The airline sued the passenger for the missed flight

The German airline Lufthansa sued the passenger for having missed the connecting flight and did not fly to its final destination. The carrier requires compensation in the amount of 2 112 euros (about $ 2 385).

Фото: Depositphotos

According to court documents, a passenger, whose name was not named, purchased a ticket from Seattle (WA) to Oslo (Norway) and missed the last connecting flight during a transfer in Frankfurt (Germany), writes with the BBC.

The airline claims that the passenger missed the flight intentionally, and although he bought a ticket to Oslo, he was not going to fly to the Norwegian capital. Just connecting flights to Oslo with a transfer in Frankfurt was noticeably cheaper than a direct flight from Seattle to Frankfurt.

A way to save

This practice of deliberately missing a connecting flight is called “skiplagging” (from the English skiplagging - skipping the last segment of the flight - the so-called shoulder - on flights with a transfer). As a rule, this scheme is used by passengers who want to save money on their flight.

Connecting flights usually require a transfer in the city where the airline's main hub is located. Such a flight may be cheaper than a direct flight to the place of transfer, since the cost of air tickets is determined not by the cost of the flight, but by the demand for the chosen destination. Reducing prices for unpopular destinations, airlines pursue two main objectives: advertising and reloading flights.

As a rule, the transfer is carried out at the hub airports of the airline and costs much less than if it was carried out at any other point.

“For example, a direct flight from Seattle to Columbus with Alaska Airlines will cost $250. And American Airlines has no direct flights on this route, only connecting flights to Chicago at the same price to compete with Alaska,” explained Tracy Stewart, editor of the travel website airfarewatchdog.com.

According to Stewart, passengers who are interested in a flight from Seattle to Chicago (direct flights to this destination are more expensive) can buy tickets to Alaska with a transfer to Chicago and deliberately miss the connecting flight.

“This is a loophole that can easily be exploited,” the expert noted.

Why pay more?

According to analysts, skiplagging is not such a new phenomenon. But the number of passengers using this scheme is growing.

“Many airlines have been offering cheaper tickets for connecting flights at the airport where the airline is based for decades. For years, airlines turned a blind eye to passengers deliberately missing their last connection. Because they bought tickets and took seats anyway,” says analyst John Grant of JG Aviation Consultants.

However, recently the number of websites helping passengers buy tickets under this scheme has increased significantly. One of these sites explains quite simply the main advantages of skipplugging. A direct flight from Atlanta to Orlando costs $250, and a connecting flight from Atlanta to Dallas with a connection in Orlando costs $130.

“Pay $130 and get off in Orlando!” the website says.

Airlines declare that they suffer financial losses due to passengers using such a flight scheme. In their words, skiplagging deprives them of the income from ticket sales to those passengers who fly in a popular direction, and makes it impossible to sell tickets for that flight, which such passengers miss.

Can I sue for skiplagging

The passenger, against whom Lufthansa filed a lawsuit, wanted to get to Berlin, where he had flown by another flight, having missed the flight Frankfurt-Oslo.

The airline accuses the passenger of violating the terms of the contract and, as compensation, demands to pay almost 2400 dollars, which the airline claims to have lost due to the intentional omission of the connecting flight.

However, a court in Berlin in December 2018 rejected the air carrier’s claim. The airline said it would appeal.

“Lufthansa is facing significantly higher legal costs than the money the airline claims it lost due to the passenger’s actions. But they want to make it clear that they no longer intend to tolerate this practice,” says Stewart.

Before this, the most that airlines could do if they caught a passenger skipplugging was to deprive him of all savings in the bonus program.

Passengers who practice skiplagging are forced to travel light, because baggage is usually sent immediately to its final destination.

There is also a risk that the plane will be diverted to another airport - for example, due to bad weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances.

However, the benefits of such a scheme often outweigh the possible risks.

“It’s hard to blame those who are trying to save money on flights. Especially when the air ticket sales system has such obvious loopholes,” Stewart said.

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