United Airlines lawsuit

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December 30th, 2014 at 1:54:46 PM permalink
reno
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384
Suppose you're a New Yorker trying to get to Atlanta. Here's the scenario: a ticket on a flight from JFK to Atlanta is $540. But a ticket on a flight from JFK to Orlando (with a layover in Atlanta!) is only $400. So if you don't check your luggage, and you're only flying one-way, you could buy the Orlando ticket but simply stay in Atlanta and pretend to "miss" your connection to Florida.

From a law perspective, this trick isn't technically illegal. But it's risky. The airlines hate it, and they'll cancel your return flight, confiscate your frequent flyer miles, and maybe even ban you from ever flying on their planes again.

The tough part is finding these hidden fares, it can be a time-consuming headache. Luckily, there's a website called Skiplagged which helps find these bargains. Accordingly, United Airlines is suing Skiplagged.

Will United Airlines win the lawsuit? Should United win the lawsuit? Is this trick ethical/moral?

Hiding and censoring information in the internet age is a fool's errand. (Just ask the music industry.) The funny thing is that if the airlines were really serious about stopping this behavior, a lawsuit isn't even necessary. All they need to do is price their tickets rationally and logically.
December 30th, 2014 at 2:27:40 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
The "hidden city" trick goes back to the 1980s. Only travel agents used to have to look for it one by one. United is risking the danger of losing bigger than it would gain. Suppose the court says the customer has no obligation to use all of their ticket? I can easily see that happening.

Airlines need to learn what the music industry and now taxis are learning, if the internet is going to smash your model you had better ne the one to fix it.
The President is a fink.
December 30th, 2014 at 3:11:03 PM permalink
reno
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384
Quote: AZDuffman
United is risking the danger of losing bigger than it would gain. Suppose the court says the customer has no obligation to use all of their ticket? I can easily see that happening.


You're right, it could backfire. Maybe the airline's strategy is to file lawsuit after lawsuit, appeal after appeal, with the ultimate goal of bankrupting the guy on attorney fees. ("He who has the deepest pockets wins the game.")

Also, most businesses have the right to refuse service to any patrons of their choosing, so even if the court says that customers may discard their tickets, the airline could still blacklist the repeat offenders (just like a Vegas casino refusing to deal a game to card counters.)

***

By the way, is there any industry with such ridiculous, inconsistent illogical pricing schemes?? The cheapest one-way United Airlines ticket from San Francisco to Monterey, CA (distance: 77 miles) on February 2, 2015 is $761. A ticket from San Francisco to Hong Kong (distance: 6,900 miles) on the same airline on the same day is only $737.
December 30th, 2014 at 4:04:56 PM permalink
Wizard
Administrator
Member since: Oct 23, 2012
Threads: 239
Posts: 6095
I'm sure when the player clicked "pay" or "agree" when he bought the ticket he agreed to airlines rules and penalties against doing this. So, although I would do this myself, I have to side with the airline.

When I lived in Baltimore the cheapest way to get to Europe was on Iceland Air, connecting through Reykjavík. However if you just wanted to go to Iceland the cost was about double of going to any other major city in Europe. Supply and demand. Who else goes directly from Baltimore to Reykjavík?
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
December 30th, 2014 at 4:05:38 PM permalink
terapined
Member since: Aug 6, 2014
Threads: 73
Posts: 11786
I don't sell this trick.
Anyway can be risky due to a couple of factors.
If you have a one way ticket, you are sort of fine as long as no carry on or very small carry on that's fits under a seat.
This cant be done with a roundtrip ticket. Once you don't show up for ATL to MCO, your return will be cancelled.
Overhead bin space is often taken up quickly due to full flights and baggage fees.
If your carry on can fit under a seat. you are fine.
If not and at the end of the line getting on the plane, airline may force you to checkin carry on to final destination.
There is no baggage fee though if forced to checkin a carryon.
Its happened to me. Had to quickly get out medication and valuables at the gate.

Hidden city fares are due to airlines get greedy on non-stops and charge more because of a competitive advantage of convenience.
They have a lot of pressure to charge less on connections because no competitive advantage, everybody else has connections just like they do.
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World"
December 30th, 2014 at 4:27:53 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
For years. NY to Atlanta was "X" dollars but NY to Dothan was "about half X" dollars. The ticket gave you the right but NOT the obligation to fly on to Dothan after the stop in Atlanta. All those in the know, got off in Atlanta though they knew if they checked or lost anything, it would wind up in Dothan.

Its a bit absurd but airline pricing always has been. The problem is its very difficult to ship sardines profitably. Yet that is how the airlines insists on shipping almost all of its self loading freight.
December 30th, 2014 at 6:54:40 PM permalink
aceofspades
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 83
Posts: 2019
Quote: AZDuffman
United is risking the danger of losing bigger than it would gain. Suppose the court says the customer has no obligation to use all of their ticket? I can easily see that happening.



Of course, once United pays off whoever it is they pay-off in Washington, DC, this "trick" will soon become a "national security" issue and those caught doing it will get 10 years minimum jail time.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:07:33 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Why does the airline give a rats ass where
you get off at, the ticket is paid for. Trains
and buses could care less if you take the whole
trip.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
December 30th, 2014 at 11:34:28 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: terapined
I don't sell this trick.

I wouldn't expect you to be able to sell an illegal ticket.

Quote: terapined

Hidden city fares are due to airlines get greedy on non-stops and charge more because of a competitive advantage of convenience.
They have a lot of pressure to charge less on connections because no competitive advantage, everybody else has connections just like they do.


Well I am sure that they don't call it greed.

But I think the lawsuit is about information dispersal.

it is certainly legal to show a customer that he can save $5 by turning a two hour nonstop into a five hour connection. The potential customer is free to ignore this false economy of wasting a lot of time to save a little money.

I don't see why it is illegal to show the skip lag flights. The website owner does not recommend what to do, he just digs out the possibilities.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:03:36 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Evenbob
Why does the airline give a rats ass where
you get off at, the ticket is paid for. Trains
and buses could care less if you take the whole
trip.


Because of revenue. You don't charge a guy $200 for a ticket when you can get $500!

Who here remembers the old "saturday night stay" gag where the round-trip price was lower if you had a saturday night during the trip? Businessmen would but two overlapping trips originating in opposite cities, fly out on ticket A then back but really out on ticket B, then back on A then back on B.

I once had to fly one-way from ALB to PIT and was told just throw away the second half of the round trip!

It all makes me wonder how screwed up Aeroflot pricing must have been!
The President is a fink.
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