The Hidden Flight Booking ‘Skiplagging’ Trick Airlines Sue People Over

Imagine a flight to Houston costs more than a ticket to a city beyond Houston with a stop there. Some travelers noticed that oddity years ago and started buying the longer ticket just to get off at the stop. Airlines call this a violation of their rules, and they have gone to court over it more than once.

The legal fight has mostly landed on a website, not on the people flying. The most recent chapter, a federal case in Texas, is still working its way through an appeals court in 2026. The details are more complicated than the headlines suggested.

What Skiplagging Actually Is

Skiplagging is a nickname for hidden city ticketing. A traveler buys a cheaper connecting flight and gets off at the layover instead of flying to the ticketed destination.[1] The final leg of the trip simply never gets flown.

The tactic has a few other names, including throwaway ticketing. It is usually practical only for one way trips, because airlines cancel the later parts of an itinerary once a traveler has left the plane.[2] Skiplagged.com, a booking site, is the service most associated with it.

Why the Cheaper Fare Exists

It sounds backwards that a longer trip could cost less. In some cases, the most direct itinerary or a one way ticket costs more than an itinerary that ends in a different city.[3] Airline fares reflect competition and demand on each route, not simply distance.

A Forbes column from March 2026 used a simple example of a ticket from Dallas to Houston costing $200, with a cheaper itinerary that merely passes through Houston. The columnist argued that this is not a true loophole, because airline contracts expressly forbid the practice.[4] Travelers who use it see it differently, and that disagreement is what keeps the topic alive.

Who Airlines Have Actually Sued

Passengers have rarely been the target. Lawsuits against passengers are rare, and airlines have more commonly sued the websites that promote skiplagging.[5] That pattern shows up across the cases over the past decade.

United Airlines and Orbitz filed a civil lawsuit in 2014 over $75,000 in lost revenue, claiming the site violated fare rules.[6] The Orbitz suit was settled out of court, and the United suit was dismissed on procedural grounds.[6] Skiplagged also resolved a suit filed by Southwest in 2021.[7]

American Airlines Takes Its Turn

The biggest case came from American Airlines, which sued Skiplagged in 2023[1]. The airline alleged that the marketing of the practice violates its ticketing rules, puts travelers at risk of having tickets invalidated, infringes its trademarks, and advertises fares that are lower than what customers end up paying.[8] Skiplagged denied the allegations.

Much of the contract based case never reached the jury. The judge dismissed American’s claims for breach of user agreement, breach of conditions of carriage, and tortious interference, ruling they were barred by the statute of limitations.[9] He did voice concern about Skiplagged’s business model and practices.[9]

The Jury Verdict in Fort Worth

In October 2024, a Fort Worth jury awarded American Airlines $9.4 million[8] against Skiplagged. The airline had sought more than $94 million.[8] The total was reported as $4.7 million in actual damages for copyright infringement plus another $4.7 million in disgorgement of revenues.[8]

Headlines made it sound like a verdict against hidden city ticketing itself. It wasn’t. The judge sided with the airline on copyright, finding that Skiplagged had used American’s flight symbol logo without permission.[9]

What the Jury Rejected

American’s trademark theory fell flat with jurors. The jury found that consumers were not confused into thinking they were booking with American or that the airline endorsed the website.[10] That claim had dominated the evidence at trial, according to Skiplagged’s attorney.

Commentators noted what that meant for the business. Losing the trademark claim made it easier for Skiplagged to keep operating.[10] The money award rested on the unauthorized use of a logo in flight listings, not on the company’s core operations.[7]

The May 2025 Rulings and the Injunction

The judge took up post trial motions in early May 2025, and the outcome was mixed. A Texas federal court ordered Skiplagged to pay $9.4 million for copyright infringement over the logo, even as it sided with Skiplagged on trademark use.[11] The court found Skiplagged’s use of American’s name to be nominative fair use.[11]

The court also issued a permanent injunction barring the platform from displaying American’s copyrighted logo.[12] The injunction does not prohibit the platform from displaying American Airlines flights.[12] Skiplagged, which is profitable, continues to offer hidden city ticketing.[11]

What Airlines Can Do to Passengers

Suing is the exception. The usual tools are contractual. Southwest says that besides canceling the ticket and refusing boarding, it can charge the customer what the ticket would have cost without the prohibited practice.[13]

Loyalty accounts are another pressure point. Alaska says it can delete points from its frequent flyer program and end a traveler’s participation.[13] American says the practice can lead to baggage problems and keep other customers from booking a seat when they urgently need one.[13] Delta also prohibits it under its fare rules.[13]

Practical Risks Travelers Face

Even without a lawsuit, the plan can fall apart at the airport. Hidden city ticketing only works with carry on luggage, and asking staff to short check a bag draws exactly the attention a skiplagger wants to avoid.[14] Round trips are especially risky, since the airline can cancel the remaining flights once a segment is missed.

Reports through 2026 describe airlines using automated detection to flag suspicious patterns. Consequences are said to escalate from canceled itineraries to loyalty account action and, in documented cases, multiyear bans.[14] Some of these accounts come from travel sites rather than court records, so details vary by airline and case.

Where the Legal Fight Stands in 2026

Both sides appealed to the Fifth Circuit. American filed its notice of appeal on June 9, 2025, targeting the fair use finding on trademark.[12] Skiplagged is challenging the copyright damages, and briefing was still underway as of early 2026.[12] As of March 2026, no oral argument date had been set.[12]

The stakes differ for each side. If American wins on trademark, Skiplagged would lose the ability to use American’s name and marks even for identification purposes.[12] Outside the United States, a Lufthansa case ended differently: a low level court threw out the airline’s suit against a passenger in December 2018[3]and Lufthansa withdrew its appeal in October 2019.[15] I found no appeals court decision in the American case as of this writing.