United and Orbitz sue cheap airfare site creator

Aktarer Zaman founded the website Skiplagged.com in 2013. It helps travelers book flights using what it calls “hidden city ticketing”. The idea is that travelers wanting to fly from Dallas to Los Angeles, for example, are instructed to book a flight to an alternative destination, say San Francisco, with a stopover in Los Angeles. They then don’t bother to take the last leg of their journey.

While it is not always the cheapest way to travel, Mr Zaman discovered that in many instances, it is. Airlines will often offer cut-price fares to attract fliers to regional airports – but they sometimes route these flights through major hubs. The strategy only works for those booking a one-way flight and traveling with carry-on luggage (hold luggage will automatically be sent to the final destination on the ticket).

But United, and the US-based flight booking website Orbitz, have claimed the entrepreneur’s “unfair” website promotes “strictly prohibited” travel – and is seeking $75,000 in compensation for loss of revenue.

Mr Zaman, a New York resident, insists that he has broken no law and is simply exposing an “inefficiency” in airline prices that has been common knowledge among aviation insiders for years.

“[Hidden city ticketing] has been around for a while, it just hasn’t been very accessible to consumers,” Mr Zaman said.

Skiplagged.com has launched an appeal on its website for donations to fight the lawsuit and has already raised more than $9,000.