It seems that American Airlines is getting serious about picking up passengers. One passenger reported that they were asked to pay $ 2,500 after AA accused them of taking some 52 scheduled flights. The airline states that this is a breach of its terms and conditions and asked for compensation for its loss.
Cut back on hidden city maps
Reporting as ‘hidden city ticketing’ is a well-known method of cheap travel. The nuances of air fares, which are primarily based on demand rather than what the service actually costs to deliver, mean that it is sometimes cheaper to book a longer segment with a connection than it is to go directly – figure .
Ships exploit this fact, with passengers paying for a connecting flight they never intend to take. For example, if I were to book from Dallas to Los Angeles, a direct flight would cost £ 124 ($ 162).
However, I also found a one-stop itinerary to San Francisco, stopping at LAX, for just £ 70 ($ 91). Maybe I could buy this connecting flight, fly the part from DFW to LAX and just not catch the next flight to SFO. As an added bonus, the part will be flown to Dallas to Los Angeles by the American Airlines Dreamliner.
Airlines may not like this, however, and see it as a ‘cheat’ of their fare system. Some take a more hardline approach than others. German flag carrier Lufthansa has previously tried to prosecute a passenger for flagging, and United Airlines has also tried to punish these cheat passengers.
Well, it seems that American Airlines is envious of cutting even.
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A bill for $ 2,500
Aviation blog One Mile At A Time was hired by AA to punish skipping passengers after one such person posted about their experience on FlyerTalk. The passenger was contacted by an American Airlines analyst, who stated that they had identified 52 cases of hidden ticketing for cities.
The American Airlines representative advised the passenger that “Hidden city map is explicitly defined in AA’s Conditions of Carriage as a violation of the validity of the map,” and stated that the person’s account would be terminated unless they paid some form of restitution for the losses. Within the letter, the representative raised the issue with this practice. They said,
Unlike other commodities, airline seats are market priced. A seat on a non-stop flight is a premium product and offers a higher price. Seats in connecting markets need to be competitively priced and thus can be substantially cheaper. The bad effects of point above ticketing are twofold; the customer gets the flight for a price they are not entitled to and a seat is damaged on the separate connecting flight. An airline ticket is a contract and the terms of that contract are explicitly mentioned in the Terms and Conditions.
The representative suggested that the customer pay a one-time fee of $ 2,500 for the 52 copies they had identified from reporting. Considering that works at less than $ 50 per trip, that’s a bit of a bargain offer there.
Chances are that over the years the passenger has saved a lot more than that in the cost of airline tickets, not to mention that they have repaired about 600,000 AAdvantage Miles and, in current circumstances, just around 100 segments per year fly. All things considered, it seems just fair that they cough up the requested amount.
It seems that AA is getting serious about removing scammers, but will likely concentrate on regular, repeat offenders like this chapter. However, if you are trying to enjoy a bit of hidden city ticketing, do not be surprised when you retire.
