Lufthansa sues passenger who skipped his flight
A method commonly used by airline passengers to get cheaper fares is at the center of a court row between a German airline and one of its customers.
Lufthansa has taken a passenger, who didn't show up for the last leg of his ticketed journey, to court in an apparent bid to clamp down on "hidden city" ticketing. The practice involves passengers leaving their journey at a layover point, instead of making a final connection.
For instance, someone flying from New York to San Francisco could book a cheaper trip from New York to Lake Tahoe with a layover in San Francisco and get off there, without bothering to take the last leg of the flight.
The unnamed passenger skipped a flight from Frankfurt to Oslo and flew using a separate Lufthansa reservation from Frankfurt to Berlin instead. Lufthansa is calling this a violation of their terms and conditions and has sued the passenger for €2,112 ($2,386).
This method does not work if you have checked bags, and other people have reported retaliation from airlines for the practice.
Also at Fortune and Popular Mechanics.
See also: Airlines hate 'hidden city ticketing,' but it's still one of the best ways to save a ton on your flights — if you know how to do it
Travel Site CEO's Reddit AMA Backfires When Redditors Turn on Him
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @02:04PM
Airlines don't give a shit if you're slightly late to the checkin counter. But if you have an assigned seat and are believed to be in the airport, it seems that they do. Especially if your bag is in the hold, since if you check a bag and then fail to show up at the gate someone needs to go in, find your bag, and remove it from the plane.
It's possible they won't care about you if you don't have any luggage.