A North Carolina teen has come under fire for apparently violating a longstanding ticketing policy with American Airlines.
The father of Logan Parsons explained to the New York Post that his son was stopped and questioned after an airline employee suspected he did not plan to complete his entire flight. His father had booked Logan a flight with a layover in his hometown, and it appears Logan had no intention of making his second flight at all.
The flight in question took off from Gainesville, Florida, and the trip was set to ultimately conclude in New York City. But Logan had a layover in North Carolina, which happens to be where his family lives.
The employee saw that Logan had a North Carolina driver's license and began to do the math. He ultimately concluded that Logan was participating in skip-lagging, which is when someone books a flight without the intention of actually flying on all parts of the journey.
More from LittleThings: Woman Smashes Keyboards And Computers After Airline Loses Her Flight Reservation
Skip-lagging can be a cost-saving measure for a lot of travelers. For example, it might have been cheaper for Logan to fly from Florida to New York but really get off the plane in North Carolina, rather than flying directly from Florida to North Carolina in the first place.
The practice is common for a lot of travelers, but it turns out that skip-lagging actually violates the policies of many airlines, including American Airlines.
Logan's dad admits that he had no idea the family was doing anything wrong. As he said, "We’ve used Skiplagged almost exclusively for the last five to eight years."
In the end, Logan had to buy a new ticket from Florida to North Carolina.
American Airlines has since explained, "Purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to gain lower fares (hidden city ticketing) is a violation of American Airlines terms and conditions and is outlined in our Conditions of Carriage online."
