What is a skiplag? American Airlines Bans North Carolina Teen Who Tried Popular Life Hack
A North Carolina teenager who was recently caught trying to use a popular hack while traveling on an American Airlines flight has been detained by the airline.
Hunter Parsons, the 17-year-old’s father, said last week that his son was detained and “interrogated” at a Florida airport for a “skiplug,” also known as stealth in-town ticketing or an off-ticketing point, which violates the travel rules of most major airlines.
Parsons told Insider that “his son’s ticket was canceled and he was banned from A.A. for three years, but he never really did anything wrong. He didn’t even get a boarding pass.”
According to Parsons, the teen had a plane ticket from Gainesville, Florida to New York, but was stopped by an agent at the entrance before he was allowed to board because he had a North Carolina license and the flight had a stop in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Parsons Sr. told WJZY that an agent at the American Airlines gate suspected the teen of “skippling” — or intending to travel to a connecting city rather than the destination on his boarding pass — in an attempt to save money.
Parsons told Insider that the canceled ticket cost $150 and the family had to buy a $400 direct flight to take his son to Charlotte. He said the teen “didn’t know he was doing anything wrong.”
“He was left to fend for himself 500 miles from home,” Parsons said in an interview with his son. “He never broke any rules or violated any contracts. He just went to the counter to get his boarding pass.”
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Parsons confirmed that his son was a skiplug and said the family had been using Skip Lagged, a website that specifically lists trips to hidden cities, for at least five to eight years to save money.
However, he told Insider that if his son were successful, it would be the first time a family member has actually missed the last leg of a flight.
When approached for comment on the situation, American Airlines told FOX Business about its policy, which shows the airline prohibits “buying a ticket without the intention of flying on all flights to get lower fares.”
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“Our records show that the customer was only questioned about the trip at the checkout when they tried to check in for the flight,” an AA spokesperson said in a statement. “A member of our customer service team contacted them to resolve their concerns.”
Lawrence Richard of FOX Business contributed to this report. Learn more at FOX Business.
