Are you a Skiplagger yet? This start-up, which searches out cheaper fares in an unusual way, was sued by two mega travel corporations, without success. The site has a unique model. United and Orbitz, who sued, called the website “unfair competition”, that promoted “strictly prohibited” travel. What Skiplagged does is offer fares that are lower, and not for your destination. Well, not exactly. Say you are going from Washington to New York on May 4 on American Airlines. Instead of booking to New York, you instead book from Washington to Boston and get off at New York during the layover. The fare is 45 per cent cheaper when you book to Boston! It’s an airline loophole no one’s been able to plug in the US, and delivers huge value to customers who are willing to risk frowning aviation authorities. Skiplagged calls this “hidden city” ticketing.

Started by Aktarer Zaman, just 23 now, Skiplagged has already taken on the might of corporate America, and won. When he asked for $10,000 to help pay for legal fees for the case and lawyers, donors gave him $81,000.

There are disadvantages beyond being frowned upon though. You can’t check-in bags of course, and it has to be a one-way ticket. As yet, Skiplagged is available only in the US, though with a million plus Indians visiting the US annually, and traipsing around the country, it could mean quite a bit of saving, especially if you are flying from coast to coast. With savings up to 80 per cent advertised on the site, passengers aren’t complaining at all!

 Website: www.skiplagged.com 





Leave a Reply