’t continue the flight to New York, gate agents in Florida took him to a security room for questioning. Parsons initially shared this information with local television station Queen City News.
According to Parsons, his family was forced to purchase a new direct ticket worth over $400 for his teenage son to travel to Charlotte. He emphasized that his son was unaware of any wrongdoing and stated, “He was left to fend for himself 500 miles from home. He never violated any policy or broke any contract. He simply went to a counter to get his boarding pass.”
In January 2021, American Airlines announced its crackdown on skiplagging. Regarding Parson’s son, an American Airlines representative stated that he was only questioned about his travel plans at the ticket counter during check-in.
Parsons mentioned that his family often purchases hidden city tickets through booking platforms like Skiplagged to save money but has never abused this practice. Disembarking in Charlotte instead of continuing to New York would have been their first instance of skipping the final destination. Parsons added, “With that said, we have always seen every flight through to its final destination. Never once (even now) have we missed a connecting flight nor did we know we were breaking a contract if we ‘were’ to have done it.”
American Airlines is not the only airline taking punitive measures against passengers who engage in skiplagging. In 2018, United Airlines reportedly charged a passenger several thousand dollars for skiplagging on 38 occasions. Similarly, in the same year, German airline Lufthansa sued a passenger for skiplagging on a flight from Oslo, Norway to Seattle, Washington, where the passenger disembarked in Frankfurt, Germany during a layover.
Insider has reached out to American Airlines for comment but has not yet received a response.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
