Skiplagged just lost a lawsuit against a major airline—but says it will continue to get secret deals for flyers

Travel search company Skiplagged boasts that it can help you “find flights the airlines don’t want you to see,” using “airfare loopholes to save you money.”

That proposition doesn’t always sit well with airlines. In fact, American Airlines recently won a $9.4 million court decision against the company, highlighting travel options called “charter fares” (also called “hidden cities”), where travelers book multi-leg trips with an airline but only fly. part of the way. Arcane airline pricing rules mean that a traveler looking to fly from, say, New York to San Francisco can sometimes find it cheaper to counter-book a flight from New York to Seattle with a layover at SFO than to simply book a flight from New York to -San Francisco. Savvy travelers who spot such deals can book a multi-hop flight and exit quietly during a layover, although airlines often say that’s against their terms of service.

Skiplagged founder and CEO Aktarer Zaman says he came up with the trick around 2013, when he was looking at travel options to get from New York to Seattle, and a possible California vacation. Booking a trip to Seattle was actually cheaper than booking a flight to San Francisco—even though the Seattle trip started with that flight to the Bay.

“I looked at the details, the exact same plane, and it was like double the price,” said Zaman. “So that’s how I started to find it, by accident.”

He soon built the first version of Skiplagged as a side project, initially providing information about trips to cities that might be hidden, which airlines naturally do not encourage. Within a few years, he saw the site gain more attention, and he turned it into a real business, today helping users to book flights, charging a fee for certain bookings. While travelers on their own can find flights to a hidden city by searching for a possible city combination and looking for a good place to stay, many are willing to pay extra to have Skiplagged do the process automatically. And the site can now help find regular fares and book discounted hotel rooms.

Still, what sets Skiplagged apart from other search engines are those hidden city fares that have raised the ire of American and, in the past, other airlines. A lawsuit filed by United was dismissed in 2015 on procedural grounds, and the company settled a lawsuit filed by Southwest in 2021—like most travel sites, Skiplagged no longer displays Southwest fares at all, Zaman said.

‘We will continue’

Judge Mark T. Pittman, in ruling in the American Airlines case, said Skiplagged’s actions appeared to be “a little shady.” But he didn’t tell Skiplagged to shut up.

To some extent, American got its fair share: The jury’s award of $9.4 million is for copyright infringement, based on the unauthorized use of the airline’s Skiplagged logo in listing flight options, not the company’s main operations. Zaman says Skiplagged already removed the plane logos from the site about three months ago, so there is no ongoing liability. Skiplagged is making more than $20 million in revenue by 2023, according to court records, an amount confirmed by the company.

“It is clear that paying money is worse than not paying money,” said Zaman. “But as a business, we will continue.”

The judge found that Skiplagged’s use of American trademarks, in contrast to its copyright, “is likely to cause confusion as to source, organization, or sponsorship.” But the judges also ruled that “fair use,” which is the legal term for discussing the brand name without need, means that Zaman means that the company can continue to use the American name on the list of aircraft, as American actually claims to win in the statement.

“American is pleased that the jury found that Skiplagged violated important trademarks and awarded $9.4 million in copyright infringement damages,” an American spokesperson said. “This was an important next step in protecting America’s intellectual property and an important brand.”

Perhaps most important to Skiplagged’s business model, the judge dismissed America’s claims for breach of contract and interference with its contracts. He found that under various statutes of limitations, the airline waited too long after learning of what he called Skiplagged’s “questionable business model and practices” to apply.

Judge Pittman wrote: “Here, the American caught wind of Skiplagged’s stinking business practices, but it took a long time to quell the stench with some pleas.”

‘Other airlines don’t like us’

Zaman says the perception that airlines generally don’t like his business is exaggerated—Skiplagged lists tickets for many airlines that haven’t taken the company to court and has relationships with major travel companies, he said.

“It gives the impression that the airlines don’t like us, but that’s not really the case,” he said. “Some airlines don’t like us, I guess you could say that.”

And customers who do so can save, sometimes a lot, by using the service, Zaman said, pointing out that users have been able to book flights for family emergencies and other trips that might otherwise be difficult to find.

Skiplagged provides clear warnings in the FAQ sheet that travelers may experience problems if flights are changed due to weather or other issues, as airlines can rebook travelers at their final destinations without going through the same stop. The company also advises travelers to try to stick to the trolley under the seat, as there is always a chance that large bags will be checked at the gate to destinations on the last list, and warns customers not to use their flight numbers regularly, because affected airlines can cancel their miles.

“You might upset the airline, so don’t do this often,” warns the FAQ.

But Zaman says court testimony showed American doesn’t have some sort of “no-fly list” for sneaky urban travelers and insists most Skiplagged trips go as planned, with the company boasting a 99.7% success rate. And, he says, Skiplagged intends to continue providing its services in the future.

“There is nothing stopping us, and we are motivated by the profit we make for consumers,” he said.